Mind games vs Bangladesh

[brmtaylor.com admin]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/zimbabwe-v- ... 24674.html

I think we are, but I won't say that we are too far ahead of them since we're playing in their weather and conditions and playing after a good gap. But still, I think we're the favourites," Shakib said during the pre-tour press conference in Mirpur on Monday.

Shakib says "I think we're the favourites". Taylor should now do an interview and say that Bangladesh are the clear favourites; the more the Bangladeshi's believe it, the more likely they are to be complacent. I'm not trying to say that Bangladesh aren't the favourites, I'm sure the bookies will have them firmly placed to beat Zimbabwe - but if Shakib is openly saying this (he seems to be a straight shooter) then I'd hazard a guess that in the dressing rooms the sentiment is much stronger. And if recent tours have taught us anything it's that Zimbabwe do have a tendency to start series well and are not as far below Bangladesh as the rankings suggest.

The conventional wisdom around here was that the 3-day tour match might be used as a final assessment on the likes of Jarvis, Meth, Vitori, Chakabva, Mutizwa etc. I am now starting to think that, from a purely strategic perspective, this might not be the wisest move. For starters the Bangladeshi's have never seen Vitori before (that I am aware of) - there's no video footage either so there's no way of planning against him. And as for the others, if there is any chance of them making the Test team I don't think they should play the tour match.

From a Zimbabwean perspective, the lightest possible workout for the Bangladeshi's is the best result so that they can feel the full impact of a Zimbabwean Test team fresh off some gruelling matches against high quality opposition... if Bangladesh have only been playing against their academy side, there's no reason to wake the sleeping tiger by making the tour match anything other than a formality for them.

By all means the tour match should be used to give some game time to up and comers... perhaps the third tier of players, the Staddon's, Mushangwe's, N Waller's of the country who can gain some valuable experience but shouldn't push Bangladesh. I am sensing that psychologically the Zimbabwe Test team could gain a little advantage if the tour match is played in this manner.

This is only a theory though. What do you guys think? If there is a chance to have a slight mental edge should we do it, or should the warm-up be used to get more game time into those still potentially fighting for a spot in the Test team?

[eugene]

I understand your point, but I don't know if we are quite in a position to send out a team of stragglers to play Bangladesh. Most of our players are desperately short of experience in the longer format. Bangladesh are certainly the favourites and I doubt many would argue that.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Yeah, I'm not arguing that either.

The burning questions in my mind were whether an extra 3 days worth of experience for a potential Test starter would make a difference and would a wake up call to Bangladesh ahead of the Test match (supposing they under-performed against a reasonably strong Zimbabwe XI in the tour match) significantly detriment Zimbabwe's chance?

[ZIMDOGGY]

We need it
Some player wars still on,
Meth v vitori
Ervine v Regis
Prosper v whoever
Maybe throw a fit taibu or cremer there or call up Williams

The warm ups have been beyond valuable so far

[Boundary]

I think I agree with brm here. South Africa kept Imran Tahir a secret before the world cup and I think at times this tactic is useful. We're playing only one Test, so if Vitori is unleashed from the blue then Bangladesh won't have a second match to adjust to him.Besides, I believe Vitori has now nailed his spot against Bangladesh at least, so let's use the warm ups to fix problems that need fixing. Question marks over Ervine, Chakabva, Meth and Utseya need to addressed. So the warm up games should have only those players coupled with upcoming stars.

[sloandog]

Is Vitori rumoured to have some cutting edge about him ?
I hope does! A left arm fast bowler...god we've never had one have we..? Well there was Malcolm Jarvis but he was just solitary medium pace, right arm runs in my opinion.

In terms of what BRM said, i totally agree. Give the likes of Nathan Waller, Gavin Ewing, Staddon, Maruma (maybe even Callum Price) a go, and when we come to face them in the test match, guys like Vitori and perhaps Kyle Jarvis will do well.

[canvas]

Is Vitori rumoured to have some cutting edge about him ?
I hope does! A left arm fast bowler...god we've never had one have we..? Well there was Malcolm Jarvis but he was just solitary medium pace, right arm runs in my opinion.

In terms of what BRM said, i totally agree. Give the likes of Nathan Waller, Gavin Ewing, Staddon, Maruma (maybe even Callum Price) a go, and when we come to face them in the test match, guys like Vitori and perhaps Kyle Jarvis will do well.

N Waller still recovering from injury and C.Price in U.K. But I do agree we need to try some of the "third Tier" to find out if any of them have dog F in them as it seems many of our National players don't seem to appreciate it when they put on their National colours. More interested in what they earn rather than competing with pride.

[hhm]

That's an interesting way of looking at it BRM. I agree in part, but I don't think that's completely the way to go about things though. Put yourself in the minds of the current group of players for a second. Don't you think messing around with the players to feature in the warm-up game will send the wrong message to the guys who feel their being selected to feature in it is a sign that they are next in line? It will definitely cloud a lot of their perceptions about the direction we are taking. No amount of explanation that this is some ploy, can justify to them that their places are secure in the event that any of these fringe players perform beyond expectations. I think takleg gave us insight into what he chatted about with Utseya and co, so that shows such a move would be ill-advised.

Where I'm in harmony with you is that, at this very moment, we should be certain about who is our first XI and who is our second XI. If say Vitori is in the Test XI then he shouldn't play, but if he isn't then why not. Our Second XI should play hard in the first and try to push/'dominate' Bangladesh as much as they can, and hopefully our First XI will follow that up with a win. We need to send out amessage that our cricket is on the up and we've a got terrific first team and a handy group of options to back them up. The point we seek to prove is beyond the result of this solitary Test match. We are out to prove that Zimbabwe Cricket as a whole is better than Bangladesh Cricket! So in a nutshell: pick your Test XI and make sure none of them play in the tour match, but pick your best Zim XI and they should give Bangladesh a real test in the tour game!

[Kriterion_BD]

It certainly is an interesting catch-22 for the selection team. I'll start by saying what I would do if I were a Zim selector/manager.

I would only play a select few players who have a chance of featuring in the Test XI. So perhaps Vitori and maybe Chakabva or someone. If I thought there was a good chance they would get picked (eg Meth, Ervine) I would probably not play them. The time to test them was against Aus A and other sides. You want to have as much of an advantage as possible when going into an important match/series.

As for a good start to a series indicating relative strength, I disagree with BRM. Falling away over the course of a series might indicate that the opposition has figured you out and has made adjustments, whereas you've been unable to adjust. At this level, all teams have extraordinary talent and skills, its often the subtle adjustments that determine whether you win or lose the series. No one makes drastic changes in technique or experiences drastic improvements in mental or physical ability in the course of a series.

As for Shakib's statements, I believe that Bangladesh does indeed believe they are the favorites, and I agree with BRM that the dressing room sentiment is probably much stronger. My personal fear is that Bangladesh may be complacent and fall behind in the first innings, although I hope that is not the case. Regardless, this should be an interesting series.

[ZIMDOGGY]

We talk about hiding vitori from the world as a secret weapon but cmon really.

Vitori is many things, he's a good up n comer but at the end of the day he is a fringe bowler for zimbabwe. This is not a concealed WMD,
This is ZCF getting into a frenzy again,

Let Brian just improve at his own pace and let him soak up all the experience he can get and who knows.... He might gather some useful info during the warm up with the bangers that he can then polish refine and use against them in the test, and be the nuclear warhead after all...