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Former Players Named, Eagles Beat Rocks PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 30 January 2010 19:56

THREE former Zimbabwe team cricketers could return to play for the country after they were included in the provisional squad for the West Indies tour. Standardsport understands that the national selectors have named batsman Murray Goodwin, all rounder Sean Ervine and Doug Marillier in the 30-strong provisional squad.


Zimbabwe is scheduled to leave for the Caribbean on February 23 to play five ODIs against the West Indies starting on February 28 in Trinidad.


Goodwin, who is an aggressive batsman, played 19 Test and 71 ODIs for the country before relocating to Australia in 2000.


Ervine was part of the “rebel” group of white players that clashed with the Zimbabwe Cricket administration in 2004 before leaving for Australia.


Marillier a right-handed opener quit the game at the end of 2004 and has been involved in his family’s real estate business since then.


The 31-year-old’s intention to return into the fold was shown when he played for the Red Lions in the domestic Twenty 20 competition last year.


Efforts to get a comment from the ZC chairman of selectors Alistair Campbell who recently returned from the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand were fruitless.


Meanwhile in a Logan Cup match that ended yesterday at Harare Sports Club Mashonaland Eagles beat Southern Rocks by an innings and 19 runs.


The Rocks are still searching for their first win in the competition and yesterday’s loss was their sixth. They have drawn four in the 10 matches they have played.


After posting a first innings score of 188 on the first day last Wednesday, the Rocks crumbled under pressure in their second innings and only managed to score 68 for nine yesterday.


This was far short from the 275 the hosts had scored in their first innings.


Eagles’ captain Elton Chigumbura was given the man-of-the-match award for his well-played 78 runs and six wickets during this match.


Provisional Squad
Elton Chigumbura, Sean Ervine, Doug Marillier, Goodwin, Greg Lamb, Sean Williams, Forster Mutizwa, Trevor Garwe, Raymond Price, Chatara, Tawanda Mupariwa, Kyle Jarvis, Chris Mpofu, Brendan Taylor, Nyumbu, Vusi Sibanda, Dion Ebrahim, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Taurai Muzarabani, Greg Strydom, Garvin Ewing, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Charles Coventry, Tatenda Taibu, Edward Rainsford, Chamu Chibhabha, Prosper Utseya

Zimbabwe gets serious about return to Test cricket

http://www.mg.co.za

JOHN KELLEY | HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Jan 16 2010 06:49

After seven years in the cricket wilderness, Zimbabwe is at last showing
real potential for a possible return to full Test status.

A new league structure of regional first class matches, funded jointly by
the International Cricket Council (ICC) and local sponsors, is energising
the game here.

Players are being paid US dollar match fees, win bonuses and awards for
centuries or five-wicket hauls.

Under a team of full-time coaches headed by David Houghton and former
national captain Heath Streak, about 80 young and experienced players have
shown such progress over the last three months that convener of national
selectors Alistair Campbell predicts Zimbabwe will be playing Tests in two
years. Houghton believes it might only be one year.

Cricket in Zimbabwe was getting nowhere after being forced out of Tests
following a series of embarrassingly bad results.

Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England were the main instigators by declining to
meet future commitments.

But instead of rebuilding a first class domestic league and concentrating on
three- or four-day matches, they almost exclusively played the quick-fire
versions.

All that changed with an exploratory visit to Zimbabwe last year by former
West Indies captain Conrad Hunte at the head of an ICC delegation. Hunte
hatched a plan designed to springboard Zimbabwe's return to Tests.

His idea was for franchised teams to be established in five main regions
with local characteristics and names such as the Mountaineers (Eastern
Districts), Southern Rocks (Bulawayo) and Mashonaland Eagles (Harare) so as
to foster healthy rivalry within a first-class professional league
structure.

It began with the new 2009-10 season in September.

Kenyon Ziehl, who runs the Midlands team, said: "Our league is fully
professional on player salaries, each regional franchise having a chief
executive, general manager, enthusiastic committee and proper accounting.

"Because of this set-up our national squad will consequently get better and
better and there are early signs of this."

As it happens, Zimbabwe remains on the official ICC "forward programme" of
Tests with series scheduled this year against the West Indies, Australia and
England. These won't happen, but the fixtures have not been removed.

According to Houghton, a former senior Zimbabwe batsman (he once scored 266
runs against Sri Lanka), "Once we get the fast bowling sorted out by Heath
Streak as national bowling coach -- it is presently not up to strength -- I
reckon we will be ready."

Houghton has been working with national coaching director Andy Waller, a
former Test all-rounder, and other coaches.

The new Zimbabwe league has already attracted several former Test players,
such as Dion Ebrahim, Hamilton Masakadza (a recent double century), Vusi
Sibanda (averaging 100 in the league), Tatenda Taibu and John Rennie.

There are also efforts being made to secure the return, in the England
off-season, of Sean Ervine (Hampshire) and Murray Goodwin (Sussex), the
latter in recent years being consistently at or near the top of the English
County Cricket batting averages.

In addition, Ray Price, Greg Lamb (Northants), Rickey Wessels (son of former
South Africa captain Kepler), Graeme Cremer, Gavin Ewing, Elton Chigumbura,
present captain Prosper Utseya and Charles Coventry (197 runs in a recent
ODI) form the basis of a national squad.

They will be off to the West Indies next month for ODI's and Twenty-20s.

Ziehl foresees a series of four-day matches being arranged "before very
long" against Test nation sides so as to provide further experience and
incentive.

Good results from such matches will be critical if they are they to presage
a formal application by Zimbabwe Cricket to the ICC for a new and
rejuvenated Zimbabwe to resume its place as a Test cricket nation. - AFP

There are also efforts being made to secure the return, in the England
off-season, of Sean Ervine (Hampshire) and Murray Goodwin (Sussex), the
latter in recent years being consistently at or near the top of the English
County Cricket batting averages.

former West Indies captain Conrad Hunte

zimfan1 wrote:Just noticed there are only 28 names so surely Cremer will be one of the two missing names.