Zim U19 Squad for South Africa Series

[maehara]

Again, just received from ZC:

1. Brian Chari
2. Stephen Chimhamhiwa
3. Gary Chirimuta
4. Tinotenda Chiwara
5. Atish Chouhan
6. Scott Daly
7. Kevin Hook
8. Edzai Jaure
9. Roy Kaia
10. Innocent Kaia
11. Malcolm Lake
12. Dean Mazhawidza
13. Tinashe Mhola
14. Peter Moor
15. Simon Mugava
16. Kudakwashe Munyede
17. Tinotenda Mutombodzi
18. Callum Price
19. Kudzai Sauramba
20. Tom Stone
21. Nathan Waller

[aydee]

Only Higgins, Mushangwe, Lindsay, Muzhange, Zambuko & Chatara were in the u-19 world cup squad, but this side. Mushangwe & Chatara will be playing in Europe with the Zim XI, and Higgins is playing club cricket in the UK. I guess that means this is very much the strongest eligible side, rather than looking to build a team for the next world cup. After the performances at this year's world cup, that makes plenty of sense, as even this side's competitiveness against SA might be a worry.

[sloandog]

Will this side win trophys though...
We gave our boys all that praise going into the 2010 Tournament and look what happened

[aydee]

Will this side win trophys though...
We gave our boys all that praise going into the 2010 Tournament and look what happened

That's the issue with junior sides. Going into tournaments, there is virtually nothing to base any praise on, other than for the few who have already played franchise cricket. I can't imagine that this side is going to beat SA, but hopefully they will be better than the abject efforts at the world cup.

[sloandog]

Will this side win trophys though...
We gave our boys all that praise going into the 2010 Tournament and look what happened

That's the issue with junior sides. Going into tournaments, there is virtually nothing to base any praise on, other than for the few who have already played franchise cricket. I can't imagine that this side is going to beat SA, but hopefully they will be better than the abject efforts at the world cup.

Fingers crossed ay..

[maehara]

Personally, whether the age-group sides win or lose is almost irrelevant - it's not really an indicator of future performance (case in point: Nepal are an U19 powerhouse, and yet they can barely compete at the senior level, even against other Associates). It's more about getting the players used to the routine that goes along with national tours, and giving them experience of playing in tournaments, in different conditions, and against different styles of play - the things you don't get playing in the school or franchise circuits.

That's not to say that winning isn't nice, of course - just not the be-all and end-all of the series.

[aydee]

Personally, whether the age-group sides win or lose is almost irrelevant - it's not really an indicator of future performance (case in point: Nepal are an U19 powerhouse, and yet they can barely compete at the senior level, even against other Associates). It's more about getting the players used to the routine that goes along with national tours, and giving them experience of playing in tournaments, in different conditions, and against different styles of play - the things you don't get playing in the school or franchise circuits.

That's not to say that winning isn't nice, of course - just on the be-all and end-all of the series.

Fair. Also worth pointing out that the job of age group teams is actually to produce one or two outstanding individuals per year group, rather than necessarily a good team.