[Match Thread] New Zealand vs Zimbabwe, Only Test

[brmtaylor.com admin]

A very disappointing loss in the end, let's hope for a better account in the limited overs series. I don't think there's much that can be learnt from this effort; the odd shellacking happens to all teams and while this was extremely bad the key is to ensure that it doesn't become a habit. Innings defeats will occur, especially to Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, but there needs to be more mental toughness to ensure that 5/12 never ever happens again.

I thought Chakabva showed a bit in the first innings against New Zealand last year but only today am I genuinely understanding why the selectors have persevered with him. He looks technically sound and has a solid and compact defence. He looked very good considering the circumstances. He might be the one bright spot to come out of this match. I thought Cremer also demonstrated his worth with the bat. On occasions he can look a bit streaky and his timing a bit off but I believe this is something that will improve for him as he adjusts to the pace of Test cricket. He will be a good number eight batsman for Zimbabwe. S Masakadza didn't look out of place with the bat either

Bring on the one day series!

[gargamel]

Absolute shocker !

The level of capitulation is mind boggling and i just cant get it how we imploded in such a bad way. if there was something good that was going for us i think it was our batting . We have the tools and the skilled players to perform and challenge any team in the world.This notion that we are taking baby steps or its expected that we would capitulate to me is not acceptable my reasons are as follows:

1. National team players are reasonably paid though late they get paid decent money and as such they must perform to justify their salaries and contracts .
2.The players should be motivated enough to perform exceptionally to display their talents to get a county contract or even better an IPL deal and they just shot themselves
3.The lads prance about their franchises and club sides in their national attire claiming to be professionals and as such they have to perform as such not like my primary school side and get bowled out twice in a day
4.We as Zimbabweans are a tough bunch like the Ozzies we have been through a lot as a nation and we have not buckled under all the economic and political upheavals we have had and the way we coped in the tough times was to adapt and if there are a people who adapt well its Zimbabweans and we get on with it.This adaptability that we as Zimbabweans demonstrates the ability to carefully assess a situation and apply a means of survival. Today i think the boys did not apply themselves they didn't try at all to cope or rectify their first innings disaster .
5. The selection panel of selectors and poor running of ZC has allowed the loss of so much talent to the cesspool of county cricket and graded cricket to the point i nearly vomit when i saw Colin dG was selected to play for NZ a boy who we had in a national structures . Even more glaring is the guys in our local FC system who have applied themselves are not been rewarded for their performances tho some just keep injuring themselves. I think there is complacency issues in the team i hope we get to a point where form determines selection , Consider Hammi he has been wretched and still gets picked , Tino Mawoyo has never convinced me that he has the stomach for a fight while players like Ewing , Queral sweat out winning performances in the FC system .Its time we look deep and cut the cancer in the team.



If i had it my way i would call them all back line them up at 1 commando barracks in front of the 5th Brigade and wallop them .

[eugene]

Thank god this match is over. New Zealand have proven why they are the form team in test cricket at the moment. Zimbabwe has assured itself of maintaining minnow status for the time being. One thing I have often said on this forum is that our players are just not good enough. I don't think we are selecting all the wrong players, it is just that Zimbabwe's best players are nowhere near the standard of the other test countries. All of our young batsmen seem to have glaring technical issues, what is going on with school-level coaching?

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Thank god this match is over. New Zealand have proven why they are the form team in test cricket at the moment. Zimbabwe has assured itself of maintaining minnow status for the time being. One thing I have often said on this forum is that our players are just not good enough. I don't think we are selecting all the wrong players, it is just that Zimbabwe's best players are nowhere near the standard of the other test countries. All of our young batsmen seem to have glaring technical issues, what is going on with school-level coaching?

Yes, I agree. Well said.

[Dr_Situ(ZimFanatic)]

4.We as Zimbabweans are a tough bunch like the Ozzies we have been through a lot as a nation and we have not buckled under all the economic and political upheavals we have had and the way we coped in the tough times was to adapt and if there are a people who adapt well its Zimbabweans and we get on with it.This adaptability that we as Zimbabweans demonstrates the ability to carefully assess a situation and apply a means of survival.

Loved that. Gimme a honorary Zimbabwean citizenship

If i had it my way i would call them all back line them up at 1 commando barracks in front of the 5th Brigade and wallop them .

Too harsh. Take the Indians first

[FlowerPower]

APOLOGIES:
Chakabva (and I suspect a few more also owe it)

Hhm you were dead right annoyingly so. NZ did declare and needed only one innings. But if you are to be honest not even you would have predicted the atrocious batting that we just witnessed.

Where do I start, Vusi is an obvious place to start, the decision, irrespective of any justification, did cost us and may well continue into the ODIs.

