Afghanistan Tour of Zimbabwe Thread

[Googly]

I suspect the motivation is to keep this existing team together long enuf that eventually each and every one gets a 20 or 30 to prove the selections were worthwhile and progress is being made. The scary part is Raza is complicit, what's his motivation?

[Pat_Bee]

NW didn’t have the best knock yesterday. That will be the excuse,

[Googly]

BC has knocked it out the park

[Pat_Bee]

Ya, but so did Gumbie and Kaitano yesterday BC should absolutely be in the team based on form and his numbers but we’ll see. They’re running out of plausible excuses.

[tej_27]

My odi team in order
Maru
Curran
Ervine
Jono
Williams
Raza
Bennet
Mavuta
Maposa
Ngarava
Muzarbani

Nick Welch 12th
Mazakadza 13th
Gwandu 14th
Myers 15th

T20
Bennet
Maru
Myers
Nick Welch
Raza
Campbell
Burl
Mazakadza
Maposa
Ngarava
Muzarbani

Mavuta -12th
Madhevere -13th
Faraz -14th
Gwandu -15th

[Marshmallow]

Guys Ben curran going to debut in this series

[Googly]

Wes 36 ODI 70 T20
Clive 16 ODI 35 T20
Tashinga Musekiwa 8 T20
Faraz 3 ODI 9 T20
Dion 8 ODI 21 T20
Brian B 3 ODI 21 T20
Welly 38 ODI 58 T20
Raza 145 ODI 99 T20
Ryan B 52 ODI 85 T20
Joylord 15 ODI 3 T20
Sean W 159 ODI 81 T20
Craig E 122 ODI 71 T20
Maru 15 ODI 39 T20
Kaitano 11 ODI
Innocent 19 ODI and 19 T20
Ainsley 2 ODI 12 T20
Nick W 7 T20
Brian Mavuta 14 ODI 13 T20
Johno C 9 T20
Timycen M 22 ODI 13

There's now a few caps in that current squad, at some point Rainsford and Mawoyo are going to have to slow down on them being young and inexperienced. In fairness a lot of those caps have been against shit sides, but we're playing shit sides because they're not selecting our strongest eleven.


The highly questionable guys for me are the first 4.
They've given Wes and Clive a helluva lot of opportunities and they haven't done much with it. Wes started well and has obviously tailed off. I wonder if he ever pauses to wonder how he keeps getting chances? There has to be an element of surprise for him each time he sees his name on the sheet.
He needs one innings of 30 to kick start his cricket and allow him the luxury of another 20 very mediocre international appearances. Ditto Clive. It's not a high bar.

Tashinga Musekiwa hasn't had much opportunity, but he can't play quality spin. He'd have to be some talent to fix that before Afghanistan. I've seen plenty good players end up in that 6 off 15 scenario he found himself in. He had the added pressure of knowing he was basically the last batsman.
When Raza keeps saying he's the best we've got you just have to wonder what's going on behind the scenes.

Marumani is starting to look ok, but after 39 T20's for a guy of his talent you'd like to think so. What other full member nation would have given any of their players these opportunities with such mediocre results? None!!
He's starting to get a cult following which for a guy who hasn't arrived yet just smacks of the utmost desperation.

What are they going to do if Dion doesn't deliver? Again I'm sure he'll get the Wes treatment. He's not looking pretty against the dreaded spin atm. Doing well in domestic is no guarantee you'll do well in internationals. You have to figure out a way of dealing with the constant barrage of good deliveries and the intense pressure that comes with that if you start getting bogged down. Your get out of jail shots

I sincerely hope he does well in this next series because he's surely a legit part of future plans and not obstinate pie in the sky pipe dreams that's killing our cricket very very quickly now. If he doesn't do well up the order will they move him around like Wes?

What gets me is how many people are complicit in taking us down the wrong road.

It's clear that they've taken Mr Houghton out of the frame. If they were serious about saving our cricket he'd be working with the batters that should be knocking on the door and yet where is he? These guys are taking our cricket down.

[Pat_Bee]

Some of those numbers are staggering seeing it written down, especially considering how little we allegedly play. Clive’s played 50 games? When?!

Even without the big three there’s a wealth of experience in that list. Albeit experience against Chad and Ascension Island at the sub-sub qualifiers and African games.

[TapsC2]

Wes has played over 40% of the total T20s we have ever played as a country. 6th highest run scorer and 5th most experienced player. Just 1 game behind Craig. Might be young but he is experienced in T20s. Can't use that as an excuse for him anymore. 70 games isn't a joke

[Pat_Bee]

Wes has played over 40% of the total T20s we have ever played as a country.

When you put it like that it’s a lot of games.