zimcricketforums.com

First let me say that this 1st Twenty20 was a very enjoyable game. Zimbabwe didn't play well overall because of a few poor overs and the failures of most of the batsmen, but they played very well at times. There were some very promising signs: Taibu looks to be in some good form, Price has established himself as the new star of the team, Mupariwa looks to be a good replacement for Gary Brent, Masakadza has shown that he is a very good, aggressive batsman.

But there were some very disappointing signs as well: Matsikenyeri, Mpofu, Dabengwa and Utseya.

Prosper Utseya needs to concentrate on his bowling, this match has shown that he is not the best choice for captain. This also reflects badly on Walter Chawaguta, as we don't know how many of these decisions he was behind.

Matsikenyeri opening
Wrong decision. In the last few ODI's Zimbabwe played I believe Taibu and Masakadza had been opening, and with reasonable success. Taibu should have remained as opener with no Sibanda or Taylor. Matsikenyeri last played a good innings in the SA domestic competition where he added a quick 50 towards the end of an innings, obviously this is the role he is more suited to - for those two reasons Matsikenyeri should be batting at about 6. Although in all honesty, he should be dropped. He made a single run, I'm sure Chakabva or Zhuwawo would have done better. Time for a stint on the sidelines for Stuart.

Mpofu opening the bowling
Elton Chigumbura is our opening bowler. Mpofu is out of his depth at international level. Luckily he's young and has time to fix his problems (such as hitting the right length) but for the time being he shouldn't be playing. Chigumbura and Mupariwa should be opening the bowling.

Giving Dabengwa a bowl
Dabengwa can't bowl, everyone knows that. That's why his first ball went for six.

Giving Dabengwa a second over
What the hell was Utseya thinking? Dabengwa got smacked for 6 again in that over, which sealed the match. Should probably be dropped too, we can't keep him in the side for his fielding. Also, what the hell was Utseya thinking when he gave Mpofu a second over. Two very costly decisions, and when we are talking 20 runs in a tight match it could have been the difference.

Not giving Maruma a bowl
Why was he in the team if he wasn't going to be given a bowl? Particularly when Dabengwa gets an over before he does? If he was included for his batting then the selector on tour, Kenyon Ziehl, has rocks in his head. Get Chakabva or Zhuwawo, hell, get Cremer, if you want an extra batsman. This was just mystifying.



Ray Price was the standout player for Zimbabwe, along with Taibu who batted well. Price it looked was calling the shots when he was bowling, he was setting his fields, and it definitely paid off, as he was behind 3 or 4 wickets when you include the run outs. He is our experienced player, he's been on the county scene for years and has been a very good Test match player for us. He should be our captain.

As I said, Chawaguta may have been behind some of these crazy "tactics", but as far as Maruma not bowling and Mpofu being left in the attack... Utseya could have made these decisions himself.

Fielding errors and poor bowling (wides, too many short balls) contributed to the loss, but ultimately it was poor captaincy (and coaching) IMO. With 9 from 12 balls required or whatever it was for SL, Keith Dabengwa is the last man on earth you give the ball to. At that point, only wickets can save the match, and Elton Chigumbura had overs left.

But so I don't end on a sour note, credit to Zimbabwe. Despite having to deal with some of the strangest things I have ever seen a captain do, and some very poor overs by Mpofu, they clawed their way back and thanks to Price an upset was looking like a real possibility.

I dont know why utseya is the captain. Is it because he is pliable to the whims of those around him? Taibu would have fitted that mould around four years ago when he was captain but as we saw with the second rebel saga taibu was very much his own man and prepared to stand up to the board.
Yes either Price/taibu masacadza should be captain ( in that order) I think they have too much strong personalities though which with the ZC board is a bad thing as they generally seem to like captains to be subserviant

Pricey is our best test bowler. Has lots of experience and above all has tons of passion.The way he mesmerised Sachin in Kotla test is still a treat to remember.

Prosper on the other hand humiliated us in his first outing as skipper. At the toss, when Greg Chappell asked him who's in and who's out, he had no clue.Tony Greig laughed at that. Brushing this aside, he is a great bowler but his bowling has been Hampered by captaincy.

Pm gagj Qgad.

On merit, everybody can see that Price should be the captain, but ZC is likely to play the race card. If not him, the other suitable character is Taibu, but it looks unlikely after the incident with the female adminstrator.

Utseya again turned to Dabengwa before Maruma. I honestly do not know what is going through our captains mind. And when Maruma finally did get a bowl, 1/8... Dabengwa got 0/25. Dabengwa should be dropped so we never have this problem again.

Everyone has started publicly criticizing his skills (or the lack of it) as captain, even the coach and Alistair Campbell, yesterday. Seriously now, he cannot continue. Having no replacement options cannot be a reason that can be given now.

Taibu, given his latest altercations, would not, and probably should not, get it.
Price is the obvious choice, but will they go for it?
Masakadza is another option (Remember? He also had miscalculated the overs up the sleeve of Brent in Pakistan, but looks a bettr option than Utseya anyway)

EDIT: Hey, wait! We need to have somebody who has cemented his place in the side as captain. How about Dabengwa?

At least Dabengwa captains Westerns. Utseya doesn't even captain Easterns or Takashinga. Dabengwa's a joke though. I'd love him to show us all up by scoring a century tomorrow (or bowling a dot ball), but I'm not exactly holding my breath.

I think I said about 6 months ago that Utseya had promise as a tactician (probably around the time that Masakadza miscalculated the bowlers overs against Pakistan), but boy was I off the mark. Obviously Robin Brown was pulling the strings back then

They have to give the captaincy to Taibu or Price. Taibu is our version of Ponting, he seems a touch arrogant but with the skills to back it up most of the time. I'm not sure who to compare Price to, but he has attitude and passion and he'd be a good captain.

I don't think Ray is the kind of person who would seek or enjoy captaincy, to be honest. He's better off playing the role he does at the moment. Taibu is definately the best choice, but obviously the things he has done mean ZC won't give it back to him, rightly or wrongly. We'd be better off just sticking with Utseya as the best of a bad lot. No-one else really stands out as captaincy material.

Rayzer wrote:We'd be better off just sticking with Utseya as the best of a bad lot. No-one else really stands out as captaincy material.

Welcome to the boards!

The other possibility may be Stuart Matsikenyeri, who's shown on the occasions he's been given the captaincy of Zim Provinces that he has the killer instinct that Utseya lacks. Unfortunately his form is very poor at the moment, which kinda undermines the case for him...

maehara wrote:

Rayzer wrote:We'd be better off just sticking with Utseya as the best of a bad lot. No-one else really stands out as captaincy material.

Welcome to the boards!

The other possibility may be Stuart Matsikenyeri, who's shown on the occasions he's been given the captaincy of Zim Provinces that he has the killer instinct that Utseya lacks. Unfortunately his form is very poor at the moment, which kinda undermines the case for him...

Well if there's one reason to support Matsikenyeri as captain, it's that he's always in the team. Dabengwa could be vice captain