[Match Thread] New Zealand U19 v Zimbabwe U19

[jamthala]

Zim again loose today,now need to qualify for 9th spot and take that.

[eugene]

Another pathetic performance. Zimbabwe could possibly be the weakest team in this tournament.

[zimfan1]

Good support for Zimbabwe lead to this nice picture

[zimfan1]

Zimbabwe Under 19’s Dossier



Scott Daly

Batting – Big broad opening batsman who does not have a fantastic technique but gets well in behind the line of the ball and has a step forward as his trigger movement. his technique is very similar to Trevor Grippers and from what I can see he bats in the same mould as Gripper with a bit of Brendan Taylor added on. Daly has a good forward defence and looks to take the shine of the new ball and is willing to leave the ball early on. In general he seems quite a mentally strong player, which is good to see from an 18 year old. However he does looked to be a very limited player and missed out on several deliveries on his legs, but I see something to work with there.


Dylan Higgins

Batting - Busy player at the crease with nice footwork and a good technique tries to get forward to the pitch of the ball. Played and missed at quite a few balls outside off stump before wafting at one out side off stump which was swinging and was caught at third slip. Looked all at see against a moving ball and I would not peruse with him opening batting as he did not look at all comfortable there.

Bowling – Style very much similar to Greame Cremer, it is not the most fluent of actions but he seemed to get some good drift in the air and maintain a good line, does not look like a particular big turner of the ball.

Overall a little disappointed at what i saw as someone who had been built up as the next big thing


Dean Mashawidza

Batting – has a slight build but has a lot of energy at the crease as is always looking for the single. Is quite a wristy sub-continent style player and looks to play shots particularly through the off side but looks solid in defence. Played a couple of gorgeous straight drives. Looks the best batsman in the side in terms of technique and shot selection and will be following his progress very closely, was given out to a very poor decision as he was a long way down the pitch.

Wicket Keeping – Very good with the gloves, almost flawless

Overall very promising player who will be looking to establish himself in his franchise very soon.


Andrew Lindsay

Batting – Very tall chap who stands up even taller at the crease, good of his legs and looks to attack the bowler by walking down the track. Has a technical deficiency pointed out by Alister Campbell that he plonks his front foot down the pitch at every delivery which makes it difficult for him to adjust to the length of the delivery.

Looks to have natural talent but needs to sort out his technique if he is going to consistently score runs...


G Chirimuta


Batting – Quite a short man and has a style rather similar to Stuart Matsikenyeri who like the majority of the Zimbabwean batsman like to play of the front foot. Quite a compact player who latches onto anything short and wide. Played a horrible shot to get out.

Overall he has the talant but not the grit to fight out an innings, will be watching his progress though the franchise system very carefully.


TC Mutombodzi

Batting – tall man who stands tall at the crease I would compare him to Chigumbura in terms of technique. Has a very high back lift and looks to attack and hits the ball through the off side very well and gets his head over the ball when he plays the drive.

Looked a very decent batsman but confused to why he didnt bowl as he is a regualr bowler for the Eagles. Id back this chap to go on to play for Zimbabwe one day.

Nathan Waller

Batting – Big strong player who moves around in his crease as tries to get in the line of the ball and most importantly hits the ball straight. Struggled to work the singles and was forced to try and hit over the infield which lead to his dismissal.

Bowling – Good medium place only bowls around 75mph but has good natural swing in to the right hander and away from the left hander, maintains a good line and beat the bat on several occasions. Looks to me like he can add a yard of two of pace as he keeps on growing.

Is filled with talant but it needs to be netured, he is off the Tusks academy in South Africa in febuary along the PJ Moor which is the same place which Kyle Jarvis played. WIll be interesting to see when and if he will play in the first class system as this guy defiantly looks one of the most likely to one day play for the national side.


Natsai Mushangwe

Batting – Short and stocky he is a player who likes to play the lofted cover drive inside out, but has the ability to play straight when required. Has a tendency to waft outside the off stump without any footwork. Got over excited after hitting a few boundaries and gave his wicket away.

Bolwing – smooth action and is not afraid to give the ball air and managed to get some good grip from the surface, also posses the wrong un would is a vital weapon.

Not overally impressed of what i saw for a Zimbabwe "A" spinner but he does have allround promise


Calum Price

Batting – Big lad dead ringer for Rob Key if anyone has seen him, doesn’t have much batting ability from the looks of it to be honest but he stood up to the bowlers and was not afraid to put his body on the line.

Bowling – Has a very old fashioned curving runout very much like Dominic Cork and he manages to have natural swing away from the right hander, bowlers around 77 mph but does have the tendency to drop short.

