Zimbabwe v Netherlands | T20 WC 2022 | Super 12 | Match Thread

[secretzimbo]

I don't get the idea that we can't use the other guys because they just aren't good enough. What has Reggie, Milton, Jongwe, even Burl to an extent, brought to the team this tournament?

If these guys cannot perform, you lose nothing by switching them up. It is very clear from the last two games especially that Shumba is just not up to it, both as a batsman and a fielder.

I agree to an extent, at least in theory, as I said in an earlier post. In this format, after this WC, we might as well give several others a run in the side. Also just a side point, and I'm not picking specifically on you here, but generally I see this all the time; stuff like 'even Burl to an extent' - frankly he really has done just as little as anyone else, but people always seem to shy away from criticising him on social media and on this forum. Idk why he gets a free pass or people sort of only half criticise him.

Anyway, the issue is, as Googly says, there just isn't the depth to replace all of these guys. We don't have endless options. Every player in our current squad is a good cricketer, just about the best we have. The problem isn't necessarily them, it is the format. I will keep repeating this haha, sorry.
If we were talking about our Test or even ODI side, the XI I'd pick would look very similar to the XI we've had in this tournament. Maybe a slightly different batting order. But basicallty, these guys in this squad are good cricketers, the best in the country. What they are mostly NOT is T20 cricketers.

The immediate replacement options are the other guys already around the squad - Marumani, Munyonga, Madande, Kaia. These might all be decent options and definitely are worth trying, but they probably aren't suddenly going to significantly improve us to the point where we are semi-final material.

Beyond that though it's really slim pickings. No one outside of those is really dominating domestic cricket, apart from Chibhabha and Zhuwao!
Other than that the names are Kunje, Mayavo, Magodo, Makoni and Gumbie. We'd struggle to put 50 on the board with that batting lineup.

[secretzimbo]

We do nothing with our youth until we have to do the u19 box ticking exercise, by which time it's generally waaaay too late.
I see they've made Schonken the U19 captain, no disrespect to him as he's a quality player, but there can't be a half decent black player this year in sight. Of course they'll spin it but it shows that our production line of good youth players has practically dried up. We're in massive trouble as far as schoolboy cricket goes. The standard of our recent school T20's was woeful, and below that it's even worse.
We don't even have enough good players to now afford to have some political or financial passengers as we did in the past, not that it will stop the usual disgraceful shenanigans.

The shining glimpses of light/hope worth grasping to are that 5-6 of the next batch are based overseas so hopefully they improve the standard of the squad when they rock up.
The other positive is that the board is making more of an effort with this group. The last batch was really shafted. Covid a very convenient excuse.

The depressing thing however is that I'm pretty sure I could name the squad of 16 right now, 14 months before the next U19WC, and it'd probably be correct. In fact I'm certain. There's basically no competition for places, no depth whatsoever at schoolboy level. There's about 15-20 kids even remotely capable of being competitive at that level, and no one else.

When you consider probably at least 15 of them will never go on to play pro cricket in Zimbabwe, then it's not good for the future. Goes back to that thread zimbos_05 did about the U19 pathway.

The recent good run our national side has had is a false dawn. It was down to a coach with a refreshing approach and one guy having a blinder of a year, underneath that there is not a lot, and under that is rot.

I'm not so sure about that. I mean yeah, thank fuck for Raza. And Dave. But I think theres lots of other good stuff contributing to the good run.

The administration is relatively stable and calm. Players are being paid on time and being paid well. Theres a general positive mood around the sport in the country. The last domestic season was a big improvement, definitely the best we've had for several years both in terms of quality and in terms of quantity of cricket. I'm trying my best to be positive But Zim Cricket is in a substantially better state than it was 2-3 years ago. There are still massive problems though, not least school and club cricket ......but quite a few things are going in the right direction. Long may it continue.

[sloandog]

The thing you have to remember here is that there is still a lot of talent overseas.
Look at Brad Evans. Gone for all money and was probably not coming back. Yet here he is, doing well for the full national side having been at University and improving in quality cricketing environments. There's a lot of our boys out there who I am still very confident will come back.
Bawa is another one who I would keep a close eye on.
Gutted Ryan Murray isn't in the mixer anymore.

[sloandog]

Is Campbell Jnr not worth throwing into the mixer? He's taken a lot of wickets and is scoring some good runs too

[sam_ahm]

Given the recent run of very impressive performances and the possibility of representing a national team in a World Cup, can motivate some of the lost talent to consider this option of playing for Zimbabwe. This is likely to happen in my view.

I think we just need 2-3 proper batters guys, at least for the 2023 WCQ and subsequently the World Cup, if qualified. Raza, Willo and Ervine will be around until next years WC, and they all are better ODI players than T20 players. Same for Regis, Shumba and Kaia, they will do better in ODIs. Burl is a very handy ODI player too. Add Marumani and Madhevere in there, and we've already got a decent team.

Johnathan Campbell might come into the mix at some stage, we don't know about Myers, he might be back too. There is Matt Welch who is still around and now there is Ben Curran who will look to make a mark as well.

So it's not that bad I would say. I'm not even considering Munyonga, Madande, Mashinge, and the likes as of now.

[zimbos_05]

Also just a side point, and I'm not picking specifically on you here, but generally I see this all the time; stuff like 'even Burl to an extent' - frankly he really has done just as little as anyone else, but people always seem to shy away from criticising him on social media and on this forum. Idk why he gets a free pass or people sort of only half criticise him.

It was not about giving Burl a free pass. The difference is that whilst Burl hasn't se the world alight, he has contributed sporadically and more so than others. Yes, he needs to be way more consistent. Burls biggest issue is that he bats way down the order and doesn't bowl regularly. He need to be batting higher and bowling more regularly, or at least doing one of the other in order to be judged over a longer period of time.

If Burl is constantly coming in when we are 5 down with about 30 or so on the board, it makes his role so much tougher, and would be the case for anybody coming in at 7 in that situation.

Guys like Shumba and Reggie are up top. They need to set the base and the foundation and they have not done that. Shumba on top of it has been very poor in the field. He cost us about 10 runs minimum against Bangladesh and contributed nothing with the bat.

My main point is, it's no point saying players aren't ready if we are not going to get them ready. People saying we have no one to replace them with is not the players fault. It comes down to our development system and the crap it has produced. Also, if some of the current crop are not producing, then you lose nothing by replacing them with the subs.