Match Thread : Sri Lanka Tour Of Zimbabwe 2020 | 1st Test | Zimbabwe V/s Sri Lanka | Harare

[sloandog]

When you are Zimbabwe the first goal is to not lose. I doubt we will take 20 wickets on this pitch unless SL are really useless so essentially we bat for a draw.

I was going to say we won't be taking 20 poles. Jarvis will need to take 10 of them as a starting point, and then Sean Williams and Sikander Raza will have to work their magic. Tiripano I really like, he has some bottle with the bat and clearly gives his all with the ball, but he's not a penetrative bowler, nor is he a wicket taker at this level. His FC stats are impressive with the ball but it hasn't translated in international cricket.
Hoping for a good days play tomorrow where Taylor and Ervine kick on. This wicket truly is flat as a pancake, very old fashioned test cricket so far.

[eugene]

The last thing we want is to score quickly and then leave ourselves needing to bat two days to save the test after conceding a first innings deficit to SL.

[CrimsonAvenger]

Could not follow much of yesterday's action, but happy with the score at the end of the day. Very pleased for one of my favorite domestic players over the years, Kevin Kasuza, on his very good debut, and Prince also walking the talk - doing what he said he would in his recent interview. Ervine making good use of the platform laid by the two openers.

[zimlover]

Prince and Kevin played a very measured game yesterday, they were by far the most level headed batsman from Zimbabwe i have seen in a long time.
I know there are sections on this forum who wish this was Burl but i can see that his exclusion from the side and inclusion of Kevin was warranted, for anyone looking to step up into the side and get some game time the best way to go is to open the batting, Zimbabwe has a very settled middle order at the moment. There is no space for Burl.

PJ i feel for but judging on his recent form he cant make the squad because he is not part of the Big 5 yet may be a few more good knocks can bring him back but where is he going to bat?

[Kriterion_BD]

Excellent platform against an attack that spearheaded a 2-0 whitewash of South Africa in South Africa recently.

Day 2 will really determine the fate of this match. ZIM's slow batting leaves them susceptible to a collapse. But with 8 wickets in the bag, 400+ looks ripe for the taking.

Interesting stat, Zimbabwe have only scored 400 in an innings once since readmission in 2011.

[jaybro]

Great day for Zimbabwe, any time they can go a whole day and only lose 2 wickets is a good day regardless of the score. As a few have mentioned the only negative regarding the run-rate is if the boys collapse today which seems unlikely due to the nature of the pitch, but as we know Zimbabwe have been know to capitulate to part time no-turning medium nothing specials in the past.

The openers were great and played with such composure, if I could be picky they need to rotate the strike better, on a more challenging deck you can't afford to face so many dot balls and let the bowler bowl where ever they like at you, Ervine included also in this.

The Sri Lankan bowlers will be hurting after yesterday having to come and bowl again today, Ervine & BT won't have a better chance to score a Test 100 than today, hopefully they can put on a good partnership and Williams & Raza can bring a flurry at the end. Bowling will be tough but again the batsman will have spent a long time in the field and it always seems to be harder to bat even if the pitch is still flat.

I reckon SL will come out really hard the first hour, if they can repel them then their heads will drop, they haven't got much spine this SL side

[TapsC]

We don't know if the pitch is going to be this flat for 5 days. Remember these guys play here all the time. I'm sure there is a reason for this strategy. I remember Kriterion always used to say Bangladesh's first strategy in a test was not to lose. That should be ours. The platform has been set. The ball was getting stuck on the field. Multiple 4s were turned to 2s. Our middle order is our strong point and if they see out the first hour today they will cash out. I actually thought they should have sent Regis out there to see out the new ball with Ervine then he would have enough time to rest today when he got out.

I was impressed by the openers because those guys are a lot faster than anything they deal with. Trust me there was no swing but those guys have some gas. Sri Lanka are by no means a settled side and if they come out guns blazing because they feel they are the better side they will make mistakes. I want to see how Jarvis goes because flat tracks need clever bowlers like him.

[Googly]

Prince and Kevin played a very measured game yesterday, they were by far the most level headed batsman from Zimbabwe i have seen in a long time.
I know there are sections on this forum who wish this was Burl but i can see that his exclusion from the side and inclusion of Kevin was warranted, for anyone looking to step up into the side and get some game time the best way to go is to open the batting, Zimbabwe has a very settled middle order at the moment. There is no space for Burl.

PJ i feel for but judging on his recent form he cant make the squad because he is not part of the Big 5 yet may be a few more good knocks can bring him back but where is he going to bat?

Who is a Burl supporter specifically as an opener? That’s a specialist position, has he ever batted at 1 or 2?
Everyone knows we need openers in all formats, that’s where the big gap is and with good reason, it’s the toughest job in cricket, well certainly in longer format.
The Nameless One and KK did a great job yesterday, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer, it turned out to be a flat deck, no swing and not the best bowling. They both grabbed their chance, and they will get the next game and the Bangladesh series and so they should, but then we sit and wait. Everyone liked what they saw yesterday, but those were the easiest conditions that a test opener will ever see, let’s not kid ourselves. What the ZC muppets should do is get them to open in every Derbyshire game, we’ll see by the end of that if either or both have the technique and temperament. It will be a much sterner test than yesterday.
A lot of people object to how Burl was treated. They weren’t ever going to pick him, so they told him to come back just to show him who was boss, it was just a power thing.

[TapsC]

There will be rain today.

[TapsC]

Prince and Kevin played a very measured game yesterday, they were by far the most level headed batsman from Zimbabwe i have seen in a long time.
I know there are sections on this forum who wish this was Burl but i can see that his exclusion from the side and inclusion of Kevin was warranted, for anyone looking to step up into the side and get some game time the best way to go is to open the batting, Zimbabwe has a very settled middle order at the moment. There is no space for Burl.

PJ i feel for but judging on his recent form he cant make the squad because he is not part of the Big 5 yet may be a few more good knocks can bring him back but where is he going to bat?

Who is a Burl supporter specifically as an opener? That’s a specialist position, has he ever batted at 1 or 2?
Everyone knows we need openers in all formats, that’s where the big gap is and with good reason, it’s the toughest job in cricket, well certainly in longer format.

If Burl is not an opener then where is going to play? To be honest Burl has talent but the difference between Kasuza and Moor is not that big. Their stats are very very similar. They both also have flaws with their footwork. They both have played 57 FC games. They both have poor list A records. They both were junior stars.