Oh he’ll be a mainstay for sure. Not necessarily because of his taken or ability however.
He can't possibly be a poorer talent than Jongwe or Marumani, who seem to be in every XI or 15-man squad!
Without any doubt, Jongwe is a better cricketer than Faraz. Even currently.
If Luke lost some weight and took his game a bit more seriously he’d be really good. Alas, the fact he’s in poor shape says everything about our system unfortunately.
The only thing that may turn Jongwe around is if Evans comes back and plays a better brand of cricket with bat and ball and replaces him.
He'll have to be twice as good, Jongwe is an establishment favorite. He's a decent enough cricketer but epitomises the problem here- he just does enough to make the side and no more. There's zero intention of wanting to compete with the world's best.
I like the sound of Mangongo being a special advisor to the players. Some of these guys need to be shut in a room with Mangongo for thirty minutes. Coach/Player Alignment Consultant could be his title.
Neil Johnson, Alistair Campbell, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), Grant Flower, Dave Houghton, Guy Whittall, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Eddo Brandes
Mangongo should be useful for the younger players imo. Guys like Wes and Shumba need that. As much as rajput is despised, both wes and shumba were kinda solid under him. I love dave but his philosophy of playing with freedom has been detrimental to the growth of our younger crop who need strict mentorship.
Milton is a straight up guy, doesn't drink doesn't smoke. Works reasonably hard by all accounts. He's not a regular in the side and has big incentive to improve. He also understands the nuances of the game. I think we'll see more of him.
These two games are just ridiculous. The right and wrong guys can do badly or well. Shit wet conditions probably not close to resembling SL conditions. There's just no upside to it.
What it has done is chew into valuable practice time for a squad that should have been picked 2 weeks ago.
They should be in an indoor facility hitting balls, doing run throughs, getting some strength and conditioning going and planning and strategizing how to go about their games.
There's T20, guys should be range hitting and practicing their various shots etc etc etc.
We've been playing cricket here for about 80 years and if anybody thinks this is the correct build up to a very important tour they're brain dead. I don't think anyone does think that, so it begs the question why it's happening, why it's being allowed to happen. Who's idea is it? At least one person of consequence thinks its the way forward when it absolutely isn't.
To me it seems like they're unsure of about 3 or 4 spots and someone is fixated on giving opportunity to guys that have done well in domestic recently. It would vaguely work in a strong domestic set up, but you have to pick guys that you think can do well at the next level.
Name me one country that wouldn't have picked a squad as of yet and already be a week into camp.
Every time we get hammered it's another nail in the coffin. Why can't people see that?
Gumbie plays BT's signature ramp pretty well.
Hes about 15 off 40, which is partly an indication of a tough pitch but also his one drawback.
Being able to cement an opening slot in a white ball set up on the basis that you're the only guy that doesn't go out is scary.
