Future looks very bright!

[hhm]

Don't you just love it Zimdoggy!

But Duffin isn't really performing. Ewing - he is. Panyangara - No. Rainsford - yes, Matsi - yesish.

Until the last round of matches,in which Panyangara did not partake, he was ahead of Rainsford, so I don't see how you can really separate them when their figures look comparable, if his are not better. He's ahead of most in terms of SR,eco&avg, so who's to say in another 3 innnigs he won't be ahead of Eddie? What makes his figures even more impressive is the fact that due to the Rocks' poor batting lineup, he almost always has nothing to defend, and hardly gets a chance to bowl twice to the opposition, while he single-handedly carries that team's attack at the same time because there isn't quality around him! Look at the batting orders he's performed against this season, you be surprised!

Generally, in international cricket, a 40avg is good enough for openers, but a minimum of 50 is expected from middle order batsmen. New ball, assisting conditions, fresh opening and 1st/2nd change bowlers etc. That's why Mawoyo's seemingly poor stats were never taken into consideration when assigning him to open, and none of us(Bayhaus?) felt the decision was justified. One would go so far as to argue that neither Hami nor Taylor would have succeeded like Vusi&Tino if they were doing that job. Duffin is an opener, the most accomplished of all Zim batsmen playing FC in Zim, and he has shown that in the few opportunities he's got to play for us in Tests&ODIs! Did our current opening pair have a better record last season, or in the lead up to pre-post WC? I think not! Neithe were they opening in EVERY match!

Anyway, we'll see when he gets a chance!

[Jemisi]

I lost the train of thought there towards the end of the second para.

But I do take on board the fact that Rocks suck and that Tinashe could have better totals to assist him.

[FlowerPower]

.....Duffin is an opener, the most accomplished of all Zim batsmen playing FC in Zim, and he has shown that in the few opportunities he's got to play for us in Tests&ODIs! Did our current opening pair have a better record last season, or in the lead up to pre-post WC? I think not! Neithe were they opening in EVERY match!

Anyway, we'll see when he gets a chance!

....

[aydee]

.....Duffin is an opener, the most accomplished of all Zim batsmen playing FC in Zim, and he has shown that in the few opportunities he's got to play for us in Tests&ODIs! Did our current opening pair have a better record last season, or in the lead up to pre-post WC? I think not! Neithe were they opening in EVERY match!

Anyway, we'll see when he gets a chance!

....

Agreed. Duffin's ODI record is pathetic. Fact. Especially when when you consider how many games he played against substandard opposition.

[hhm]

Agreed. Duffin's ODI record is pathetic. Fact. Especially when when you consider how many games he played against substandard opposition.

Considering he's an opener, it interested me to know how much value he's added to our opening partnerships in ODIs. Quite refreshingly, the cold facts reveal that not since the 'great' trio of Andy, Grant & Alistair, or should I say the beginning of the 21st century, have we had a more effective opening partnership, at least 5 innings old, apart from one involving Duffin! Most striking is the fact that Vusi's(his partner in that record) other partnerships gradually become less productive and less significant as he opens with other options, as is the case with their partnerships involving other players. Logical Conclusion: if you want to maintain the most productive opening partnership for Zim in ODIs , make sure the pathetic Duffin forms part of it!

NB: Going forward, kindly revisit me when a better ODI opening partnership for our beloved Zimbabwe, which excludes Duffin, has been achieved!

[aydee]

Agreed. Duffin's ODI record is pathetic. Fact. Especially when when you consider how many games he played against substandard opposition.

Considering he's an opener, it interested me to know how much value he's added to our opening partnerships in ODIs. Quite refreshingly, the cold facts reveal that not since the 'great' trio of Andy, Grant & Alistair, or should I say the beginning of the 21st century, have we had a more effective opening partnership, at least 5 innings old, apart from one involving Duffin! Most striking is the fact that Vusi's(his partner in that record) other partnerships gradually become less productive and less significant as he opens with other options, as is the case with their partnerships involving other players. Logical Conclusion: if you want to maintain the most productive opening partnership for Zim in ODIs , make sure the pathetic Duffin forms part of it!

NB: Going forward, kindly revisit me when a better ODI opening partnership for our beloved Zimbabwe, which excludes Duffin, has been achieved!

All of those partnerships, bar 4, were against 06 Bangladesh or Ireland...

Here are the facts:

Duffin averaged a shade under 24 at a strike rate of 54 (!). More than a third of his 23 innings were against non-test opposition, including the might of Canada and Bermuda. He also played another 7 of his games against Bangladesh, all 7 games were at home.

His record against Test oppo (excluding Bangladesh): 172 runs at an average of 21, and a not-quite-Sehwagian strike rate of 42...

[eugene]

A strike rate of 54 is completely unacceptable in ODIs and anyone with that kind of strike rate shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the national side.

[hhm]

Considering all of the partnerships which his current peers were and continue to be involved in, also had opposition comprising largely of the likes of Kenya, Bangladesh, Canada etc along with other full members, I am not compelled to entertain your 'excuses'.

Some one said bottomline, and this is the bottomline:
Not since the 'great' trio of Andy, Grant & Alistair, or should I say the beginning of the 21st century, have we had a more effective opening partnership, at least 5 innings old, apart from one involving Duffin!!!!!!!!!

The pervading notion is that since our Test resumption we've been ALLROUND a much improved bunch. However, despite the weakened attacks we've faced so far(incl Ban), none of the pairings of our recent opening partnerships have come close to that record. I've even relaxed the minimum to a largely unfair single innings, but it remains very poor. Guess what, bar the dead rubber against a flawed NZ attack, we've lost all of them, including the one at home against mighty Bangladesh(with our two best batsmen together). In all a 14% success rate, in which case, I'll take Duffin's 42/54SR anyday!

[aydee]

Some cricinfo quotes regarding Duffin's ODI credentials:

"Terry Duffin's innings typified the problem. Where he might be expected to lead from the front, he struggled to get the ball off the square. When he brought up his fifty - balls rather than runs - he had scored six. By the time he was eventually run-out, his 38 had used up 107 deliveries, almost a third of his team's allocation. Not that he was alone. One or two tried to push things along. Brendan Taylor did well enough for a man with a limpet for a partner"

"4/10
Terry Duffin
Continued to look upbeat throughout the tour, but in one-day cricket he clearly lacks the range of strokes needed from a top-order batsman and was unable to press on when the situation demanded."

Here again are Duffin's figures since the beginning of franchise cricket 2 and a half years ago:

- The Tuskers have only considered him worthy of selection for one T20 game in 3 seasons, so we can ignore this format.
-

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Please people! Why is it only hhm and myself that can see how truly incredible Duffin was as an ODI opener?! I think hhm undersold the argument. I can't figure out why more people don't agree with us that Terry Duffin is the best Zimbabwean opener of this century, maybe even in history. As hhm was not able to get the point across, I will try my best to further his argument (which I thought was very clear and accurate, but obviously I am in the minority).

Not since the days of Bradman, or should I say the beginning of time, has a player dominated their chosen sport like Duffin has! The cold hard facts don't lie. When Zimbabwe plays a bi-lateral series in Africa, not under flood lights, but loses the toss and are told to bowl first Duffin and Sibanda average 91.00 for the opening wicket. Bradmanesque! I will not entertain your 'excuses' about Sibanda scoring the bulk of those runs; if you ask me, it was the sheer experience that Duffin exudes which was the true reason for the overwhelming success of their partnerships.