Glamorgan and Durham to tour Zimbabwe

[CrimsonAvenger]

Apart from all the other hilariously bad selections already pointed out by SZ, isn't it a bit too early for even Bennett to be in these Zim Select sides? May be there aren't any better to make up the two sides anyway...

Also, was Alistair Frost also playing as an overseas player?

[Donald]

Probably a bit too early for bennet i would wager.

It looks like sikander raza has been papering over the cracks in zimbabwe cricket for a while now. The series wins against bangladesh and world cup qualification last year and super 12 qualification was mainly down to him.

And what the hell has happened to Mumbas bowling

[secretzimbo]

Apart from all the other hilariously bad selections already pointed out by SZ, isn't it a bit too early for even Bennett to be in these Zim Select sides? May be there aren't any better to make up the two sides anyway...

Also, was Alistair Frost also playing as an overseas player?

I believe he was registered as Overseas yes. Keeping his options open as he has both Irish and British passports I believe.

[Googly]

Probably a bit too early for bennet i would wager.

It looks like sikander raza has been papering over the cracks in zimbabwe cricket for a while now. The series wins against bangladesh and world cup qualification last year and super 12 qualification was mainly down to him.

And what the hell has happened to Mumbas bowling

No I think Bennet might be able to step up. Wes, Shumba and Myers had an early start and so should Bennet. I believe he has the potential and who else can we say that about?
They give young guys in County early opportunities and they generally have quite a few failures before the better ones work it out. They generally have better prep in County Two's where the bowling is almost as good as Ones.
This relentless line and length that they get is a tough ask for anyone not used to it.

[Googly]

The most important thing is to get off strike...and hope for a half volley or a drag down to settle the nerves

[secretzimbo]

I agree give Bennet some chances. Obvs not in the main side yet but no reason he shouldn’t be in this A side/North-South stuff. The alternative is Chari or Chibhabha so why not?

[Googly]

100%.
But he needs someone to really prep him. You can't just have some nets and hope for the best. In the absence of tight bowling in domestic you need a really sharp thrower and coach and give him nothing to hit and he has to figure out how to get runs. Weeks of prep, not a couple of sessions. Have a game plan.
These county guys are damned good, give you nothing and figure you out ina few balls. The tough one is actually figuring out how to get the spinners away, they generally bowl it flatter, you cant come out to it, don't often get one you can hit down the ground, so you need to dial in the sweeps, paddles, reverses and slog sweeps.

I'd be tapping into BT's knowledge and skills.

[Googly]

Madhevere is the worry for me. How does a guy of his ability keep failing? As a coach you really have someone with the necessary ability to do well at this level. He shows us now and then what he can do, but then the long periods of nothing. My point is if you can't sharpen him up then what chance do you have with guys who don't have his natural skills? One of the overseas guys actually said that if Madhevere was in County he'd be top of the pile by now. I'm not sure what he meant by that? Did he mean the higher standard of cricket is essential to improve or that the coaching or the system is the hurdle? Perhaps a combination of the above?
I don't think anyone doubts DH's credentials as a coach.

I once pointed out that many of these top batters have a go to guy outside of their team environment that perhaps works on stuff on a one on one basis, especially early in their careers or when they hit a slump.

It makes you realise how good Andy Flower was because he and his brother figured out a lot of stuff on their own and partnered each other for hours of practice.

[Donald]

It looks like cephas reigned it in a bit today. He started suprisingly slow then hit a few sixes to get his strike rate looking like the cephas we know.
Would have been nice to have seen the matches. Hope they have a ZC webcam thingy tomorrow

[mnelson68]

Seriously cannot believe the short sightedness of some people on here . Bennet needs exposure and should be playing and batting higher than 7 or 8 in these games . The bigger question for me is what has happened to Madhavere ? He has fallen of the cliff with his batting not to mention Munyonga who can't make a run either. By the way nobody mentions anything about the bowling , not much coming through in that department.