2nd Test WI vs Zimbabwe at Roseau, Mar 20-24, 2013

[zimlover]

Supporting zim cricket is like being in a abusive relationship, day in day out its pain,the way the game is adminstered in zim gives me little hope that this current crop of players our ispiring players will want to even play their souls out, i am better off supporting the Aussies watching a few games at the MCG no pain involved in that... I will still have my zim pride but i wont really follow them as i have been doing its rather painfull, turning my back on them seem s like the only appropriate action

[sloandog]

Supporting zim cricket is like being in a abusive relationship, day in day out its pain,the way the game is adminstered in zim gives me little hope that this current crop of players our ispiring players will want to even play their souls out, i am better off supporting the Aussies watching a few games at the MCG no pain involved in that... I will still have my zim pride but i wont really follow them as i have been doing its rather painfull, turning my back on them seem s like the only appropriate action

I admit it's tempting isn't it, the way we played just throws all the hard work on the ground

[zimlover]

I am totally disappointed this bunch has had so many excuses since their conception and they have not made any consistent progress. Beign a black african I must admit black empowerment destroyed Zim cricket, now we have a range of problem racialy bias ect

[dang8811]

My report and analysis on the Test and the tour. http://www.cricketworld.com/shillingfor ... /33751.htm

Any thoughts?

[samedwards]

Guys, I'll say it again. The game at home is at risk, time for desperate measures. Suspend the Future tours and downgrade them to "A" tours. Flush the current lot down the drain (let them continue with the Logan Cup, where their talents are appropriate) bring in the likes of Mushangwe, Lake, Raza and keep a few recent debutants (like Jarvis, Vitori) and form a young, hungry group. Pour the ICC money we've just received into an intensive 18 month, non stop, worldwide "A" tour: against SA provinces, 2nd division county sides, NZ 1st class and Aus states, all over the subcontinent. Give them Heath Streak and Grant Flower, a physio, an analysis team. Give them captain Ray Price. Eat, sleep, play cricket. Non-stop. Learn to win, learn not to be afraid of: conditions, 90 mph balls, decent spin. Learn to win. This lot learnt to lose when they were young, being thrust into intensely intimidating circumnstances in 2003/2005 and they have never unlearned that habit. This is the nuclear option. Excercise it now, otherwise we are out.

Agree with the A team part. I would also like to see Zimbabwe A back in the Intercontinental Cup. That will get the youngsters exposure to different conditions right from the swinging conditions in Ireland to spinning tracks in the UAE.

[BritishBulldog]

We are the cricket equivalent of the San Marino football side

[eugene]

My report and analysis on the Test and the tour. http://www.cricketworld.com/shillingfor ... /33751.htm

Any thoughts?

Inept is certainly the right word. Is cricketworld your site or just one you work for?

[Boundary]

How about we keep the current players and send them on an intense 18-month tour? You can pour all the money you want into Malcolm Lake, he isn't going to be as good as Sibanda, Taylor, Masakadza.

Vusi is 29 years old, I remember championing him here some 4 years ago. Utseya is almost 28 years old, Hami edging towards 30, Williams and Cremer 26, Waller 28. These aren't youngsters, we can't be teaching them now, only for them to retire whilst still learning - that's a waste of resources. What I'm suggesting is investment that can, that should be reaped and that can only happen by concentrating on guys with a longer horizon ahead of them: Chatara is 22 for instance.

I'm not suggesting we shut off everything, we still need the first class infrastructure and Utseya, Vusi and Williams will all be valuable there. What I want is to secure international cricket for Zimbabwe. At this rate we won't have any. The WI had decent crowds for us and their board didn't even get to make more money because we couldn't push both Tests into the weekend. So do you think they'll extend invitations again? We should just settle for non-stop Bangladesh clashes and at this rate even they won't find value in them, not if they can score 600 against Sri Lanka and test themselves against better opposition. Another dismal showing at home and next year we won't play anyone again and we'll be back to square one.

So if Hami, Mawoyo, Taylor and Vusi keep on losing their wickets for a combined 60 runs, what it means is that Mushangwe, Lake and every promising youngster we have will not play international cricket - guaranteed. This crop is killing the goose. To stop the rot, we have to take drastic measures. And what I've suggested is a one-off plan of action, a pause in the international calendar to allow the next gen to step up. We don't want to repeat what happened before, throwing school kids into the deep end, in the glare of the media. What I want is for them to get walloped by New South Wales, for instance, away from the spotlight for two games in a row but giving them all the support to learn and come fighting back in the 3rd game. Do the same in all the countries we tour and in 2014 Zim might actually have a Test team, battle hardened fighters. Set a firm date, say, against Sri Lanka in Colombo or NZ in Auckland - for the official return to Test (with a full fixture list after that) and make it a target to win it. If well articulated this plan will get ICC support.

Right now the whole team gives itself a free pass in losing games and the rot has set in. My way guarantees at least a few more years of Test status and a fighting chance of keeping it long term. Asking the current crop to secure the Test status for the country is a non starter. These guys are defeatists, they won't even fight for their own salaries, they won't fight for their coaches being treated unreasonably and they won't fight on the field in face of adversity. It's a pattern.

[eugene]

But we have already taken this path. We brought in new young players after the rebels and our international commitments were essentially frozen, other than constantly playing Kenya and Bangladesh, we played plenty of A series, we played in the South African domestic tournament. Sounds a lot like your current plan.

[Boundary]

No, not if it's a genuine tour. Select a sufficient number of youngsters, tell them the goal, give them support, then tour properly. Spend two months in SA, fly to Aus for 3 months, hop to NZ, then go hang out in the subcontinent for a good 6 months, England, West Indies. 18 months intensive. Foster a good, competitive spirit. By the time they graduate they'd know what to expect. And if they are young enough, not married and hungry, it might just work. But you can't teach old dogs new tricks.