"The Good Murungu" is out now in the UK!

[brmtaylor.com admin]

I think Alan Butcher was a liberal.

I think you're right. He's very big on the new age stuff like visualising success as a training technique, things like that.

I think guys like Shane Warne would just roll their eyes at it, but for a team like Zimbabwe where there's been calls for years to get a psychologist (and this is covered quite a bit too) perhaps these sort of mental exercises can be beneficial.

Reading between the lines, you can tell that his biggest gripe with the team is how timid they were. Nobody would speak up at team meetings (because it was a student/teacher relationship between players and coaches in the past, it was out of place, for fear of ZC repercussions etc). And this general mindset extended to match day as well.

Plenty of times when we on here have been wondering what the hell is happening on the field was down to the players not taking the initiative. One example was listed, I think vs SL in a World T20 game with rain on the way. I can't remember the exact figures, but we sauntered along at 3 an over or so until it was washed out, when 5 overs of going at a RR of 8 would have won us the game on D/L. SL knew the score and got through the overs quickly while the batsmen mindlessly blocked deliveries. And it was essentially a case of the batsmen saying to the coaches "but you didn't tell us to go quickly" or some such story... not taking the initiative themselves.

[Googly]

unfortunately you need a tough competitive domestic league if you're going to produce a quality national side. With our very limited and sporadic FC set up its frustrating when the national players don't turn out for club games. You're not going to substitute tough game time with visualisation and the power of positive thought. I agree with what he says about the guys not being combative enough, they often just roll over. Guys like Trenchard were important in our game. They were in your face aggressive and wanted to win, and had a bit of game to back it up. At all levels in Zim I see very few players that really dig deep to manufacture a win.
For sure disagreeing with anything the hierarchy say spells disaster and their view of the players as mere pawns is a huge part of the problem. I'm sounding like that moron repeating myself but we need a proper, well managed players union. It's the answer to our problems. Players and coaches not prepared to put up with being mistreated walk away- the list is long.

[ZIMDOGGY]

I'd like to see a hard headed African guy show passion and fire everyone up. Get a cricketing cultural change in that segment, where failure is no option. I guess Zimbabweans are used to failure and being let down by everyone sadly in all walks of life so they just accept it.

But I still wish they will develop a competitive edge like how NFL players do. Everyone is so mildly zim or almost cowardly complain off the field.

[jaybro]

Googly is right our current mob don't want to win enough, they're stuck in this trend of loosing without consequence which has built a culture of it caring. The reason why Afghanistan and Ireland beat us regularly when they shouldn't is because they want to win they want to beat full member sides they're setting themselves goals and achieving them. This is what Zimbabwe used to be like, they loved being the underdogs and knocking off more fancied opponents like India, Pakistan and England. Now they like being underdogs because they're under no pressure to win and are afraid to play the associates cause they're afraid to loose .....

How to fix it ? It all starts with the culture around the side Streak has to fine guys who want to win and build the culture around them so when the youngsters like Murray, Mashinge and Ngarava come into the side there is a 'want to win' culture .....

Easier said then done though .....

[eugene]

I can't speak of Zimbabweans so much, but having done some teaching in Nigeria I can say that there is very much a hierarchy when it comes to students/teachers or in our case coach/player. In Nigeria I have attended lectures where the teacher is telling off people for not concentrating and berating them for being useless, keep in mind these are adult students being yelled at. In much of the world this would not be tolerated and people would tell the teacher to piss off, but perhaps in Africa things are different? Still seems to be a "bow down to the master" kind of society.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

There's probably a middle ground between a liberal like Butcher and a dictator like Mangongo though.
I think a guy like Geoff Marsh fits the bill, but of course ZC decided to implode when he was at the helm so we'll never know.

[Mueddie28]

There's probably a middle ground between a liberal like Butcher and a dictator like Mangongo though.
I think a guy like Geoff Marsh fits the bill, but of course ZC decided to implode when he was at the helm so we'll never know.

Zc should engage A Flower, Murray Godwin etc with input...Any help is useful...

[Terryalderman]

After finishing the book, which sadly leaves you more frustrated than ever about the game in zim you take your hat off to all those who continue to ply their trade in the game. Except goodwill Makoni, who did his best to drive a wedge in the team!
It's interesting reading the book and thinking about all the things that are rumoured on this forum, most definitely have some facts it's just which side of the story you hear it from! Alastair Campbell is an example of this, as is Steve mongango.
Can't believe Brendan Taylor did as well as he did despite failing fitness tests! Craig Ervine is right handed but a thumb injury as a twelve your old forced him to become left handed.
Cephas and Ryan butterworth both got selected despite looking out of their depth even in the nets, although butcher did say given time butterworth may have figured out to handle international cricket.
One of the young leg spinners (sorry forgotten name) didn't turn up to an A game because he couldn't pay for petrol and was then suspended from training. It sounds like local sport problems not international cricket.

[CrimsonAvenger]

Great to see these excerpts being posted by those who have already read the book. And the Zhuwao and Butterworth issues corroborates with observations made by forumers about their abilities too...

[sloandog]

The book is good, but it's nothing special. Like Terry just said, the part about Butterworth was very interesting as everybody on the forum was pining for him to reach the national side in 2010. He spoke highly of Keegan Meth. The young leg spinner was Natsi Mushangwe (spelling), and was interesting that Butcher never really got on totally well with Grant Flower, and had a big influence on him retiring before the World cup in 2011.

Butcher also named the likes of Robin Brown, Andy Waller, Kevin Curran and Wayne James the 'Professors of Negativity' says it all. Curran was never like that when I met him, he was a hard ass though!