Our bowling was too green, however, aside Rainsford, Utseya and injured Mpofu and Price I fail to see who else we could have had, even pre this game when I saw the list I did raise concerns about taking Cremer over Utseya, I reasoned Utseya was a better replacement for Price, and as chance would we needed to replace him, and the result is there to read off the scorecard. I also consoled myself with the fact that Meth would be control, I reasoned Jarvis, Vitori and Masakadza would be vying for the two striking berths and Mpofu's control would be replaced by Meth, alas again our hand was forced...and I made my fears known. Indeed Shingi in his first spell actually almost proved my fears misplaced, but by day end he was back to his generous self. Vitori was the biggest disappointment, not because he did much worse than anyone, but more because we all except doggy and hhm, expected much more...

Where does one start with the batting? I also made my fears of Hami and Mawoyo opening known. I was surprised that Mutizwa was pushed up to no. 3 a key position in any line up on DEBUT! Really?!!!...all my line ups had him at 5 or 7....the lad was on debut for crying out loud! Taylor and Taibu were neatly tucked away lower down the order...not that it helped as everyone virtually opened, thanks for the self righteous treatment of Vusi...we could have fined him, if his actions were indeed out of line...talk of the disfigured face because of unwanted nose! The top and middle order caved in to swinging conditions, conditions the openers should really have shielded them from. Chakabva is the only batsman to walk away with some integrity in tact, thanks to Shingi and Cremer hanging around. But ZC should take a fair share of the blame for failing to handle the Vusi issue better.

However we should be careful with knee jerks here, firstly I hope this shows the right extremists that we are not there yet, and I hope this doesn't fuel the lefties into overdrive mode to ask that Guy and Eddo find and dust their bowling boots! The first two years are about learning and there will be plenty of bitter lessons such as this one it's all part of the game.

If hhm is allowed to chose a team I too would like to suggest one:

1. Ballance (do whatever it takes)
2. Mawoyo (because there isn't better and NO Duffin isn't better)
3. Vusi
4. Taylor (c)
5. Hami
6. Waller/Mutizwa/Ervine
7. Taibu (wkt) /Chakabva(sub keeper)
8. Jarvis
9. Vitori/Shingi (in that order)
10. Mpofu/Meth/Rainsford (in that order)
11. Price/Utseya (in that order)

The youngsters Chatara, Querl, Ncube, GM, Kasuza can learn in the A team, cruel as it sounds, Ewing and Duffin would be hitting retirement age once this team matures in 4/5 years time and I think it would be a waste to invest on them, they are playing a great role in FC and I commend them for that, but they are not the future and with all due respect we are building for the future and even if these guys came in we are not going to win in the present so I'd rather we invest in the future.

[FlowerPower]

If i had it my way i would call them all back line them up at 1 commando barracks in front of the 5th Brigade and wallop them .

Agree with most of your pain and anguish but that last statement is inconsiderate and offensive, your point could have carried the same weight without having to go there...Im not asking for a war, and I know you know what I mean, I hope it was an oversight on your part.

[hhm]

Thank god this match is over. New Zealand have proven why they are the form team in test cricket at the moment. Zimbabwe has assured itself of maintaining minnow status for the time being. One thing I have often said on this forum is that our players are just not good enough. I don't think we are selecting all the wrong players, it is just that Zimbabwe's best players are nowhere near the standard of the other test countries. All of our young batsmen seem to have glaring technical issues, what is going on with school-level coaching?

Yes, I agree. Well said.

It's hard to admit you're wrong guys isn't it? The boys will continue to regress, and I will continue to rub it up your nose. There's only one result to this. They will all eventually be dropped - with or without your blessing or should I say your continuing to be oblivious to their ineptitude! Stop trying to bracket them with the other players! Mpofu, Rainsford, Panyangara, Hondo, Mawhire, Vermeulen, Duffin & Ewing wouldn't be this consistently pathetic!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even if their present FC stats don't show it!

Just admit that you were:
- Wrong about Jarvis&Vitori being able to to pick up more than one wicket in the first innings. Even if this was a 5-Test match series that would've remained the case! All we've seen from them is a steady decline! 5 wickets in NZ's 2nd innings setting a target in Byo was a gift from them, not an acheivement! That exact kind of bowling has left many a bowler wicketless.
- Wrong about us being needed to bowl twice against good opposition
- Wrong about these players being better than my favorites. They were poorer u19s, poorer FC players, now clearly poorer international players(& were probably poorer club players too)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All you keep trying to do is, soften reality! Not all our players are bad. We might not have international class players, but we picked the next best - ones that were not ripe for the challenge - not yet at least, which is why they've recorded our worst loss. Just like the team including Andy & Heath - some guys have been right in saying we never won series, just competed, and won the odd Test. That's what we expect from our team as well. But really that was pathetic cricket allround - not deserving to be called international standard - Vitori, Jarvis, Shingi & Cremer are quite possibly among the worst bowling attacks to ever appear on the international stage! The batting was even worse! Except they have Taylor, Taibu & Hami - batsmen whom the world have seen perfrom admirably against some of the best attacks in the world! Not so these bowlers - camparatively they done nothing against nobodys!

