[Match Thread] Zimbabwe A v Pakistan A 1st Unofficial ODI

[Googly]

I don't see how you can replace seasoned cricketers with youngsters that are currently not as good in the hopes that they will become better than the guys they are replacing. That's 2004 all over again. It's a big problem, and the sad fact is that most of our squad is not good enough and we have even fewer youngsters with any potential. Everyone thinks that once they are roped in they will step up. Firstly the current system is not letting them in, but more importantly I'm doubtful too many of them are much good. There's a couple of them, obviously, but the names I'm hearing being bandied around as the next good thing are not good enough.

[Googly]

Everyone is hoping that some changes within ZC will be a new beginning and we all hope so, but you can't escape the fact that we don't have the players at junior or senior level (with a couple of notable exceptions) to resurrect the game here. we just don't have the depth. It's a poor situation.

[Googly]

We were marginal when we had the Flower/Houghton era, and those were the days when there was tough, competitive club cricket and schools brimming with talented cricketers. We have sunk far below that now.

[TapsC]

I definitely understand u can't introduce all of them in 1 go that would be suicidal but I also believe some guys we need to move on from and I'm happy Vusi didn't get a contract..Waller shouldnt have 1 either because he is now honestly a t20 specialist.as seasoned as the likes of hami and Elton are we will never build a winning culture with them coz they are career losers

I'm happy the like likes of welly and PJ got contracts..maybe that's the way to ease the seniors out because they can then relocate and play club cricket elsewhere. the high performance contracts should be reserved for youngsters..

what I'm saying is that we should have a 3 or 4 year plan where most of these senior guys should be gone by then and the likes of Burl etc are slowly introduced into the system. this is why A cricket should be kept on the agenda. imagine we could offer the likes of nick Welch or Malcolm lake or Matigimu high performance contracts already instead of keeping a shingi masakadza or mutumbami in the system.. I guess its just wishfull thinking on my part and we will just keep on losing all the talented youngsters to other countries.ideas like giving the u19s contracts which they had will never be implemented.

[Googly]

What we lack are the seasoned pro's to pass on their knowledge to the new generation. They need to play in the same team and ideally need to win and learn what it takes to win.. We don't have that environment and it's a big problem. I think it's why Vusi and Hammy never went on to reach their full potential, because they had, and still have, the talent. I don't like branding our players as serial losers, that's not fair. Just in those two guys you have players that you know have the ability but have lacked that indefinable quality that would make them the 40 avg guys they deserve to be. A string of coaches over the years have failed to help them and I question that. When you can find a youngster here that can bat better than those two at club level that will be a eureka moment because they are excellent batsmen. A 4 year plan would require guys that think past next week, but I hear you, a better strategy is required. I just wonder if we have the time, because it seems to me that our status is going to be reviewed shortly. The only thing that will save us is the two tier system, because we no longer have a right to claim we can hold our own as a full member. I would love a conversation with Dave Richardson to try and find out what their plan is for Zim. We can't carry on like this, our slide into oblivion is gathering momentum. I don't see us winning any games, other than the odd one, which is the nature of cricket, but it's glaringly obvious that we are just not competitive anymore.

[watermelon]

The Zimbabwe team was always full of losers. At least now we have guys advancing through the system on merit, and not fighting against a board run-by Rhodesian puppets and western lackeys.

-watermelon.