Ireland Shenanigans

[Crastle_cog]

Pressure is a hell of a thing. On Paper India should have never lost that final. They might have the greatest team of all time on paper. The Aussies just know how it soak it up and thrive off it. Most people wouldn't believe Marsh, Maxwell, Marnus, Green, Carey, Stoinis and Inglis average below 40 in ODIs. They work as a unit

Luke Jongwe is probably the only guy I know for sure soaks up pressure well. I remember him making Pakistan come out to bowl an extra day in a test. He enjoyed it. You need that mentality.

Jongwe he’s a shady guy him, I’d have him in my team every week. Find a place for him whatever the conditions said.

[Kriterion_BD]

My squad of guys with thoughts to follow:

1) Madhevere
2) Innocent
3) Williams
4) Ervine
5) Raza
6) Munyonga
7) Burl
8) Evans
9) Ngarava
10) Muzurabani
11) Chivanga
12) Wellington
13) Madande

Yes, I picked Wes. He’s the only guy outside of the Big 3 who I think has the raw ability to succeed vs a full member side. I think Shumba and Marumani would just get exposed against the Irish attack. ZIM doesn’t have a choice but to hope the pressure turns Wes into a diamond. Kids got the talent.

Munyonga did well against BD so he’s worth a shout. I’d give Clive a chance too though definitely not as a WK. No Jongwe please. He looked good vs the might of Rwanda and Tanzania, true…but against a Test nation he will probably fail. He’s not exactly young and inexperienced.

If the Big 3 call it a day, Burl should get a promotion up the order. I picked Wellington, even though I’ve never rated him because you need a specialist spinner and I don’t think he did worse than you’d expect in recent times.

Chivanga in for his pace and aggression.

[Pat_Bee]

Ya can’t take Ireland lightly. Some quality bowlers like Josh little.

We should be bossing them however, the boys need that mentality without being complacent.

All the games at HSC yo?

[Googly]

Welch is the interesting one. Talented of course but hasn't made his mark yet. He hasn't shown he is significantly better than the rest. If he struggles again in the next 2 series he might join Ben Curran on the sidelines

Will he not get 2-4 years to come right like everyone else?

I remember when I still had blind faith in Wes I once said that surely Wes playing 100 international games would be better than Welch who was in a world class system but barely getting professional games in.

County 2s as we can see is as good as a professional game but I have to ask is there pressure? Welch was thrown into a real pressure cooker situation first up and I'm thinking had he been in such a situation before?

I guess my main question is does he need more time to get used to the pressure?

He's essentially had to bat to save his life a few times, much like Curran, Byrom, Compton etc. Thats real pressure right there.
Something that very few of our players have ever had to do. Name me one player here who's had to walk in and perform because he's in Last Chance Saloon? Doesn't really happen here at all. The few half decent players will always get another shot and the favourites can mess up ad nauseum. Last Chance Saloon happens regularly in County. And when you're gone you're gone, you hit civvy street.

I accept though that this is even bigger pressure. Same boat though, he knows full well he's going to get 1% of the opportunities others will continually get.
An early unexpected opportunity and he didn't perform. Neither did any of the others really, barring Raza. One average shot, one good catch and a jaffer to get out if you dissect it. He didn't do anything stupid, he just got out before he got going, no worse than anyone else. Maybe he'd have made the difference in the Uganda game had he played? We'll never know. That was a dumb omission. Everyone's holding Chatara liable, maybe hold a couple of selectors responsible?

It's an odd situation. You're in the squad, but we're only going to give you a couple of goes if you don't make runs, even if no-one else makes runs either. To me that indicates there's politics in play. Whatever their decision is with him over the next year or so he'll always remain relevant because ultimately he's likely to do very well in domestic cricket.
He personally doesn't deserve half the opportunities Wes, for example, has had (nobody does), its the Zim team that needs him to have a fair crack of the whip because they're short of reliable openers. If they drop him after one poor outing yet persevere with others who are doing exactly the same year after year, you will have to question the motive. Have they seen enough of him to decide Maru, Kaia and Wes are better openers after one week of cricket?
We've just watched the NPL and the Pro 50 and he's played a lot better than they have. Hundreds of runs better.

[Pat_Bee]

Ya welch dawg is the man. Nerves of steel that kid developed on the lush green tracks of the county circuit. If he can get a decent run in the side he’ll prove his worth and play the next 15 years. He can’t rest on his laurels knowing he’s a better batter than everyone else though, ZC won’t afford him that without some credit in the bank. He is though, real deal this kid yo. You guys on the Knackerville bus Nicholas is the man to watch.