Gupomania
Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 7:54 am
The same man who got rid of Panyangara at the Rhinos, is the man who recruited Gupo from the Eagles. I won't dwell too much on just how stupid that Panyangara decision was.
Gupo definitely has the temperament of the FC game.
In his first match for the Rhinos he got:
2(15) SR22.22
13(61) SR21.31
He was batting at first drop
In his 2nd match for them:
45(180) SR25
23*(75) SR30.66
He was batting at four
In the current match:
5(21) SR23.80
He batted at 5
So far 10*(49) SR20.40 trying to save a match with 449 runs the target Great Zhuwao set against Gupo's poor mates.
He is batting at 6
I like the fact that he is at least batting lower, so will score more runs and in the process get to develop confidence around his strokes to move the game along.
But Gupo is a tragic case of failure to develop players!!! He batted lower initially, made progress and was pushed up to open far too soon. Even when he was struggling to score big no adjustment was made. The time he spent opening over those seasons were wasted years. He's 28 now. He proved ability to take the shine off the ball, and Eagles benefited. But the guys who really benefited were the likes of Raza and Chamu, who really should have been opening instead.
Malcolm Waller is a special case of someone who excelled over seasons batting at 5/6 but was never pushed up to at least 3 in the Logan Cup. Hence his pathetic international batting against international bowlers.
Conversely we see the likes of Chari being persisted with opening (or at 3) when they've shown they like to move the game along insted. Again wasted years.
Mutombodzi is now at a stage where he too should be moving a bit up in the order to prepare himself for the next step to international cricket.
In the end this is why I argue Kasuza will most likely be the next best batsmen the Logan Cup has produced because he hasn;t sunk but swam at every position, and he's still just 24!
Most importantly, Zimbabwe need to keep an eye on and work on Gupo. He easily faces more balls than anyone in his teams. i wouldn;t be surprised if statistically, he has faced more balls than anyone in the Logan Cup over his period.
Gupo definitely has the temperament of the FC game.
In his first match for the Rhinos he got:
2(15) SR22.22
13(61) SR21.31
He was batting at first drop
In his 2nd match for them:
45(180) SR25
23*(75) SR30.66
He was batting at four
In the current match:
5(21) SR23.80
He batted at 5
So far 10*(49) SR20.40 trying to save a match with 449 runs the target Great Zhuwao set against Gupo's poor mates.
He is batting at 6
I like the fact that he is at least batting lower, so will score more runs and in the process get to develop confidence around his strokes to move the game along.
But Gupo is a tragic case of failure to develop players!!! He batted lower initially, made progress and was pushed up to open far too soon. Even when he was struggling to score big no adjustment was made. The time he spent opening over those seasons were wasted years. He's 28 now. He proved ability to take the shine off the ball, and Eagles benefited. But the guys who really benefited were the likes of Raza and Chamu, who really should have been opening instead.
Malcolm Waller is a special case of someone who excelled over seasons batting at 5/6 but was never pushed up to at least 3 in the Logan Cup. Hence his pathetic international batting against international bowlers.
Conversely we see the likes of Chari being persisted with opening (or at 3) when they've shown they like to move the game along insted. Again wasted years.
Mutombodzi is now at a stage where he too should be moving a bit up in the order to prepare himself for the next step to international cricket.
In the end this is why I argue Kasuza will most likely be the next best batsmen the Logan Cup has produced because he hasn;t sunk but swam at every position, and he's still just 24!
Most importantly, Zimbabwe need to keep an eye on and work on Gupo. He easily faces more balls than anyone in his teams. i wouldn;t be surprised if statistically, he has faced more balls than anyone in the Logan Cup over his period.
