[Match Thread] Zimbabwe A v South Africa A: 2nd 'A' Test

[Conant]

So the grounds men dish up another lifeless pitch to leave the South Africans feasting at 414 for 3 at close on day one.

All these two matches have only served is to give us the false impression that our batman can bat (which will happen when Mawoyo makes another 50 tmrw) and we are no wiser as to what out best attack is, against such placid surface.

[eugene]

With our battery of pace bowlers all bowling 140+ I am surprised we didn't rip through SA A.

[Flakeman]

Haha no way they all bowl over 140... Garwe is nippy, but Mid 130s nippy at best. Havnt seen vitori bowl with his new action but wasnt really ever thaat quick. Quickest i remember any bowling speed of ours in the last 10 years was in 2009 when Jarvis bowled vs SA and was getting them over 146+. Then got injured and started bowling early 130s.

[jimbo]

Prince masvaure might well be an outside bet for a slot in the New Zealand tests the way he is batting and picking up useful wickets. Chigumbura watch your back!!

[foreignfield]

Prince masvaure might well be an outside bet for a slot in the New Zealand tests the way he is batting and picking up useful wickets. Chigumbura watch your back!!

I give up trying to make sense of it all from my armchair. A guy who's best ever FC season in domestic cricket saw him averaging a stellar 33, who's best score in last season's Logan Cup was 27, who has exactly one century, and a huge one at that (101) in 63 FC matches... and all of a sudden he's got stats like Bradman in this series. At least he plays regularly at no. 3 domestically, unlike some other makeshift openers of recent times, and he could fill in a number of overs while Kane Williamson eases his way to a triple century.

[eugene]

Haha no way they all bowl over 140... Garwe is nippy, but Mid 130s nippy at best. Havnt seen vitori bowl with his new action but wasnt really ever thaat quick. Quickest i remember any bowling speed of ours in the last 10 years was in 2009 when Jarvis bowled vs SA and was getting them over 146+. Then got injured and started bowling early 130s.

I am just poking fun at another forumite who is claiming Aliseni is 150 and a whole bunch of other guys in the 140s.

[Conant]

Zim A end day two on 213 for 3 after SA posted a mammoth 570. We are no wiser as to the true state of our reserves from this disgraceful pitch. At this rate expect a chanceless triple ton from Kane Williamson in two weeks time. Urgh...

[grant]

This is ridiculous.... I hope they don't prepare a similar pitch for the New Zealand Test.

[Kriterion_BD]

This is ridiculous.... I hope they don't prepare a similar pitch for the New Zealand Test.

This is how Bangladesh has made steady progress up the Test rankings table. At the start of 2013 we were last place (Zimbabwe weren't on the table, but had a higher rating than Bangladesh). I believe Bangladesh had a rating of 2 or 3 points, maximum based on the following results from 2010:

0-2 loss vs India
0-2 loss vs England
0-1 loss @ NZ (one off Test)
0-2 loss @ England
0-1 loss @ Zimbabwe (one off Test)
0-1 loss vs West Indies
0-2 loss vs Pakistan
0-2 loss vs West Indies

So from 2010 to 2012 just a single draw vs WI and that was due to 2 days being rained off (although we had a first innings lead). But from 2013, Bangladesh got up to its current rating of 57 points in basically 2 years time.

0-1 loss @ Sri Lanka
1-1 draw @ Zimbabwe
0-0 draw vs New Zealand
0-1 loss vs Sri Lanka
0-2 loss @ West Indies
3-0 win vs Zimbabwe
0-1 loss vs Pakistan
0-0 draw vs India (one off Test)
0-0 draw vs South Africa (first innings lead in the first Test)

Most of these draws have been on dead flat tracks. Its a good way to earn valuable rankings points as well as instill some self belief into the batsmen. Of course, when facing Test class attacks, no matter how flat the pitch, discipline and temperament are important as well as decent technique. A talented batsman like Anamul Haque, on these same pitches has a batting average of 10, because his technique is woeful.

The trade off of course is that your bowlers will never have a chance to get you a Test win, like they did vs Pakistan in 2013, and nearly so against NZ in 2011.

[Conant]

This is ridiculous.... I hope they don't prepare a similar pitch for the New Zealand Test.

This is how Bangladesh has made steady progress up the Test rankings table. At the start of 2013 we were last place (Zimbabwe weren't on the table, but had a higher rating than Bangladesh). I believe Bangladesh had a rating of 2 or 3 points, maximum based on the following results from 2010:

0-2 loss vs India
0-2 loss vs England
0-1 loss @ NZ (one off Test)
0-2 loss @ England
0-1 loss @ Zimbabwe (one off Test)
0-1 loss vs West Indies
0-2 loss vs Pakistan
0-2 loss vs West Indies

So from 2010 to 2012 just a single draw vs WI and that was due to 2 days being rained off (although we had a first innings lead). But from 2013, Bangladesh got up to its current rating of 57 points in basically 2 years time.

0-1 loss @ Sri Lanka
1-1 draw @ Zimbabwe
0-0 draw vs New Zealand
0-1 loss vs Sri Lanka
0-2 loss @ West Indies
3-0 win vs Zimbabwe
0-1 loss vs Pakistan
0-0 draw vs India (one off Test)
0-0 draw vs South Africa (first innings lead in the first Test)

Most of these draws have been on dead flat tracks. Its a good way to earn valuable rankings points as well as instill some self belief into the batsmen. Of course, when facing Test class attacks, no matter how flat the pitch, discipline and temperament are important as well as decent technique. A talented batsman like Anamul Haque, on these same pitches has a batting average of 10, because his technique is woeful.

The trade off of course is that your bowlers will never have a chance to get you a Test win, like they did vs Pakistan in 2013, and nearly so against NZ in 2011.

Good point. I still see Zimbabwe posting just 250 on a flat top such as this one and conceding well over 500.