zimcricketforums.com

The rules are: you can select ANY player who has represented Zimbabwe at any time during the life of ZCF (2007 onwards). You are picking them based on their career peak, not necessarily their post-2007 form or how they would perform in 2026.

The XI is for a random cricket match where the format is unknown, so your aim is just to pick the strongest XI names possible.

1. Grant Flower
2. Hamilton Masakadza
3. Gary Ballance
4. Brendan Taylor (c)
5. Sean Williams
6. Sikandar Raza
7. Tatenda Taibu (wk)
8. Graeme Cremer
9. Andy Blignaut
10. Ray Price
11. Blessing Muzarabani

Ervine unlucky, and I’m playing Blignaut as an opening bowler. Houghton to coach.

1-Brendan Taylor(WK)
2-Brian Bennett
3-Ben Curran
4-Gary Ballance
5-Sean Williams
6-Sikandar Raza
7-Ryan Burl
8-Brad Evans
9-Graeme Cremer(C)
10-Blessing Muzarabani
11-Richard Ngarava

Head Coach: Makhaya Ntini

1. Brendan Taylor
2. Hamilton Masakadza
3. Gary Ballance
4. Sean williams
5. Sikandar Raza
6. Elton Chigumbura
7. Tatenda Taibu (wk)
8. Graeme Cremer
9. Tendai Chatara
10. Ray Price
11. Blessing Muzarabani

Bennett
H Masakadza
Ballance
Taylor
Williams
Raza (c)
Taibu (wk)
Cremer
Evans
Ngarava
Muzarabani

Tempted to pick Price over Evans, but Raza, Willo and Cremer should be enough spin

1. Brian Bennett
2. Ben Curran
3. Gary Ballance
4. Sean Williams
5. Brendan Taylor (Wkt)
6. Sikander Raza (C)
7. Ryan Burl
8. Brad Evans
9. Graeme Cremer
10. Kyle Jarvis
11. Blessing Muzarabani

12th man: Ray Price

I was in two minds if to include Blignaut instead of Evans but, as it stands, I think Evans is a much better bowler. Technically, he's also a much better batter but Blignaut was (as we all know) extremely dangerous. So it was a tough one.

I never really liked Chigumbura and I think Taibu was massively over rated with the bat. He was handy yes and he did score some very good runs, but I just think there're better players who have played for the side.

Richard Ngarava can feel hard done by but I just think Jarvis was a much better bowler before he left for county cricket. I'm selecting Jarv as the 140kph bowler he was between 2008 and 2012.

Ray Price comes in when the wicket is more conducive to spin

Brian Bennett
Hamilton Masakadza
Brendan Taylor
Sean Williams (c)
Gary Ballance
Sikandar Raza
Tatenda Taibu (wk)
Brad Evans
Ray Price
Blessing Muzarabani
Tendai Chatara

This was actually quite tough. Brian Bennett was unlucky to miss out, as was Elton Chigumbura and Richard Ngarava.

1. Brendan Taylor
2. Grant Flower
3. Craig Ervine
4. Gary Ballance
5. Sean Williams
6. Sikandar Raza
7. Tatenda Taibu
8. Andy Blignaut
9. Tendai Chatara
10. Ray Price
11. Blessing Muzarabani

sloandog wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 20, 2026 2:04 pm

I was in two minds if to include Blignaut instead of Evans but, as it stands, I think Evans is a much better bowler. Technically, he's also a much better batter but Blignaut was (as we all know) extremely dangerous. So it was a tough one.

I never really liked Chigumbura and I think Taibu was massively over rated with the bat. He was handy yes and he did score some very good runs, but I just think there're better players who have played for the side.

You're making me rethink Taibu now, head-to-head Ervine had a much better career. There's probably not enough of a difference between Taylor's and Taibu's keeping to warrant having a specialist behind the stumps.

He doesn't have the volume of work of a Muzarabani/Ngarava/Jarvis, etc, but I feel like Brian Vitori at his absolute swing-it-both-ways-at-140 peak could have a seat at this table too.

brmtaylor.com admin wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 22, 2026 6:53 am

but I feel like Brian Vitori at his absolute swing-it-both-ways-at-140 peak could have a seat at this table too.

But he was throwing.

I am surprised he didn't even try to correct his action.

I refuse to have Ballance after what he did

1) Brian Bennett
2) Solomon Mire (Think they would be a great opening combination, Mire was so good in Sri Lanka)
3) Criag Ervine
4) Brendan Taylor
5) Sean Williams
6) Sikandar Raza
7) Tatenda Taibu (WK)
8) Tinashe Panyangara (Massively underrated, was incredible for a couple of years around 2014/15 particularly in tests)
9) Kyle Jarvis
10) Ray Price
11) Blessing Muzarabani