Zimbabwe Vs Namibia | 2nd T20I | 25th Oct 2023

[Dr_Situ(ZimFanatic)]

Zimbabwe is not forgotten at the Cricket World Cup in India
https://x.com/drsitu/status/17172168469 ... FXCYeozrRg

[TapsC2]

Craig will never be useful in a high scoring T20. It's just not his thing and honestly it's time to move on from him in T20s. Mumba getting a second over after that horror first over was also a shocker. Making their lives complicated for no reason

[zimfan1]

Wes and Welch must open surely. Wes is at his most dangerous in the first few overs, coming in at number 6 is not making the best use of his abilities as he is not a power hitter.

[Donald]

That is our best come from behind win ever, I reckon.
Unbelievable from Raza.
We were dead and buried.
If they don't figure out how to bowl at Van Lingen we will be chasing 230 next game.
I don't know whether Mumba meant to bowl those half trackers in the first over?
I'm sure he knows what to do, but that was a bad over.
Those Namibians didn't bowl one bouncer.
Theyre a better, more organised side than us and its worrying.
I think Nick Welch might do ok for us, against decent bowling he was doing ok, missed out on 3 six balls that he bottom edged from that one end. It was bouncing one side and staying low the other. That would have changed the game a lot.
I was really surprised they sent Craig in next when it was clear Kaia was struggling. The two of them all but bottled that, were it not for Raza. You just can't have two guys not getting going at the crease at the same time chasing 200.
I mean one quiet over puts you behind, they had nearly 3 quiet overs, we were 30 runs behind the rate at the 13th over.
I really think Madhevere needs to open with NW. That's the best opening combo with the players that are in that touring party. It's absolutely critical to be around 50 in the power play, we were at 30 and Welch had 25 of them. If they don't fix that immediately only another Raza miracle will get us over the line.
Ainsley bowled well. A couple of shit deliveries that got sent but otherwise it was tidy.
Craig needs to float between 3 and 5 depending on the situation. He should never have come in when he did.
Burl is a good bowler, but there's always that one poor delivery in the over. He needs to fix that.
Madande came in when it was on a knife edge and nearly bottled it. Went for a wild swing at a ball a meter over his head and got bat on it. Lucky not to get caught. That's a guy in panic mode. His sole job had to be to get Raza on strike.

We really need Blessing and Brad back. We need Williams.
Luke and Chats have to surely be on borrowed time in T20.
We did not bowl half as well as Associate bowlers. It was poor.
Namibia are a good side though, we've seen that clearly.

We really need to win this next game and the series. They need to put the best players on the park and not be experimenting. Experiment if you've won the series and it's a dead rubber. We will be more than lucky to beat these guys.
It's their bowling. They bowl tighter than us.

I think kaia did OK ultimately from that big over when he plundered 15 or so. I think Ervine is actually the one on borrowed time. However If you bin the guy from twenty twenties though which is needed will he throw his teddies out the pram and retire from tests and ODI also? That's the format where he is needed. Some hard conversations are needed though.
Keen to see more new blood such as matt welch and musikewa. Trevor gwandu for chatara would also be pleasing. Musikewa needs to be looked at as jongwes long term replacement.

[ZIMFAN]

Looking terrific out there Doc!

[CalZim]

Zimbabwe is not forgotten at the Cricket World Cup in India
https://x.com/drsitu/status/17172168469 ... FXCYeozrRg

Legend!

[TapsC2]

Crazy how Raza has gotten so good he can just brute force his way to wins over associates.

What I find amazing is how his 6 hitting zone has increased drastically over the last 24 or so months. He used to score 6s predominantly off the back foot with his different pull shots now he can hit them straight back with ease. Just a few years ago PJ was the only one who could hit them straight like that and only off spin bowling. Must be all the tournaments he is playing.

[TapsC2]

I always used to think Raza would go down as a Alistair Campbell or Craig Ervine type of Zim legend but with the way he is playing he might give BT and Sean a run for their money when it comes to our best ever limited overs players. He looks like he could play until 2027 too which will give him a real advantage. Sean Williams would easily take the crown if they miraculously convinced him to actually turn up but we all know that's unlikely.

[Googly]

You have to take advantage of the powerplay. Ideally you need to be around the 50 mark and maybe one down, two down and you're a probably a little bit behind.
You just can't have one guy having to going after it and the other guy scoring 7 off 15 or whatever. Its about partnerships. Sure if one guy is going well then feed him the strike. If he's not going that well and you're still trying to get off strike with drop and run singles you're not shouldering the burden. If you're a gun and you can get to 150% after being 7 off 15 then maybe.
Kaia was just struggling, but he did catch it up a bit and ended up with a decent score. So on paper it looked OK, but the fact is that he messed up the power play and put pressure on Welch. Maybe that was his plan to feed strike, which is fine, but he also chewed up some balls. To me it looked like he couldn't find a run.
You can get away with it if you're setting, but if you're chasing there's no hiding.
I'm just saying Madhevere is less likely to get bogged down like that.
It's not easy scoring off guys hitting their lengths. You have to play some risky shots every so often.
Madhevere is not a power hitter, but he likes to go after it and he's more than capable. It really is an option for him to open.

[Saint_Mel]

I don't understand why the team management are so allergic to playing 2 specialist spinners. Yes Welly and Ndlovu are similar but they are just straight up better bowlers than Akram, Mumba and Jongwe. The WC next year is in the Caribbean and the pitches more often than not take turn, so picking two spinners should not be out of the question.