Zimbabwe vs England | Only Test | 22 - 25th May 2025

[Pat_Bee]

I know Newman and Matigimu are relatively faster

Newman is the fastest guy in Zim allegedly

[Pat_Bee]

Some talk that Antum Naqvi will be available from November.

Hopefully it's true. He wouldn't have stuck around if it was years away. It has to be close

He’ll get arrested in the changing room right after the side is named at the toss

[Pat_Bee]

That Williams guy retiring?

[Googly]

To be fair after the England test and watching our pace bowlers plus hearing the commentary from the English guys I think the Zim 'brains trust' might have been on to something with their trials and subsequently leaving some guys out. Sam Cook has been getting roasted for having lost his pace after a couple of spells. They clearly stated that you need guys who are rapid to trouble the good batsmen.

If we look at Chivanga and Nyauchi. They are complete opposites but Chivanga created a lot more danger simply because he is faster. He was spraying it everywhere but the truth at a certain pace all you need is to get it right a few times and you are suddenly in business. He was clearly rusty but I did see at least 1 delivery hit 140. He should have had at least 1 more wicket. Nyauchi for as good as he has been in the past was not effective at the level we were playing.

In the end test cricket is about picking up 20 wickets for the least amount of runs. We are still at the picking up 20 wickets stage. We need faster bowlers. I know Newman and Matigimu are relatively faster than all of the guys we saw besides Blessing(zim players). I also think Trevor is faster than Nyauchi and maybe even Ngarava at this stage. So I kind of get what they are trying to do now.

Well it was interesting in that the English were having public discussions about their bowling attack. I'm not up to speed with them atm, where are Woods and Archer?
That was also brought on by our batters surprisng them by a trio of them doing well and nobody really being at sea. Pretty insulting panicking that Zim batters showed some resistance and ability and they decide their bowling is shit. We really have sunk low. Well Stokes bothered our boys, that much is true.

We're not going to find 3 seamers that bowl 140 accurately, its an unrealistic wish list, or even two for that matter.

You're talking like medium pacers cant get 20 wickets.
Pollock and Philander spring to mind. They had someone hostile at the other end- Steyn and Donald.

[Googly]

You said yourself that at a certain pace you only have to get a few right. I would partly agree if that was 150, but even then thats not entirely accurate. Batters are a lot better at facing pace these days, thanks to sidearm. At 130-135 its not threatening.

If you've got two guys at either end bowling consistently in the right areas the wickets will come and the run rate will be 3 something, provided the deck is not a complete road.

Oh those commentators then said the English would get a lot more assistance out of the pitch than our guys, which was as usual true, but our batters still negotiated that well enough that theyre blaming their bowlers and not giving some credit to our batters.

Chivanga is going to run into difficulties with his back breaking action. He's had a shoulder op and surprisingly not a back op. Its a worry getting into that horrible looking position. Thst best ball of his was amazing. A contender for best ball not to get a wicket.. One ball! If he can land 10% of his deliveries in that sort of area I'd be seeing your argument, but he currently isn't.

Did you see our pitch maps. They were terrible. Our seam attack is not getting 20 wickets.

[Googly]

My issue is with Evans. If the coaches dont want him they're emphatically wrong.
If its the selectors that don't want him they're also wrong, but in addition to that one will always wonder.

You just have to have guys bowling consistently in the right areas at this level. Whatever pace they bowl at is secondary.

[Andy31]

My issue is with Evans. If the coaches dont want him they're emphatically wrong.
If its the selectors that don't want him they're also wrong, but in addition to that one will always wonder.

You just have to have guys bowling consistently in the right areas at this level. Whatever pace they bowl at is secondary.

I find the selection for bowling a big issues

If you average 35 plus in Logan cup your not going to do well in test.
Just cos you bowl well in List A your not going to bowl well in test and vice versa.


Gwandu is a great example.

[andrea lanzoni]

I would like to watch Logan Cup if it were decently televised: watching the pitch only for hours is not appealing

It’s a top quality stream. A camera at both ends is the only improvement that needs. Serves its purpose of seeing how a guy bats and bowls.

The quality of the stream is acceptable.
What I pointed out is that after batting you are left in the domain of guessing: where the ball is going? Will be there a fielder to catch it? Will it go trespassing the boundary or not?
Then you see a ball coming from nowhere returning to keeper and to bowler for the following bowl.

Such fragmented broadcasting doesn't appeal anyone.

If you simply add another, fixed, camera on the other side of the pitch it doesn't help at all. What's needed is a zooming-back which allows to follow, although not in close-up, the ball where it goes. This may be obtained from the only camera on field, provided it's not a stand alone camera with no operator of course.

As I said (several times) a decent broadcasting would then have a worldwide audience and be paid back by sponsors. NOT local sponsors: if the audience is worldwide you may have from overseas.
Finally: Italy cricket is ... "fourth world" with infinite less resources than ZC, however live stream of matches covering the pitch only is common even here.

[Mueddie28]

When is south african tour match hapoening with Zimbabwe in the UK..

[Pat_Bee]

When is south african tour match hapoening with Zimbabwe in the UK..

Tuesday bro.