Gary ballance bombshell switch

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sam_ahm
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by sam_ahm »

Ya, I understand folks.. For Zimbabwe to be a proper mid level team it is necessary to have better players.

secretzimbo
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by secretzimbo »

sam_ahm wrote:
Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:02 pm
There will always be two sides to this argument. While personally I do agree that the likes of Gary Ballance and other UK based players will add immense value to the team, bringing them back will also be a huge disrespect towards the players who choose to stick around with Zimbabwe cricket in the tough times and have given it their all. For them to lose position to UK based players will be unfair. Very unfair.

ZC will have to find the right balance. The situation with BT abd Jarvis was very different, both, Taylor in particular, had greatly served ZC before leaving. Here we are talking about players who never cared to represent Zimbabwe, taking them back, just like that, will not go down well with existing players, irrespective of their colour.

A better, long term option, would be to make the current group of youngsters stick around. The younger Welch, Bennet brothers, Bawa, Falao etc. Ensure that they make the long term future.
I think you raise good points and I agree.

It's a very idealistic fan viewpoint to just think there will be no issues.

Importing players is exceptionally risky, for several reasons. Great for us fans in the short term but the risk is massive. We are literally already seeing a few individuals playing the race card against Houghton already even when we are winning......
The usual suspects on social media have said things like 'the racists and rhodesians are happy only because a white man is coach' and 'remember the BLACK board should get the kudos for appointing him'.


Anyone who thinks importing two or three white players to slot straight into the team won't cause problems, does not have their finger on the pulse of the reality on the ground.

It may be okay as long as they do really well and win. But the risk of everything imploding if they have a poor run of results is real.

There's also the very real fear of board elections next year. I'd say the current cartel are extremely likely to win, especially after recent successes. But if there dares be a challenger from an opposing side, backed by any single white individual then you can bet it will all kick off there too. The last board elections were so damaging and, frankly, frightening. Race could rear its head if things get ugly again.

As you say, disillusionment amongst other fringe players is likely too. It's not justified, I agree. Because obviously Gary Ballance is a better player than Takduzwa Kaitano or whoever. But it's idealistic to think the local players won't mind or care.

Importing players provides massive risks at almost every level.
Potentially massive rewards if it all goes right, sure. But it's all a bit silly to think everything will go swimmingly.

secretzimbo
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by secretzimbo »

This is ZC. We've been lucky that we've had two years of things being peaceful and okay.

What are the chances of the next two years being the same? History says pretty low.

ZIMDOGGY
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by ZIMDOGGY »

secretzimbo wrote:
Tue Aug 09, 2022 6:58 am
sam_ahm wrote:
Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:02 pm
There will always be two sides to this argument. While personally I do agree that the likes of Gary Ballance and other UK based players will add immense value to the team, bringing them back will also be a huge disrespect towards the players who choose to stick around with Zimbabwe cricket in the tough times and have given it their all. For them to lose position to UK based players will be unfair. Very unfair.

ZC will have to find the right balance. The situation with BT abd Jarvis was very different, both, Taylor in particular, had greatly served ZC before leaving. Here we are talking about players who never cared to represent Zimbabwe, taking them back, just like that, will not go down well with existing players, irrespective of their colour.

A better, long term option, would be to make the current group of youngsters stick around. The younger Welch, Bennet brothers, Bawa, Falao etc. Ensure that they make the long term future.
I think you raise good points and I agree.

It's a very idealistic fan viewpoint to just think there will be no issues.

Importing players is exceptionally risky, for several reasons. Great for us fans in the short term but the risk is massive. We are literally already seeing a few individuals playing the race card against Houghton already even when we are winning......
The usual suspects on social media have said things like 'the racists and rhodesians are happy only because a white man is coach' and 'remember the BLACK board should get the kudos for appointing him'.


Anyone who thinks importing two or three white players to slot straight into the team won't cause problems, does not have their finger on the pulse of the reality on the ground.

It may be okay as long as they do really well and win. But the risk of everything imploding if they have a poor run of results is real.

There's also the very real fear of board elections next year. I'd say the current cartel are extremely likely to win, especially after recent successes. But if there dares be a challenger from an opposing side, backed by any single white individual then you can bet it will all kick off there too. The last board elections were so damaging and, frankly, frightening. Race could rear its head if things get ugly again.

As you say, disillusionment amongst other fringe players is likely too. It's not justified, I agree. Because obviously Gary Ballance is a better player than Takduzwa Kaitano or whoever. But it's idealistic to think the local players won't mind or care.

Importing players provides massive risks at almost every level.
Potentially massive rewards if it all goes right, sure. But it's all a bit silly to think everything will go swimmingly.
I don’t think you’ll get this issue with say, a Gary Ballance who’s class is undeniable.
Also any younger player would be forgivable.
You might get it though with some players who are older and aren’t above county level. They would rightly or wrongly (probably wrongly) argue that the level between them is so so.
Cricinfo profile of the 'James Bond' of cricket:

FULL NAME: Angus James Mackay
BORN: 13 June 1967, Harare
KNOWN AS: Gus Mackay

'The' Gus Mackay.

Hero.
Sportsman.
Artist.
Player.

**
Q. VUSI SIBANDA, WHERE DO YOU HOP?

A. UNDA DA ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE*

TapsC2
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by TapsC2 »

I think anybody who is not Gary Ballance would actually have to come and "prove" themselves domestically too even if you are way better. You won't struggle to get some big scores if you are good enough anyway.

