Ngarava Captain

Participate in discussion with your fellow Zimbabwe cricket fans!
secretzimbo
Posts: 10290
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:08 pm

Ngarava Captain

Post by secretzimbo »

Ngarava to captain in Tests and ODI’s. Bennett VC.

Raza continues in T20’s.
Last edited by secretzimbo on Sat Dec 20, 2025 4:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Pat_Bee
Posts: 3595
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:58 pm
Supports: Mountaineers

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by Pat_Bee »

Didn’t he used to manage liverpool back in the day?

Googly
Posts: 18836
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:48 pm

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by Googly »

ZC never stop throwing curve balls.
So many questions spring to mind.
Genuine question- has he ever captained before? Or even Vice?
Would it indicate the imminent departure of Ervine?
The logical thing to do would have been to hang in a little longer with Craig and see if anyone put their hand up.
Surprising they didnt go with Raza at least for the ODI's.
Surprised and delighted. :lol:
Burl knows what he's doing, experienced and senior.
Richie is a marginal pick himself as a test bowler, not just in terms of accuracy, but fitness. I've often felt he's just going thru the motions, this may be really motivational for him.
I was just googling how many out and out seamers have ever captained and you can literally count them on one hand.
Never really understood that, but it's unusual.
I'm skeptical, but all power to him, he's a good guy.

Ditto Bennett. He's a regular in all formats so already he's a yard ahead of others, but he's young and what leadership qualities does he have? I'm not saying he doesnt, I'm just a bit bemused.

Interesting stuff. Never a dull moment.

tgk
Posts: 1541
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:52 am
Location: India

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by tgk »

We just do things for the heck of it huh

Hopefully it goes well and he's leading Zim into a solid home WC

Googly
Posts: 18836
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:48 pm

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by Googly »

I've been pondering this for the last couple of hours :lol:
I even AI'd it :lol:
When a seamer gives it the full welly for an over he generally goes down to fine leg for a drink and some recovery and the reality is they switch off a little. Tough to captain from fine leg for 20 overs in a test.
Im still wondering how they've deduced he will be a good captain. I cant find any evidence of him ever having captained a single game in his life.
I'm not knocking him in any way, he could well be excellent and again its not a high bar here.
From zero to now having to think about every delivery, every field set, every bowling change, etc etc etc..is just such a tall order.
I mean if I had to pick a guy who'd never captained anything I'd literally be asking him about field sets just to be vaguely comfortable that he had a firm grasp of what was going on.

As with all things ZC there's clearly a lot going on behind the scenes.
Raza would surely have jumped at the chance? Maybe not tests but definitely ODI's. I wonder what happened there?
Once again is Ervine retiring, and if so, when? Maybe he will mentor the two of them?

We've rarely had a game in any format where the captaincy has been that pro-active. If he bottles it will they persevere and hope he gets better? Learning on the fly and potentially having to be taught (by whom?) would really be new territory.
I think Richie is well liked by the players...currently :lol:
The intrigue!!

secretzimbo
Posts: 10290
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:08 pm

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by secretzimbo »

Found my post from earlier in the year;
secretzimbo wrote:
Sat Aug 16, 2025 8:52 am
Latest rumbling I heard was that Salmon has asked the board for both captains to be changed. So maybe that comment was directed at both of them.

Heard it from very reliable source that Salmon has been pushing to change captains for quite a while.

Zayn_63
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2025 5:01 am

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by Zayn_63 »

Ervine was zimbabwes most successful captain in T20i.. they shouldve only removed him from that post if he failed to help zimbabwe qualify for the 2024 world t20.. but 3-2 loss to namibia meant the door was shut down on him early.. this could possibly be the end of his playing days too.. no reason to strip him of captaincy in red ball when he won against afghanistan.. maybe ZC have decided they r not going to play players who are 40 or above..

I think raza taylor cremer will also disappear after 2026 world t20 because 2027 odi wc will be in nov of 2027 and most of these guys will be 41 by then.. they might only be selected if they r playing their best game & are in prime fitness.

Ryan Burl deserved odi captaincy .. sadly he is not even part of odi team these days.. I think if ZC decided to go with a bowler as their captain, it shouldve been Muzarabani.. his performance is a tad better than Ngarava overall in my opinion, with Burl as vice captain. This is just unnecessary pressure on Bennett. Anyways, I think this also means the end for Sean Williams.

Craig might announce his retirement because he has not been in the best of forms lately , he is injured half of the year.. and he is past 40.. same age factor will apply to williams cremer raza taylor aswell.. williams is already 39 and without a central contract. I do wish ZC recall him for 2026 world t20.

Mueddie28
Posts: 1255
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2016 7:59 pm

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by Mueddie28 »

Other optoons where
Wez imconsitent
Welly captain of Mountaneers
Curran captain of Rhinos

Pat_Bee
Posts: 3595
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:58 pm
Supports: Mountaineers

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by Pat_Bee »

Knackers meeting icc residency criteria soon and alleged quota is what’s going on here a cynic might say :lol:

secretzimbo
Posts: 10290
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:08 pm

Re: Ngarava Captain

Post by secretzimbo »

Zayn_63 wrote:
Sat Dec 20, 2025 7:56 pm
I think if ZC decided to go with a bowler as their captain, it shouldve been Muzarabani.. his performance is a tad better than Ngarava overall in my opinion,
Muza is a quiet guy. At least Richard has a bit of personality.

Post Reply