[Match Thread] Zimbabwe v Ireland: 3rd ODI

[clikcspeed]

Masakadza???? This is what puts our middle order under pressure!!! That opening order needs to be fixed. I think Masakadza would be good at 5...

1 Taylor
2 Williams
3 ---?
4 Taibu
5 Masakadza
6 Ervine
7 Coventry
8 Chigumbura

[maehara]

Masakadza's usually fine opening with Taylor - he's just having a nightmare of a series.

Although that does raise the question of what to do with him, with the South Africa series just around the corner...

[clikcspeed]

At least our batters are being tested at chasing down totals. Too bad about our bowling though. Even though we want to improve our pace bowling it is clear that we should include as many spinners as possible when it counts (i.e. world cup) as that is where our strength lies.

100% agree! I wonder how that pace bolwer programme ended up? I think the way forward in this matter (pace bowlers) is to have our upcoming bowlers go all over the world SA, Oz, Pakistan and the UK to learn how the traits of swing and seam because heading to a test return with week pace performances like this is something that bothers me, (and the rest of you!) a lot!

[maehara]

I wonder how that pace bolwer programme ended up?

The guys that were indentified through that would have been true raw talent - a couple of years away from the national squad, unless one of them was truly exceptional. Plan was to farm the best of them out to the franchises and bring them up through that system with appropriate coaching - wasn't intended to be a quick fix.

[clikcspeed]

Masakadza's usually fine opening with Taylor - he's just having a nightmare of a series.

Although that does raise the question of what to do with him, with the South Africa series just around the corner...

my point exactly! no doubts he is a key contributor to the team - we need him. but losing early wickets is a problem. i hope he irons this out. the opening batsmen always have to wither the storm - even if they don't make a lot of runs, they have to stay for at least 12 - 15 overs, its all about pacing your innings

[clikcspeed]

Williams and Taibu doing well...

[Conant]

Masakadza???? This is what puts our middle order under pressure!!! That opening order needs to be fixed. I think Masakadza would be good at 5...

1 Taylor
2 Williams
3 ---?
4 Taibu
5 Masakadza
6 Ervine
7 Coventry
8 Chigumbura

Masakadza is perfectly fine opening. It's Taylor who needs to bat at five. He's a flat track bully and when the pitch is doing something he does absolutely nothing, his feet move to nowhere and he's gonna be exposed in South Africa. Masakadza is the long term solution up the order; he's just having a bad patch and even then its been only three matches.

The solution: bring in somebody fearless to open like Chibhabha. He should have been tested today

[maehara]

Wicket: Taibu (b Mooney 22). Zimbabwe 73/3 after 18.4 overs.

[maehara]

Wicket: Williams (c Dockrell b van der Merwe 74). Zimbabwe 116/4 after 24.5 overs.

[maehara]

Wicket: Ervine (c Johnston b Dockrell 14). Zimbabwe 117/5 after 26 overs