NPL 2025

[Googly]

Sogo have enuf players to produce 2 good sides.
They'd have to qualify their second side, but realistically to move forward faster they should just get a direct injection into Vine Cup at least. Why make them wait a year when we can immediately introduce another real quality side into the club system?

[CholeZimbo]

We also get too political here. Doesn’t matter what club and what race plays at the end. If two teams form a rivalry then so be it. Good competition. Most leagues will naturally have 2 or 3 dominant teams either way. No need to fester the “Black vs White” agenda especially in these domestic competitions. Whether Takaz wins forever, really is insignificant in a sport that’s mainly for national teams. Of course I have issues at national team selection where there are biases.

[Googly]

Well that's been the problem here-
They let club die for many years, it was the very heartbeat of all our sports here, not just cricket.
It's about as grass roots as we want to get.
Its absolutely essential to have a vibrant and competitive club situation. Why should it just be window dressing?
Its the same as the franchises, its just window dressing, with coaches and players being chopped and changed and having represented multiple franchises. It becomes meaningless. Why should 150-300 players play meaningless sport just for an ICC box ticking exercise? Thats exactly why we've got such a shit standard of cricket where coaches dont even bother attending practices or games It just doesnt matter who wins or loses.

The only white guys that really play club cricket are guys who think they've got a realistic chance at the national side.
Does nobody want a situation where we can find 50-100 whites and 30-40 Asians who just want to play a reasonably high standard of competitive club cricket just for the hell of it like in the old days? I guess that's a firm no. That lets the genie out the bottle. The next minute they'll want club games to be run properly and have a say.

Takaz is the absolute yardstick- when they stop monopolising players and dont win a thing for 3 years we know there's competition and balance in the system.

[tawac]

But thats the thing innit. If Takas and Rangers are more inclusive then it stops being a black and white thing Hahaha which it clearly is. ZC can do soo much better if they wanted to. Make cricket worth while for all those involved. Its sad really but thats the boat we are in ATM. Imagine playing at whole tournament for a Prize Money of 1k.

[Googly]

Sogo had black guys from the get go. There was a period where they weren't available because they were playing various national and A games so they did field predominantly white sides and it was the Takaz admin that highlighted that fact.
Then I think it was Hamilton who was calling Maru a token black because he was batting at 7 or 8 but opening for Zim. How insulting is that?
Fact is he'd been absent and its such a strong line-up that you don't just walk back in to where you want. It also says something about national selections when Sogo admin feel there are guys who can bat up front at least as well as Maru, if not better. That was the real nitty gritty of the issue.
Melch didnt play a few games and had to bat at 6 before he made his way up. Can't put a racial slant on that, so it was conveniently ignored.
Falao got read the riot act if he turned out out for Sogo again. Why? Just let the young guys who dont have an axe to grind play where they want.
Takas are not the poster boys for inclusivity, nobody believes that They wouldn't be inviting anyone if they weren't feeling the pressure. I mean theyve had fixtures where they couldn't even field a side. Let Knackers, BT and Raza walk in when they feel like it and take 3 Takas spots and see how the players feel. They'll rightfully be pissed off, but of course they'll just smile and wave and say fuck all. They know dictators are in charge.

Blignauts are also playing a political game thinking Takas will stand them in good stead. That's not lost on anybody and it will bite them in the end. Playing for a side for political gain?
C'mon, lets move on from that. Everyone is ready except Takaz/ZC. Even the bulk of the takaz players themselves are sick of it.

I like the Gladiators boys. They're closed shop and dont open their ranks for anybody. If you're not from the Hood you can fuck off. You can only respect that. They play tough competitive cricket.

It shouldn't be about the money at club level. Its supposed to be amateur cricket. So when ZC offer 30k or whatever, when they think the dice are loaded in their favor is just poor behaviour. The prize money doesnt seem to get to the players, whoever wins anyway
I forget the side and the manager that won the T20 a few years back and claimed he was trying to build a club and most of the very useful money vanished.
Easy solution- call the cops, recover the money and ban him from cricket for life, but of course it didnt happen

[eugene]

Tribalism is the very ethos of club level sport, bitter rivalries increase the pressure and tension. As Googly says, if all the matches are meaningless it all becomes nothing more than a training run.

[Andy31]

Googly you make such a great point.

Not everyone is going to make it to first class but who is helping someone be the best player they can be. Its actually how club culture thrives.The feeling you get is only a few clubs are doing this.

[tawac]

The NPL seemed to have brought a fresh take on Zim club cricket. And with Rangers coming on board that has made Takas pull up their socks. Its no more business as usual with them steaming through everyone. There is a lot at stake in the NPL actually. Averages determine who gets an FC contract or not. Or maybe that just counts for none PONI players. But it seems there is a lot to play for, especially for the fringe players.

[Googly]

Its a bit strange. ZC recognise that we need to improve our club cricket so they make another club competition which is more important than Vigne cup. Theres a big cash prize at stake as well.
Vigne is now a B type league and then suddenly it goes up a notch for NPL. I'm not knocking it all, just trying to understand it. The only weird thing is they make it nationwide and there are some really obscure clubs involved. That calling all pockets nationwide inclusivity is the reason why ZC say club stats dont count! There's nobody we've missed hiding in Kadoma. Youve now got a lot of the big players playing amongst guys that are really ordinary.
Sogo could put out a second side that beats most teams yet they have to go thru a long process to qualify that team.
If Takashinga play Sogo for example they should absolutely count. Thats a much higher level of cricket than franchise.

It can also only be relevant if they stop guys jumping from vigne cup sides that didnt qualify to NPL sides.
Again the problem is guys dont take early season vigne cup sides too seriously and then if they dont make the NPL the NPL is now weakened because some better players are missing. Its a tough one and needs more thought.

[Googly]

Theres a little window at the beginning of the club season around February where nobody wants to play.