The only people who can be blamed for not stepping up therfore are that same trio. Problem is their surrounded by mediocre palyers! The rest are simply not qualified to operate at this level right now! Neither negative cricticism nor expectation is deserved. When you're poor you're just that - poor! Nothing wrong with mentality, confidence, being overawed by the occasion, tour conditions etc.

Hhm you were dead right annoyingly so. NZ did declare and needed only one innings. But if you are to be honest not even you would have predicted the atrocious batting that we just witnessed.

I will commend you for acknowledging the obvious. You are a more sporting man than most!

Fact is, I was right about a lot of things boet! I insisted Taylor must play in the XI match but he or our allknowing coaches thought he was God. Even then I still said He must go up the order to counter Martin. Remember my prediction - if Taylor fails - expect the worst from our batting, and that's precisely what happend! Hami had to drop down the order. Tino isn't good enough, Taibu out of form, Waller over-rated, Forster pathetic!

Forget Ballance! Unfortunately, the team you offer presents no change, it's essentially the same, and it will continue to fail and embarass us even worse than the youngsters of whom then we actually had an excuse - 'prematurely thrown into the deepend post the rebel fallout, and with little time to prepare'.

RING IN THE CHANGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's not panicking or a knee-jerk reaction, it's the right thing to do! The logical thing to do. The only logical thing to do

[brmtaylor.com admin]

The youngsters Chatara, Querl, Ncube, GM, Kasuza can learn in the A team, cruel as it sounds, Ewing and Duffin would be hitting retirement age once this team matures in 4/5 years time and I think it would be a waste to invest on them, they are playing a great role in FC and I commend them for that, but they are not the future and with all due respect we are building for the future and even if these guys came in we are not going to win in the present so I'd rather we invest in the future.

Yeah, absolutely spot on mate. What excites me about Jarvis and Vitori that I haven't seen from any of the other seam bowlers tried in the last few years is the variation that they possess. Vitori has a great bouncer and he can swing it both ways. That is a great foundation for Streak to work with. Jarvis' outswinger is very natural and if he could bowl a touch straighter it would have been more effective in this match. The key for both of these guys is to up their pace. If their stock ball could be 137 instead of 127 then those bouncers and huge swinging deliveries would be harder to deal with - not to mention anything that deviates off the pitch. They are good investments because they have the raw talent. Stamina and fitness can be developed and the experience in different conditions will come in time.

I wasn't too disappointed with S Masakadza's performance but he doesn't get the assistance through the air or off the pitch that Vitori and Jarvis do, but we knew this from the ODIs he has played, just as we knew he is prone to bowling waist high full tosses and extreme wides. He's a big unit though so I see a position for him if he can improve his pace. Jarvis is not bowling as quick as we know he can, so if S Masakadza can work on the ability to bowl 140-145 then he can carve a niche for himself.

[hhm]

Avoiding ME, FACTS & REALITY doesn't help

Jarvis averages 91, 3.6eco & SR151 in the 1st innings!

When will he turn that around, and against which opposition? Those stats get even worse when you leave out Bangladesh He averages 99.00, 3.50eco & 169.3!

Vitori is not worth the minor effort on statsguru! He's profile will suffice! But so you can be able to search these old posts and see the figures still getting worse each time, it'll be my pleasure! That way you'll know you should've faced facts sooner or stopped standing up for rubbish!
Vitori in the fisrt innings including poor opposition:
averages 52.6, 3.55eco & SR88.8
Excluding poor opposition:
averages 197, 3.94eco & SR300

With all due respect, were it not for the fact that we're playing Bangladesh next, so a smokescreen can be put up, those figures are actually set to get worse. Would you be satisfied with a 50% improvement after they've doubled the amount of Test matches they've played? I think not, and I doubt the selectors will allow them to last that long.

It's better to be dropped now, rather than 2-3 series later. Ncube actually stands a chance of being brought back after this shambolic display, and with him, Chatara, Rainsford & Querl lurking, I doubt whoever is dropped 2-3 series later stands a chance of being brought back in less than a year - two, or shoul I say 4 series!