Zimbabwe Vs West Indies | 2nd Test | 12-16 Feb 2023 | Bulawayo

[jaybro]

I'm doubtful if we would ever see all of Ballance, Williams, Ervine, Raza + Kaia and Burl take the field as part of the same Zim XI - in any format.

Hopefully in the qualifiers

[CrimsonAvenger]

I'm doubtful if we would ever see all of Ballance, Williams, Ervine, Raza + Kaia and Burl take the field as part of the same Zim XI - in any format.

Hopefully in the qualifiers

+ Muzarabani.

Yes, if they all turn up injury and migraine free for the whole tournament, we can dare to dream...

[sam_ahm]

I don't see any reason why a full strength team couldn't have sealed a series win here. I'm absolutely gutted at the number of players missing for such a rare test series.

I'm sorry guys but this just hurts, injuries, illness, bloody franchise commitments, and fans are simply taken for a ride. I simply can't motivate myself to watch this shit.

[TapsC2]

To be honest I think Raza and Burl themselves saw what happened. Nobody and I mean absolutely nobody can blame ZC for not issuing out NOCs next time we play a team stronger than us and to be honest that means only Ireland and the Dutch. Especially since they all already knew Williams was injured. It was a big gamble and it has made us look like a joke for the first time in a long time.

I'm sorry but if Pakistan do come during the IPL, Raza better pitch up or retire overall. What's the point of having somebody on a contract if they only going to play 2 and a half games in 6 months.

[TapsC2]

The only reason I was advocating for Raza and co to miss the Ireland games was that they could play the West Indies without too many issues. Not this

[CrimsonAvenger]

The only reason I was advocating for Raza and co to miss the Ireland games was that they could play the West Indies without too many issues. Not this

Yeah, that was a decent bargain.

[CrimsonAvenger]

I went away with 11 runs needed to make them bat again and 3 wickets in hand, assuming that we would make them bat again at least. Well...

[CrimsonAvenger]

Even with what we had at hand, severely underbowling Mavuta in the second dig of first test, doing the same with Wellington (compared to Tiripano and Chivanga) in this test, not promoting Mavuta and Wellington above Tsiga in this test based on their batting performance in the last match - school boy errors.

[slcricfan1]

It's such a mental game, we've only got a handful of guys that believe they can play at this level. The majority just capitulate.
The Don has a lot of fight.
The guys I worry about are Madhevere and Shumba. They are supposed to be replacements down the line, but were "fast tracked" and it mostly hasn't worked. They must be fairly shell-shocked by now. We all had high hopes, ZC in particular, and there will be some anxiety around the corner.
I used the inverted commas because other teams put youngsters in occasionally and they often come off.
Whatever happened to Privthi Shaw? He's just disappeared?
It will be interesting to see how Bennett and Welch Jr go in the year ahead, they both showed a lot of ability in u19. Both have plenty of ability, just need to see if they have the mental aptitude.

Wes hit the ground running and was averaging 36 through his first 20 ODIs I believe, but that Test series v Afghanistan really rocked him, and apart from a few 50s in t20s and that 70 odd v Australia he’s been all at sea.

It’s up to Dave and the coaching staff to get Wes, Shumba & Marumani over the hump that is going from domestic cricket to international cricket.

But what is the the pathway? Is it more domestic cricket until they’ve ticked off 3000 runs? Is it playing against the county sides? Maybe it’s more international cricket but against associate nations like Namibia or Nepal?

I’m not sure what the answer is, I kind of lean towards more domestic cricket until they find their games. A season or two playing club cricket in England & Australia also wouldn’t hurt.

How did Kaia develop his game?

[Crastle_cog]

One thing that I echoed earlier about Kaia and Mavuta is the experience abroad. Apart from them two, Burl and blessing you can't point out anyone else under 30 who looks/started to look somewhat consistent according to Zim standards. Evans has a good chance to become a vital cog, Nyauchi & Welli have had some performances and Ngarava has certainly improved in the shorter formats. Mavuta and Kaia have upped their game ever since having their stints in England and Australia. We need more of that. Yes Wes, Milton, Maru, Bennett, Welch jnr, Munyonga , Madande all have potential but they need such stints abroad to be competitive and consistent against the top nations. Our domestic scene is certainly better than what is was in the recent past but when guys like naqvi, compton absolutely dominate the scene with no bruises it shows we still have a long way to go.