are we up to test standard or do we have the potential

[sloandog]

Ya I would much prefer to see Duffin in the line up opposed to Ebraham. 1: Duffin's got more shots, and 2: he has more talent with the bat.

[eugene]

I think I would rather see anyone in the line-up over Ebrahim, except Matsikenyeri of course!

[Zimfanatic69]

I think I would rather see anyone in the line-up over Ebrahim, except Matsikenyeri of course!

troll.

[sloandog]

No in fairness Stuey did bat well in the first game, but sounds like he lacks the fluency of an Ervine or a Chacava (again sorry for the poor spelling)

[eugene]

If only we had six Craig Ervine's.

[auszim]

For me Duffin would need to make the domestic team and have a fantastic season to be considered...him not being in our Zim XI squad makes me think he isnt up to it atm...

Anyone heard if tatenda has been signed by a franchise yet?

[ZIMDOGGY]

I think I would rather see anyone in the line-up over Ebrahim, except Matsikenyeri of course!

troll.

He aint trolling


Ebrahim cant make zim first grade side
-hes been cut from MIDWEST
-he cant make runs in england grade cricket
-he did nothing when he had a chance in the rebel years


and stus worse.


Ebrahim was a promising teenager and probably never kicked on, peaked too early. Never looks comfortable. He would get absolutely killed by a dale steyn or Gus mackay type thunderbolt.


Although hes a world class fielder who i admire in that sense.

[eugene]

Ebrahim always struggled and never looked fluent against anyone other than the minnows, much like Stuey.

[cricket_22001]

Whether Zimbabwe is up to test standard or not, the timing is perfect to resume full international duties.
What better way to woo ex-pats back to the country by having a full international calander after a prestige event like the World Cup. With regular first class cricket.
But you should be more upbeat about your competitiveness. Bangla may be improving but their record is an embarrassment (in all forms). You can't do worse. Even with all that has happened to Zim in recent years, would your record be as bad as Banglas?
NZ are usually competitive at home but you may catch them in Zimbabwe. Even Bangla had them on toast a few years ago but were Vettoried out of the game.
Pak is in dissarray in England at the moment & you may catch them on the hop. The batting is hopeless, they can't catch & by next year, injuries may have set in & IPL may have burnt out Md Amir. Md Asif could be on another drugs charge & Umar Gul looks good in tandom but is not a leader of a test attack. Plus, Mr Campbell will recall that Zim should have won a test in 93/94 only to be Waqared out. Zim are always competitive against Pak.
WI are in dissarray as well. Chanderpaul is 37 next year & Gayle could move to 20/20 if he loses the captaincy. At least twice Zimbabwe have had the WI on the rack in tests only to fail to deliver at the last hurdle. Your record against WI should be better.
Zim's record against SL is abysmal. But put a lot of it down to Murali. And Vaas. They're gone. And Jayawardene, Sanggakara, Dilshan & Samaraweera are aging. Sl are not nurturing their youth into the highest level. This is the reason behind Australia's drop in rankings. So this will be the best opportunity to confront SL. Especially in Zim.
Sorry, Jamthala, but India's batting is aging & I would really be worried about their #1 ranking. They play SA in SA then the WC & then England in England for 4 tests next year. Tendulkar & Dravid will be 38 & Laxman 37. Yuvraj hasn't cut it & the others contending for the middle order are inexperienced (yes, I know, Raina batted well but it was on a road)& may be lumbered with too much responsibility. Gambhir has an impressive record with 80% of his career on the sub-continent. He will be sorted out if he doesn't go the Wasim Jaffer road. And let's not forget that in India's win against SL, Malinga only bowled 6 overs on the final day. So Laxman can score against spinners & medium pacers(wow, that's new).
Sehwag won't change his style & could find himself like Lara was in the WI side. India's pace attack has a terrible injury record. So, as in the recent series against Sl, they may field their 3rd string attack.
Quite simply, I wouldn't expect to be competitive against Australia & Sth Africa. But you deserve better treatment from them instead of the occasional test(very occasional in Australia's case).
Now to England. As an Aussie, I am hoping England are being lulled into a false sense of security regarding their ability. Their last 6 tests have been against Bangla (4) & Pak (2) for 6 wins. But they would get more competition playing county cricket. But their medium pacers look as though they bowl hand grenades. Aussies fear them because they have a Zim coach - refer 2005 & 2009 ashes series. They have learnt how to have a scrap (see their results v SA 09/10. Should have lost 1-3, drew 1-1). Surely you would love to have a crack at the Poms with a Zim coach- just in the off chance you can ambush them.

[Robin]

Ballance will make a real difference to the batting line-up.

If Goodwin & Ervine can be persuaded back then the quality of the team will be better than when Zim were at their strongest in the late 90's.

However that team had 2 players (Andy Flower & Streak) who were exceptional test players and don't come around that often