Zimbabwe vs South Africa / 1st T20 / Tri-Series / Harare

[tawac]

Apparently we are still having an experimental side still with the qualifiers soo close. What took the game away from us was clearly the six hitting. The commentators were saying its quite a big field but the Saffers were clearing it easily. I wonder who actually sits down to think lets have Madande at 3. It makes noo sense at all. I would rather have Maru and Welch up there. They do the job in domestic cricket which apparently counts for nothing according to Raza yet they expect magic from Madande. You cant reinvent the wheel man. Im clad Raza actually sees that they have a gaping hole at 2 & 3 which needs to be fixed. Not to many games to the qualifiers though. Lets hope we see some change in the next game. Wes has just about out lived all his 9 lives and then some. Let the poor kid have a rest. Its not happening for him. He needs to go and appease his ancestors cause someone is definitely making life hard for him.

[Googly]

Returning BT as keeper, captain and key batsman is wild mate at least you resisted the urge to make him open

Not really. He's in the best nick of his life, he's been hitting for 3-4 hours a day and looks absolutely superb. I'll bet my bottom dollar he's going to do very well.
Keeping is a big stretch , but it really extends that line-up. If you're 8 or 9 down odds are the innings is not going well BUT it frees the minds of the batsmen. Its our single biggest problem. They will know someone equally good is in next. We have never ever had that luxury, not for 30 years. With some smart management and no prejudice we have it right now. Obviously it's not going to happen, but it's worth the public knowing.
Everyone is batting for spots atm and they dont want to lose their wickets and whether its consciously or not theyre batting for a decent average to get picked next game and not to win. I mentioned captaincy because that might lure Williams back. BT has the luxury of being a truth teller as well. We're tired of rhe speeches of taking positives from every bad loss. We've got enough positives to fill a stadium and it hasn't made a jot of difference.

Regarding the keeping- obviously highly unlikely, but that leaves (for T20) Madande, Mayavo and Marumani. The best of these three is Maru. Very talented but mentally scarred. Our keeper is eventually likely to be Melch. Its a matter of time, he has the highest ceiling. He should have been identified as a PONI and at least be on the periphery of all of the squads. To date they've deliberately kept him away because why? Just ask the franchise players about him.

Regarding opening . Let's see how he goes. Nelch and Bennett are good options but Id guarantee BT is an option.

[Googly]

Apparently we are still having an experimental side still with the qualifiers soo close. What took the game away from us was clearly the six hitting. The commentators were saying its quite a big field but the Saffers were clearing it easily. I wonder who actually sits down to think lets have Madande at 3. It makes noo sense at all. I would rather have Maru and Welch up there. They do the job in domestic cricket which apparently counts for nothing according to Raza yet they expect magic from Madande. You cant reinvent the wheel man. Im clad Raza actually sees that they have a gaping hole at 2 & 3 which needs to be fixed. Not to many games to the qualifiers though. Lets hope we see some change in the next game. Wes has just about out lived all his 9 lives and then some. Let the poor kid have a rest. Its not happening for him. He needs to go and appease his ancestors cause someone is definitely making life hard for him.

Raza has shot his bolt as a truth teller. He's lost the public in that regard and I'll guarantee the change room as well. He's been our star player for years, nobody is disputing that, hats off to the guy, but he tells porkies, to what end?

[Googly]

To be fair this was not the worst game we have played. It's just that the losses are piling up. It's crazy to think that Wes, Madande, Musekiwa and Munyonga are all in that mid 20s age bracket. The chances are going to dry up in the next 18 months if they are not careful. Get dropped this time and you might not come back.

Myers is slightly younger than them so I wouldn't put him in the same bracket but I see them promoting the likes of Bawa and Taruvinga soon. It's becoming hard to defend. Some of those stats are now in Matsikenyeri territory.

I'm also not a fan of having T20 players who can't hit a six to save their life. Madande has one shot. Wes actually doesn't have one. We saw how the South Africans easily hit a six when a little bit of pressure was built up. I would rather try someone like Munyonga up the order because you won't get a 9 ball/ 1 run disaster from someone like him. You won't get that from Musekiwa either. 9 runs from 4 overs by those 2 killed us.

We're back to our bog standard selves. Raza saves the blushes, Burl weighs in with a few and the new kid on the block keeps doing well. We take early wickets, we have an unlikely sniff and then bottle it because we don't have a seaming all-rounder.
You're 100% correct in that Madande, Musekiwa, Maru, Munyonga and Wes only have a couple of years left before they try the next batch of generational gem talents. There should be a hysterical laugh emoji.
Bawa has got game. He has a chance. Panashe won't make it, but we will certainly see him for many years. Bawa is up for a fight as well, he's tough, one of our few guys that really hates losing.
The 6 hitting is tough on that ground, no escaping it, hence my rant about the boundary size. Brevis is world renowned as a massive hitter. He was the one that did the damage. Those were pie balls though, but he pounces on them. The shorter boundaries are down the ground. U dont get many Vee balls at this level, you need ro try and pull it straight, more of a slap, such a tough shot and you have to be strong.

Musekiwa is a dot dot dot 4 guy, trust me on this. In domestic you get balls to hit, at this level theyre few and far between. That shot he squeezed behind point for 4 was absolutely delicious though. That really made me sit up and take notice. He also looks like he is not unnerved by the situation.
As a finisher you have to be inventive, use your crease, create angles, hit on the up, have that back foot pull off a ball that's not quite there, be able to slap it straight, have the shot over extra, ramp and scoop etc. I'd like to see him face at least 4 or 5 overs and see if he's improved.

We're not winning a game here, they should try him in front of Raza and give him time in the middle. He just hasn't had enuf exposure at this level. You can't go into qualifiers and a WC when you've only seen your finisher for an over here and there. If its an experimental side then experiment.
Wes is going to continue to struggle, his head is blown. Clive doesn't have the game. Let's see Toni or Dion up the order.
Dion plays seam better, maybe he's a better option up the order.