[Match Thread] New Zealand v Zimbabwe (Group B 3rd Match)

[maehara]

New Zealand v Zimbabwe
Providence Stadium, Guyana, 4 May 2010

Ahem. I hope we whip their cowardly *****.

[sloandog]

Ahem. I hope we whip their cowardly *****

Agreed ! They wont know what's hit them when they play us, they'll feel the full fury of our "ZimExpress". Come on ladssss

[Dr_Situ(ZimFanatic)]

Maehara is overjoyed post celebrations and thats why he probably messes with the fixture schedules. LOL

Mon May 3
7th Match, Group B - Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Providence Stadium, Guyana

Tue May 4
9th Match, Group B - New Zealand v Zimbabwe
Providence Stadium, Guyana

[maehara]

Hmmm. Someone's changed the fixtures somewhere without telling me. I had Group B as:

Code: Select all

30 April 2010   New Zealand v Sri Lanka         Providence Stadium, Guyana
2 May 2010      New Zealand v Zimbabwe          Providence Stadium, Guyana
3 May 2010      Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe            Providence Stadium, Guyana

Whatever - I still hope we whip 'em. Just a few days later than I thought.

[Dr_Situ(ZimFanatic)]

Its time to show them their place.

[kartik]

Zim can surely best New Zealand.Since there was a match between England and West-indies after the Zim match,i think the players must have met ANDY FLOWER,few for the first itme and Andy must have surely had few things to say to encourage the guys.
I hope they come to the feild all charged up and ray price bowls the first over.

[mdm]

its unfortunate zim lost yesterday but still we can win today!! ALL THE BEST TO TEAM ZIM
I hope Andy B. plays today

[brmtaylor.com admin]

I'm not really sure how the calculations for net run rate work, but I know we will need to thump New Zealand to make it through. To give ourselves the best chance of doing this we need to bowl first if possible. As talented as our spin bowlers are, I think we are more likely to be able to chase down a target with several overs to spare than restrict a New Zealand side batting second to a very low total.

Additionally, out goes Mpofu and in comes Andy Blignaut. Even if Blignaut is unable to bowl, we need all the firepower we can get in the batting department because of the high run rate we will need.

Finally, switch the batting lineup. If it were me, I'd open with Taylor and Coventry. Taylor to anchor the innings (despite everything that happened yesterday, Taylor and Taibu were rotating the strike very well) and Coventry to hit out from the word go. Perhaps Masakadza at three, followed by Blignaut and Chigumbura.

In reality, I think Masakadza will still open but I wouldn't be surprised to see Blignaut or Coventry promoted to opener.

I'm sure it's going to be a cracker of a game. It's a sporting cliche you hear regularly but it particularly rings true for this match; Zimbabwe are going to have to risk losing the game to win it.

[CrimsonAvenger]

NZ wins the toss and bowls, and 2 changes to Zim side according to Utseya:

Maruma for Mpofu, Blignaut for Taylor

[maehara]

NRR example from Sky: if Zim score 140 batting first, they must bowl NZ out for 129 or less to qualify for the Super 8.