TM was interviewed a few weeks talking about DH and he said DH was talking to some players to come back. So they all know and they are involved. I think general expectation is that a couple of the senior guys will not be around in about 18 months. Maybe even even 12 months after the qualifier. I honestly don't see Ervine and Williams being around in 2024. Raza maybe but not those 2. There will be gaps and that's where the likes of Welch will just smoothly get into the team without issues.

For this to work you need them to have maybe 6 to 12 months where everybody is part of an extended squad. Something also tells me DH is strategically trying to build a huge squad where everybody is getting a chance and there are so many changes for this very reason that people are worried about. You won't notice all of that.

So I think what he would do is that if you get 3 or 4 imports, you will see a lot of rotations with Williams, Ervine and Raza being slowly phased out of the team.

Interestingly TM also mentioned that Houghton wasn't even in the country when they called him to take over but within 3 days he was here. Something tells me he has been planning this for a while, even the way he knew all the players during that European tour last year. It felt like he was preparing for this.

Googly
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by Googly »

secretzimbo wrote:
Tue Aug 09, 2022 6:58 am
sam_ahm wrote:
Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:02 pm
There will always be two sides to this argument. While personally I do agree that the likes of Gary Ballance and other UK based players will add immense value to the team, bringing them back will also be a huge disrespect towards the players who choose to stick around with Zimbabwe cricket in the tough times and have given it their all. For them to lose position to UK based players will be unfair. Very unfair.

ZC will have to find the right balance. The situation with BT abd Jarvis was very different, both, Taylor in particular, had greatly served ZC before leaving. Here we are talking about players who never cared to represent Zimbabwe, taking them back, just like that, will not go down well with existing players, irrespective of their colour.

A better, long term option, would be to make the current group of youngsters stick around. The younger Welch, Bennet brothers, Bawa, Falao etc. Ensure that they make the long term future.
I think you raise good points and I agree.

It's a very idealistic fan viewpoint to just think there will be no issues.

Importing players is exceptionally risky, for several reasons. Great for us fans in the short term but the risk is massive. We are literally already seeing a few individuals playing the race card against Houghton already even when we are winning......
The usual suspects on social media have said things like 'the racists and rhodesians are happy only because a white man is coach' and 'remember the BLACK board should get the kudos for appointing him'.


Anyone who thinks importing two or three white players to slot straight into the team won't cause problems, does not have their finger on the pulse of the reality on the ground.

It may be okay as long as they do really well and win. But the risk of everything imploding if they have a poor run of results is real.

There's also the very real fear of board elections next year. I'd say the current cartel are extremely likely to win, especially after recent successes. But if there dares be a challenger from an opposing side, backed by any single white individual then you can bet it will all kick off there too. The last board elections were so damaging and, frankly, frightening. Race could rear its head if things get ugly again.

As you say, disillusionment amongst other fringe players is likely too. It's not justified, I agree. Because obviously Gary Ballance is a better player than Takduzwa Kaitano or whoever. But it's idealistic to think the local players won't mind or care.

Importing players provides massive risks at almost every level.
Potentially massive rewards if it all goes right, sure. But it's all a bit silly to think everything will go swimmingly.
Secret- ok so I did a quick twitter search and saw it was Ethel who has been instructed to make the anti-Coltart statements, and implying Houghton needed to watch out for being turned into a pink Rhodesian Selous Scout.
Who is she?

ZIMFAN
Posts: 333
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 11:20 am

Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by ZIMFAN »

Ethel is an absolute ghoul. I asked about her in another thread. Just parrots and agrees with Zolsky. I think she is a burner, she also tweets in that same semi coherent Zolsky manner and lists people at the end like he does.
Last edited by ZIMFAN on Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

secretzimbo
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by secretzimbo »

I don't know, but looking through 'her' past tweets is hilarious, and predictable. Seems her and TM/Zolsky are constantly retweeting each other and shouting into their echo chamber. Probably just another stooge or yet another burner account.

See this is the kind of thing we are dealing with with the Makoni-Mukuhlani administration and their 'supporters'. They will embrace whites as long as they do well and sustain the board and keep everything rosy but you can bet their disgusting racist viewpoints will soon appear the minute anything goes wrong, the minute we lose games, or the minute the board is threatened by a challenger.


I'm really happy that things are sort of okay at the moment and good work is being done and things are heading in the right direction. Credit to them (it's only taken them 20 years ffs :lol: ). But it's a reminder of how fragile it all is......which is why imported players make me nervous. Excited too though. It's a weird feeling.

Googly
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by Googly »

Yeah just the fact that they're prepared to open the account of- DH must guard against attempts to lure him to the Dark Side, just in case he becomes too popular or their dictatorial choke hold on the administration is loosened ever so slightly is blunt, direct and downright nasty. It's actually a very thinly veiled threat- stay in your box and don't even consider overstepping your boundaries.

Donald
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Re: Gary ballance bombshell switch

Post by Donald »

Googly wrote:
Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:40 am
Yeah just the fact that they're prepared to open the account of- DH must guard against attempts to lure him to the Dark Side, just in case he becomes too popular or their dictatorial choke hold on the administration is loosened ever so slightly is blunt, direct and downright nasty. It's actually a very thinly veiled threat- stay in your box and don't even consider overstepping your boundaries.
Dave is also very popular amongst the players and respected . So if things do go south he wont be short of allies either which is the flipside

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