Enough with the Matsi bashing!
Recently in our T20 competition, this boy outperformed every single one of our international batsmen - Taylor&Hami included - and they didn't have to face Tait & Nannes! Tait and the Rhinos couldn't handle him, faring even worse at the second attempt, for what remains the greatest T20 knock of the season in Zimbabwe - by a Zimbabwean! For all of ten Doeschate's late upsurge in form, it was Matsi who got them to the final, all the more reason why they lost when he was run out on the way to a sure match winning performance as well as the bastmen of the tournament award. For easy comparison one need not look beyond the Eagles lineup, where the likes of ten Deoschate, Trego, Hamilton-Brown, Mutizwa, Elton, Chakabva, Hall & even the future in Nathan Waller - all batted alongside him and he was clearly a class above for the most part! Placed third in the T20 batting charts, and unsurprisingly finished as the #1 ranked Zimbabwean!The last T20 game he played for Zimbabwe at Hamilton, showed glimpses of what we can look forward to. Taylor had failed miserably in the first match while Hami made us wonder why, before he dropped himself to third, as Matsi showed him how to handle Bates & the new ball at international T20 level.
This is what he did in a Logan Cup match, to a Rhinos attack containing Rainsford, Chinouya, Nicholson, Mugava ! Something no other side could repeat. He also tamed a Mountaineers attack containing Shingi, Tiripano, Chatara, Utseya, Mushangwe & Maruma in their Pro50 match. Barring Madviza, all those bowlers are easily national team material! After dominating the Rhinos attack in the Logan Cup match, he went on to absolutely crush the same personal in what in my view was the best knock of the entire Pro50 season - displaying his ability and value in middle overs(when the 2nd powerplay should now be taken), as well as ability to finish the innings! One only wonders then why Matsi was sacrificed, or indeed forced, to open in ODIs, when his entire Pro50 record this season was built up at #4 onwards, yet the likes of Taibu, Waller & Elton showed time and again that they've been struggling to fulfill those roles in ODIs. Of the six Pro50 matches he played, he batted in positions these 5,4,4,5,6,6. He finished third in Pro50 batting charts.
It was unfair to throw him in to open in ODIs away in NZ, after his peers failed a Test match, and he was lacking match fitness far more than they all were, last opened ages ago, and was already overwhelmed at the mere fact of being recalled to the international side. Even Taylor at one point cherished the role, but now dreads and consistently fails at opening! The bulk of those 10yrs is irrelevant to him, as it is to most of our players! Apart from Vusi & Williams(who isn't even playing), few in Zimbabwe can claim to be as complete as he is. To even talk of dropping him from franchise level is downright ludicrous! With such impressive performances in the Pro50&T20 logs, what more do you want from him - hasn't he done enough to justify being a contender for the ODI&T20 sides? Isn't that what we call contributing at domestic level Jemisi? Not mention the fact that he led the Eagles admirably during the domestic season while he was at it, and unlike Brendan Taylor, showed just how humble he is by handing the captaincy to Hamilton-Brown, admitting that he's not qualified to captain under the complexities of the Twenty20 format!
For those nostalgic I will encourage you to think back to his Test performance against a WI side that had Gayle, Lara, Chanderpaul & Srwan, plus some decent batsmen in our side. Yet a 20yr old Matsi hit more sixes than everyone else combined, plus a proportionately superior share of the boundaries. An approach adopted despite the fact that he was on debut, and Zim were far from secure when he came to the crease. Young Taylor, after making his debut in the previous match, must have stood in awe at the opposite end and shortly thereafter from the stands witnessing a Matsi masterclass against Vaas&Murali's SL before a premature end. That prompted the reporter to describe this of him in the day's analysis - "Matsikenyeri....played a positive, at times daring, knock of 45 from the top of the order. He drove and slashed entertainingly before needlessly running himself out", and go on to state "he batted like a millionaire" in his match report. Multiple ODI examples* abound of opposition and attacks against whom he excelled(occasionally with ball in hand too), at various grounds all over the world, but frustratingly gave away his starts.
Matsi will remain a fixture in the side, whether you like it or not. He's entering the peak period, and just like Vusi, Hami & Taibu is at the right stage to deliver. With all that FC&International experience, a 24 Test average, and a 22ODI average are a good foundation for someone at that stage of their batting career. I believe he will kick on and all you Matsi haters will eat your own words. It's amazing that you fail to see evidence of class in Zim terms, but heap faith on players who are clearly out of their depth - far more than Matsi ever was during his lean periods.
*ODI Stats:
Bat1-3: inn42, runs823, avg19.59, sr72, 50s-4
Bat4-7: inn62, run1354, avg24.61, sr81.81, 50s-9
Home: inn44, run952, avg23.21, sr77, 50s-6
Away: inn50, run990, avg51.52, sr69, 50s-6
Neutral:inn15, runs263, avg20.23, sr70.69, 50s-1
What these stats reveal is that Matsi is a performer under any conditions. Of the current generation of bastmen, none of the rest can claim the same consistency, and potential to do even better wher that kind of consistency is concerned. What they also reveal is that at international level he is best in the middle to lower middle order, particularly the lower middle order - where he averages 28 at number six, and averages 34 at number seven. Coupled with evidence from the domestic circuit, our coaches should have known that when they opted to throw him in against the new ball instead!
Indeed someone here prophetically refers to him as a legend, and you dare not argue because 10-20 Tests later we will speak of him far more highly than we will of the likes of Carlisle&Wishart who will have significantly inferior stats to his!
Brendan Taylor, Vusi Sibanda and, to and extent Chris Mpofu are peaking, not Stuart. Price peaked in about 2009-2011, and is probably now on the decline.