"Zim players you've seen live" XI

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"Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by brmtaylor.com admin »

Following on from the all time thread, this one is to create an XI from Zim players you have seen play live.
(if you haven't seen any Zim games live, post an XI of the players you've seen live on TV)


Live XI

1 Stuart Carlisle
2 Hamilton Masakadza
3 Sean Williams
4 Brendan Taylor
5 Tatenda Taibu (wk)
6 Sikandar Raza
7 Sean Ervine
8 Andy Blignaut
9 Heath Streak (c)
10 Brian Vitori
11 Ray Price

12th: Graeme Cremer


This was a damn tough XI to pick. Carlisle's spot could have easily gone to Vermuelen or Mawoyo. Craig Ervine is unlucky but I couldn't find a place to slot him in. You can't go past Sean Ervine in the middle order because of the extra bowling option he offers.

On the bowling front, Blignaut and Streak are automatic selections. I almost went with one of Panyangara or Jarvis, but I figured between Ervine and Streak there are enough medium fast options. Vitori makes the cut over Chatara because of his pace and swing.

I really wanted to get Cremer in there, but you can never forget just how good Price was. If it was a turning deck you could replace Ervine with Cremer and bat Blignaut at 7.

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grant
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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by grant »

I have only ever seen them live on TV. I think I have a lot less players to choose from because I started watching cricket in 2006.

Here's my XI for Tests:

1 Hamilton Masakadza
2 Sikandar Raza
3 Craig Ervine
4 Brendan Taylor
5 Sean Williams
6 Tatenda Taibu (wk)
7 Peter Moor
8 Graeme Cremer
9 Tinashe Panyangara
10 Kyle Jarvis
11 Tendai Chatara

For ODIs:

1 Hamilton Masakadza
2 Chamu Chibhabha
3 Craig Ervine
4 Brendan Taylor
5 Sean Williams
6 Tatenda Taibu (wk)
7 Sikandar Raza
8 Elton Chigumbura
9 Ray Price
10 Tendai Chatara
11 Blessing Muzarabani

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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by chappie coventry »

1.Grant Flower- SCG,2001/SCG,2004
2.Brendan Taylor- Canberra,WC 2015
3.Craig Ervine- Canberra,WC 2015
4.Andy Flower- SCG,2001
5.Sean Williams- Canberra,WC 2015
6.Sikandar Raza- Canberra,WC 2015
7.Sean Ervine- SCG,2004
8.Heath Streak-SCG,2001/SCG,2004
9.Andy Blignaut- SCG,2004
10.Ray Price- SCG,2004
11.Blessing Muzarabani- Bulawayo,2018

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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by jaybro »

chappie coventry wrote:
Sat May 11, 2019 12:55 am
1.Grant Flower- SCG,2001/SCG,2004
2.Brendan Taylor- Canberra,WC 2015
3.Craig Ervine- Canberra,WC 2015
4.Andy Flower- SCG,2001
5.Sean Williams- Canberra,WC 2015
6.Sikandar Raza- Canberra,WC 2015
7.Sean Ervine- SCG,2004
8.Heath Streak-SCG,2001/SCG,2004
9.Andy Blignaut- SCG,2004
10.Ray Price- SCG,2004
11.Blessing Muzarabani- Bulawayo,2018
Wow you’ve gotten to the ground a fair bit to watch them
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jaybro
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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by jaybro »

I haven’t been to a live Zimbabwe game, personally I don’t like watching the games live I’d rather it on TV, but here is my Zim XI I’ve seen on TV

Hamilton
Alistair Campbell
Andy Flower
BT
Williams
Sean Ervine
Taibu
Streak
Blignaut
Cremer
Rainsford

Hard to leave out Carlisle, Jarvis, Chatara, Price & Raza but tbh I could probably put up 3 lineups, there aren’t many Zim players I didn’t like.
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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by Jemisi »

chappie coventry wrote:
Sat May 11, 2019 12:55 am
1.Grant Flower- SCG,2001/SCG,2004
2.Brendan Taylor- Canberra,WC 2015
3.Craig Ervine- Canberra,WC 2015
4.Andy Flower- SCG,2001
5.Sean Williams- Canberra,WC 2015
6.Sikandar Raza- Canberra,WC 2015
7.Sean Ervine- SCG,2004
8.Heath Streak-SCG,2001/SCG,2004
9.Andy Blignaut- SCG,2004
10.Ray Price- SCG,2004
11.Blessing Muzarabani- Bulawayo,2018
This but swap blessing for b Strang scg 2001. And I have seen a few of them in Harare.

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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by chappie coventry »

Every time they come to oz i make sure I never miss seeing my beloved Zim! Unfortunately it's not very often ☹️
Getting over there to watch it in Bulawayo last year was a special moment for me, even tho the best players were on strike 😡

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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by Jemisi »

Chappie we must have been at all the same games. Did you see Carlisle's ton in Sydney? If they ever come back we'll have to have a zcf ticket.

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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by maehara »

The one and only time I’ve watched Zimbabwe play “in the flesh” they were still Associates.

1986, versus English Minor Counties XI at HSC. So that’s your XI - it’s on Cricinfo somewhere...

I’ll get my second live game in a few weeks in Belfast... :D

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Re: "Zim players you've seen live" XI

Post by jward »

I have seen all the leading Zimbabwe players of the last 50 years, so here is my list of the greatest. It excludes players like Mike Procter, who was basically a South African playing for us, though totally committed during his time here, and Graeme Hick, who opted for a mediocre Test career in England rather than what would surely have been a far more successful one for Zimbabwe. This is almost an all-time eleven, but I was too late to see Godfrey Lawrence or Joe Partridge in action.

1 - Tony Pithey
2 - Brendan Taylor
3 - Andy Flower
4 - Andy Pycroft
5 - Dave Houghton
6 - Colin Bland
7 - +Tatenda Taibu
8 - Paul Strang
9 - Heath Streak
10 - Peter Rawson
11 - *John Traicos

I have had to do what national selectors have had to do for many years, apart from the brief period when we had Kevin Arnott and Grant Flower, and put in to open batsmen who prefer to be in the middle order. Strange that this country should have produced so few genuine opening batsmen of real quality. And unfortunately I have only four bowlers, but the only solution would be to drop Taibu, which I would hate to do, and give the gloves to Houghton, who was a better keeper than Flower. Then I could pick a third seamer, maybe Duncan Fletcher (who would captain), or Vince Hogg or Henry Olonga at their best. It's a difficult call. Or else drop Taylor and force Flower or Houghton to open. There's no perfect solution if I am to pick the very best in my view.

Very strong batting line-up, and embarrassing to have to put as good a batsman as Rawson at ten. Choosing a captain (unless Fletcher was drafted in) is very difficult. Incredibly, ten out of the eleven all captained the country at one time, the only exception being Paul Strang, who was a good domestic captain. I have eventually settled for Traicos as probably the most tactically astute of them all, although he didn't have the ability to lead from the front and inspire as Rawson did, although Rawson (like Procter and Sobers, for example) was less tactically aware.

I have limited time at the moment, so I hope I haven't forgotten anybody! The one batsman I feel sorry to have left out was Stuart Robertson, who had the potential possibly to have been the greatest of them all. A beautiful stylish left-hander who was often compared with Graeme Pollock, but never fulfilled his true potential, for whatever reason. He simply oozed class, and was also a superb slip fielder. Unfortunately the selectors often called on him to open the innings or keep wicket, and this may also have affected what was a really mediocre career for one of such talent.

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