Not sure if he will make it based what I have seen but he is the youngest player in the side and is still developing


Tendai Chitara

Batting - Powerfully built through his bat and the ball and got lucky a few times but is not a complete rabbit and could be ok in a few years if he works at it.

Bowling – Easily the most promising bowler on show for Zimbabwe, runs in hard with a big jump at the crease and bowls around 84mph which will only increase as he bulks up. Natural movement away from the right hander and he is not afraid to mix up his length and also posses a decent slower ball.

If i was a betting man i would say that Chitara will be the first one of this under 19 side to play at international level.


Richard Muzhange

Batting – Did not face a ball

Bowling – Interesting bowling style a bit the Scotland’s Craig Wright is anyone has ever seen him bowl, slants away to the left in his delivery a bit the Chris Mpofu but manages to bowl at around 80mph and maintains a decent line outside off stump,

Didnt see enough of him to make a fair judgement, but has natural pace which is a rare thing in Zimbabwe

[zimfan1]

Highlights/Lowlights of the match

http://www.espnstar.com/media-player/

[Robin]

Zimfan - a very accurate assesment of the players relative abilities.

People are being a little harsh on the ability of this squad. The real problem is that they lack 3-4 quality batsmen. The general quality in not bad.

When Zim have been more successful at previous world cups they have had 3/4 very good batsmen backed up with all-rounders. This squad has only 2 batsmen ever likely to score First Class hundreds consistently, Mazhawidza and Moor(and Moor hasn't played for 6 months and is badly out of sorts.) The middle order all rounders can all bat - Higgins, Waller, Mutombodzi, Mushangwe. However these should be batting 5-8 not in the top 4.

Previously successful squads had better top order batsmen:-

2002 - Batsmen:- Coventry, Taibu, Masakadza, Taylor, Matsikenyeri; A-Rounders:- Ervine & Chigumbura (opening bowlers Mwayenga & Mwembwe)
2004 - Batsmen:- Williams, Taylor, Mawayo; A-Rounders:- De Grandhomme & Chigumbura (opening bowlers Panyangara & Rainsford)
2006 - Batsmen:- Ballance, Williams, Kasteni, Samunderu; A-Rounders:- Meth, R.Higgins, Chibhabha

Then the poor 2008 team:-

2008 - Batsmen:- Moor; A-Rounders:- Landeman, Masvaure & Mire (opening bowlers Ncube & Jarvis)

2010 is better:- Batsmen:- Moor & Mazhawidzha; A-Rounders:- D.Higgins, Mutombodzi, Waller & Mushangwe.(opening bowlers Chitare & Price)

I'm afraid the rest of the specialist batsmen in the current squad look like 'front foot lungers' a la Carlisle and Gripper and I don't think will score runs without a major change to their techniques.

However whilst the current team is short of at least 2 batsmen and 1 opening bowler there is talent in the squad. In reality if they get through to the final of the plate comp it will be a true reflection of where Zimbabwe cricket is at the moment and all that can be reasonably expected with Zimbabwe's recent history.

[CrimsonAvenger]

Great assessment zimfan1, Robin. Was a wonderful read.

[aydee]

However whilst the current team is short of at least 2 batsmen and 1 opening bowler there is talent in the squad. In reality if they get through to the final of the plate comp it will be a true reflection of where Zimbabwe cricket is at the moment and all that can be reasonably expected with Zimbabwe's recent history.

Agreed, finishing 9th or 10th in the tournament would be a reasonable effort. However, I see that the next game is against Ireland. They are a much better side than Canada, and should have beaten the Windies in one of the warm-ups. I'm worried about that game, hope I'm proved wrong.

[sloandog]

Awsome analasis Zimfan1, it's the first time i've logged on today and it was a pleasure reading that. Much more posatives in this match from looking at the highlights show. I was extremly impressed with Chitara. Wow this boy has some pace !! 86mph Apart from Jarvis that's much quicker than any of the current Zimbabwe bowlers. He's 19 and bowling at that pace, god only knows what this chap'll be like when he's 24-25. Nice to see big Callum Price pick up a couple of wickets towards the end, noticably (as Zimfan1 pointed out) his pace was down today.
There's so much talent in this Zimbabwean squad, i tell you it's unexplainable With the correct coaching, guys like Daly Scott will improve and become a very good players in the future. But young Chitara looks to be an extremly good prospect. We're spoilt for choice now Aleseni, Jarvis, Ncube, Chitara, the returning Andy Blignaut and even guys like Keegan Meth. Things are on the up in the fast bowling department, and in all areas aswell. It's been a successfull 3 months for Zimbabwe off the field. Heath Streak becoming head coach and Grant Flower his assistant is fantastic news. Campbell the batting coach aswell......happy days

[eugene]

With all of this progress off the field it would be nice to see some on the field. Good things take time I guess.