gary brent

[r@ndom]

so who will replace him from now on then?
the fact that there are no fixtures coming up means there is time to decide
i think they will just stick with mupariwa personally
but what other options are there besides people like mpofu who havn't hurt the better teams
who does everyone think will and should replace Brent in the XI

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Yeah, Mupariwa - who's been in and out of the team for some time - should get a fairly permanent role now. He is a ready made replacement in more ways than one.

There is his bowling, which speed wise is similar, probably a bit slower:

Gary Brent (max 120 kmh · avg 110 kmh)
Brent has lost a lot of the pace he had a decade ago, in some part due to injury. Now his specialty is a nagging line and length, as he demonstrated against Australia in the Twenty20 World Cup, but if the pitch doesn't suit him he can be exposed for a lack of variation. Generally, Brent also opens the bowling, but if a quicker option is available, such as Christopher Mpofu or Tawanda Mupariwa, he will be first change. He has an interesting slower ball, despite a massive grant during the delivery it can go as slow as 90 kmh, perhaps deceiving some batsmen.

Tawanda Mupariwa (max 110 kmh · avg 100 kmh)
A bowler in the same mould as Gary Brent, Mupariwa's speed is surprisingly a touch slower, with most deliveries in the high 90's.

Let's not forget that Mupariwa is still very young, and with the right coaching should be able to bowl much faster, unlike Brent who as he grew older was only going to lose pace.

They both rely more on nagging line and length than any pace or swing. Mupariwa has a decent off-cutter I believe, which wouldn't be surprising. When you've got no pace, you have to rely a lot on variation.

Mupariwa's batting has become decent in recent years. Gary Brent is a solid batsman, and could bat as high as the lower middle order (just thinking back to his 59 against South Africa). Mupariwa has shown he is no bunny (33[?] against Bangladesh in the famous last ball six match, plus some decent returns in this Logan Cup)... certainly, Mupariwa should be averaging somewhere between 10 and 15 with the bat in ODI's.

There are some other options, Taurai Muzarabani - which none of us, bar zimdan maybe, have seen play. Ed Rainsford of course, if we are looking for someone with a bit of real pace and the team management decide to do away with the slowish medium pacers. As you say, Mpofu is a possibility, but I'm of the belief that the selectors would only select him on a pitch suited to quick bowlers, maybe a pitch with a bit of bounce on it. He wouldn't really be a replacement for Gary Brent, rather Mpofu would be selected in his own right, because the conditions suit him. Then there are the spinners, which we have an abundance of - Graeme Cremer, Timycen Maruma, Tafadzwa Kamungozi... all options. But with Ray Price and Prosper Utseya in the same team, 3 spinners is unlikely.

I think Tawanda Mupariwa being his permanent replacement would be a good bet at the moment.

[Chubb]

I say Rainsford should come in, because of his pace. If we end up returning to test cricket we are going to need someone who bowls consistently higher than 80 Mph which he can do, and can play the "strike bowler" role. We have seen from the games he has played that when conditions are in his favour he can unsettle international players, and that is exactly what we need. His lack of ability with the bat is not that much of an issue considering the abundence of allrounders we currently possess (and always have possessed). Rainsford and Chigumbura taking the new ball in a test would be a decent prospect for us.

[jimbo]

I second that Chubb. Rainsford is a great little player who has sometimes been unfortunate to play in a side that hasnt got enough runs on the board for him to be effective. Worringly though he missed the last match for centrals so providing he is still in the country i would get him in sooner rather than later!!

[zulu]

Id go with mupariwa as the replacement for brent hes not that slow in the MTN domestic champs he was bowling around the 120 kph he can hit 130kph on an effort ball. In pakistan he bowled very slow but im sure their was a reason behind that. he swings the ball into the right hander and bowls a good line and length which is similar to brent.

Id like to say Id try out 1 of the young guys who havent played an international match but I havnt seen any of them play so if we played another seamer Id have to go with Mpofu, with a bit more work he could become a really good bowler hes tall and gets good bounce all the basics are there he just needs to gain a yard of pace and learn to put the ball in the right areas and hed be a qaulity bowler.

[Mueddie28]

I second that Chubb. Rainsford is a great little player who has sometimes been unfortunate to play in a side that hasnt got enough runs on the board for him to be effective. Worringly though he missed the last match for centrals so providing he is still in the country i would get him in sooner rather than later!!

Replace Utseya with Gary Brent