Sri Lanka skipper urges Zim to consolidate all-round potent

Participate in discussion with your fellow Zimbabwe cricket fans!
Post Reply
zimfan1
Posts: 6411
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:45 pm
Supports: MidWest Rhinos
Location: Wales

Sri Lanka skipper urges Zim to consolidate all-round potent

Post by zimfan1 »

Sri Lanka skipper urges Zim to consolidate all-round potential

By Augustine Hwata

THE Zimbabwe senior national cricket side has a "very good" fielding side and is, in most cases, let down by their batting and this is where they really need to work hard if they are to improve into a very strong side.

According to Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena, who was quoted by the ICC taskforce team on the state of cricket in the country, Zimbabwe has a number of players with enough talent to make a strong one-day team "provided they get the right direction".

"Zimbabwe seem to have 25 to 30 decent young cricketers and these guys do have sufficient talent to be moulded into a one-day team in the short term provided they get the right direction, access to facilities and playing experience.

"Obviously, in the long run it is unsustainable to rely on such a small pool with no domestic or youth structure underpinning it that is pushing through new talent.

"However, considering the critical situation in the country, the current pool could keep things going in the short term if they were managed well and given the right direction and support," said Jayawardena in the report.

Jayawardena captained the Sri Lanka side that whitewashed Zimbabwe 5-0 in an ODI series that was on during the same time that the taskforce team was in Zimbabwe

But the key question is how to improve and develop the current talent pool so that they are able to sustain the game.

"As mentioned, we were genuinely impressed with some of the players. There are some very talented bowlers and batsmen and the quality of their fielding was excellent.

"In this regard, I think the best option is making sure the players get access to as much good cricket as possible.

"Playing overseas cricket is one option that could be encouraged with bilateral agreements between ICC members.

"While it may not be possible for them to play in the UK, they could be playing in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, New Zealand, West Indies and the like.

"The experience gained in playing cricket in these countries would be invaluable and would ensure that their talents do not get wasted.

"In addition, they could be given access to training facilities at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai.

"Aside from overseas cricket, the local board then needs to organise as many ‘A’ side and development tours as possible, both home and away, to give the players more experience of three-day and four-day cricket," suggested the ICC report.

Aleem Dar from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, who officiated at the Zimbabwe-Sri Lanka series, believes Zimbabwe’s game had improved despite the difficult situation.

"Last year (2007), when the Zimbabwe cricket team visited Pakistan, I had supervised two matches and I feel some difference between my two experiences.

"During this period, Zimbabwe Cricket team has improved a lot in their fielding department and their fielding standard can be compared with a couple of Test-playing teams.

"Their bowling department has also improved quite a lot, which is evident from the fact that they did not allow a team who played in final of the World Cup to score freely in all five matches and most of their star batsmen were restricted to very small totals.

"The bowlers kept their line and length in control and displayed better skills to restrict the batting side in all the matches.

"The main concern is their batting line-up, which is very limited and devoid of temperament and match-winning strategies.

"On three occasions, they were quite close to a winning position, but batsmen threw their wickets away due to selection of bad shots and conceded the matches to an opposition who were more experienced in all departments.

"The only ingredient missing on such closing moments was the fighting temperament and team spirit," noted Dar.

l This is the second in a series of reports that The Herald is carrying based on the report made by the ICC task force team that was on a fact-finding mission on cricket issues in the country late last year.

Post Reply