Matsikenyeri included in squad

[betterdays]

Surely this squad seem to be a fixed one, coz Ervine should be in there....... Why not try Querl as well.... Same old selection policy.

seems a slight movement away from the 'same old' of getting any young guy after a good season ... the crime of leaving CE out is somewhat forgiven in the fact that they left Querl out too ... in my book anyway!

[Jemisi]

I just can't believe that they couldn't manage to fit Cephas into a squad of 20. What do they think they are doing?

[foreignfield]

As much as I like and feel for CE, leaving him out of the squad shows a bit of consistency by the selectors, which, in principle, is a good sign. CE was dropped after a dismal run of form in the national side, went back to domestic cricket and just did not score the runs to sway the selectors' minds - to be honest his record looks decent, but when he' not converting his starts into really big scores in domestic cricket he's not making a case for himself.

[Jemisi]

The problem is the squad of 20. If Ervine didn't make a squad of 15, you would have some grumbles from certain quarters but to leave him out of a bloated squad sends dodgy signals.

[hhm]

Why are on earth are guys crying for Craig Ervine! He should've been screaming at Houghton to let him bat up the order at 3 for the Tuskers so he can have more time in the middle. As it is he's there and thereabouts in the ListA & Logan Cup charts, but considering that he was dropped, none of his innings since Bangladesh ODIs, or up to this point in the Domestic setup, say he should be reinstated.

I said it before and I'll say it again, Craig should never have been dropped for either Waller or Mutizwa! He's a better player than both, and they don't cut it in my opinion. Taylor declared when Craig was doing well in the second innings against Bangladesh, and he did well in that tough match against Pakistan.

He had a poor run in the Tri-Series against SA-A & Aus-A, followed up by an equally poor four day series against Aus XI, which lead into the ODIs against Bangaldesh. In all, Craig was seriously off-form at the time which made the decision of leave him out much easier.

Up until the end of the WC2011, in which he was just about our best player, he had been a terrific batsman for us in ODIs, and displayed similar qualities in the Logan Cup and I-Cup! I have no doubt he still has it in him to deliver at the highest level! However, my argument then was that he was indeed going downhill fast and needed time away in the domestic setup to sort himself out, while we include an experienced player in our middle order Ewing(for ODIs), and that plus, get Duffin to open and push Vusi etc down for Tests!

I firmly believe that our middle order is still very weak because Vusi's starts, with Mawoyo quietly supporting him, has been the reason for our success. We've relatively failed each time he (or Mawoyo) has failed to get a significant score. We need someone with a combination of being better, mature, and more experienced than all of Craig, Mutizwa & Waller. The only solution right now is to include Ewing or Matsi, and for some of the other senior guys to be pushed down the order when another opener is found to partner Mawoyo, be it Duffin, Kasuza, Vermeulen etc!

Those were my reasons for the short to long-term, however, as it stands, he should've been in all our Test XIs ahead of Waller, but rightly dropped form the ODIs!

[brmtaylor.com admin]

I'm happy with that squad. Everyone that deserves to be there is there - no problems with Matsikenyeri's inclusion; he's gone back to domestic cricket and scored runs in all forms of the game which is what he needed to do. I wouldn't say he's a certain starter in the first eleven but his squad selection is deserved. If Ervine had been tearing apart domestic attacks it would have been him in the squad; but he didn't and he's not. I like Ervine but he needs to dominate domestic attacks to some degree like Matsikenyeri did to get a recall; players in form deserve to be rewarded.

Cremer is a welcome return - if it's a shoot out between him and Price, Price should and would get the nod, but if we want to go with two spinners he is the obvious choice. Unfortunately for Utseya (in Test matches) the wrist spinner is simply too valuable.

Who gets cut when the squad is shortened... I'd go with S Masakadza, Ncube, Chakabva, Chibhabha and Matsikenyeri. It leaves Mutizwa as the backup batsman, Meth as the backup seamer and Cremer and Utseya as the backup bowlers. A 15 man squad to cover three formats seems a bit small, I reckon 16 or 17 might be more appropriate but you have to work within the parameters given to you. Maybe it is a financial decision.

Test: Sibanda, Mawoyo, Masakadza, Taylor, Taibu, Waller, Chigumbura, Price, Vitori, Jarvis, Mpofu
ODI: Sibanda, Taylor, Masakadza, Taibu, Waller, Mutizwa, Chigumbura, Price, Utseya, Jarvis, Mpofu

[Zimfanatic69]

I'm actually not too fussed that matskinyeri had been included. He went away and scored heavy runs so i don't see the big problem there. However, Craig ervine's omission from the squad again is very sad. Would have liked to see him in our test squad for sure

Could we Zim fans have had a better Xmas present than that of having Matsi back in the national squad.

he MUST play in the test.

Ervine I am sorry about. I think we have started with him and need to stick with him. He certainly deserves a spot over Chibhabha.

[sloandog]

I'm actually not too fussed that matskinyeri had been included. He went away and scored heavy runs so i don't see the big problem there. However, Craig ervine's omission from the squad again is very sad. Would have liked to see him in our test squad for sure

Could we Zim fans have had a better Xmas present than that of having Matsi back in the national squad.

he MUST play in the test.

Ervine I am sorry about. I think we have started with him and need to stick with him. He certainly deserves a spot over Chibhabha.

I agree that stuart deserves his place in the squad, but I'm not sure I'd pick him for the test. Maybe give him a go in the T20's and a couple of the ODI's

[betterdays]

look! (I wonder if anyone will ever tell aussie cricketers to stop saying that before every sentence) ...

if peforming domestically is cause for a call up then why not Chatara? He must be the quickest bowler in the country, he's taking wickets and it's hard to see why he's not in ... especially as Ncube and Cremer (ok, at least Cremer offers something different to everyone esle) sneak in - and I have no issue with Ncube but just wondering why.

[FlowerPower]

I'm happy with that squad. Everyone that deserves to be there is there - no problems with Matsikenyeri's inclusion; he's gone back to domestic cricket and scored runs in all forms of the game which is what he needed to do.

Who gets cut when the squad is shortened... I'd go with S Masakadza, Ncube, Chakabva, Chibhabha and Matsikenyeri. It leaves Mutizwa as the backup batsman, Meth as the backup seamer and Cremer and Utseya as the backup bowlers.

Test: Sibanda, Mawoyo, Masakadza, Taylor, Taibu, Waller, Chigumbura, Price, Vitori, Jarvis, Mpofu
ODI: Sibanda, Taylor, Masakadza, Taibu, Waller, Mutizwa, Chigumbura, Price, Utseya, Jarvis, Mpofu

Tend to agree witg most of what you say, except Id have Mutizwa in for Chigs in the Test....

Also agree with hhm about who gets the chop, except I think Masakadza jrn may give way to Matsi....

As for Matsi if he does make it as I expect, I doubt it will be in the Test as his form in the longer version has been indifferent, but the shorter version (pro50 and T20) have really been great and Im sure hence the recall. Agreed with Sloan, I would pencil him as a definite T20 and maybe ODI (for Mutizwa...IF he made ODI...) but Test at Mutizwa's expense would be a travesty...