Afghanistan Tour of Zimbabwe Thread

[Googly]

I'm sure they've both got a couple of years in them. You can't hit 2000 balls a week for 15 years and go thru what they have for nothing. I'm sure NW is prepared to wait for the Big 3 to get checked into a Care Centre.

Playing for Zim is one thing. You have to wait a year to maybe get lucky enough to get offered a starter central contract of about 1500 a month. I will guarantee you that Bennett doesn't have one. Wrong colour. If he didn't come from a reasonably well off family you'd see him digging in the dustbins at Fife Ave for his supper tonite.

[Pat_Bee]

I'm sure NW is prepared to wait for the Big 3 to get checked into a Care Centre.

Ya that thing from zolsky or whoever this week with him competing with them for a place is confirmation for NW it’s a murungu for murungu swap

Funny how Ervine and Williams retire from t20 just as Bennett come on the scene.

Absolutely no quota though of course.

[Googly]

Imagine being a professional cricketer in Zimbabwe for 15 years and earning significantly less than Mawoza. There is something very wrong here.

[Pat_Bee]

Very wrong it is what it is though.

We all love it really.

This place would be much more boring if everything was ship shape, we won every game and there were no ZC shenanigans

[secretzimbo]

C'mon lad grow a set it's embarrassing.

[secretzimbo]

Who is Adam theo

A board supporting simp who clearly gets fed into direct from ZC as long as he keeps toeing the line and doesn’t rock the boat. About as much backbone as a disabled jellyfish and as on the ball as a dead seal.

Knows sod all about cricket - was a bog standard school cricketer who I think mostly played for Hellenic 2nd XI, although on numerous occasions on social media over the years he’s claimed he was in some sort of Zimbabwe or Eagles U19 pathway - simply not true! Also claims to be a ‘journalist’, but last I heard he was working as a deck cleaner on a yacht in Greece. If he’s a journalist then Larry Kwirirayi is a Nobel prize for literature winner.

[secretzimbo]

Very wrong it is what it is though.

We all love it really.

This place would be much more boring if everything was ship shape, we won every game and there were no ZC shenanigans

True we’ve got used to it over the years I guess. At least supporting Zim can never be described as boring

[secretzimbo]

I'm sure NW is prepared to wait for the Big 3 to get checked into a Care Centre.

Ya that thing from zolsky or whoever this week with him competing with them for a place is confirmation for NW it’s a murungu for murungu swap

Funny how Ervine and Williams retire from t20 just as Bennett come on the scene.

Absolutely no quota though of course.

It's odd, because this isn't South Africa, where there's a powerful black empowerment movement and theres outward positive discrimination in a lot of fields and there is huge racial political agenda and lots of people are indoctrinated. Where there are official transformation targets across numerous fields.

Most aspects of life in Zim literally nobody gives a shit about race anymore. There are so few of us that we just aren't a problem anymore in most things. There are some rules on business ownership, and farms can sometimes still be a sensitive issue but apart from that, cricket is largely unique in this respect where race is an issue and people have an agenda to keep white people out. I receive almost zero discrimination or animosity in my life from my fellow Zimbabweans these days. It's 2024 not 2004 or 1994 ffs. ZC needs to move on. I'm fairly sure 99% of black cricket fans don't give a shit about what colour the players are either. It's literally just this weird sect of people administering and running cricket who are butthurt about stuff that happened 20-40 years ago, some of which is partly exaggerated anyway. It's just weird man.

[andrea lanzoni]

One day I hope someone looks at me like Andrea looks at a tape ball….

If you think Italy cricket is bad check with heritage players check out the rugby league World Cup.

I still think the gist is correct, the only real play we have in the mid to short term at this point is target the best of the diaspora and target them hard.
Cartwright, Goodwin and Byrom. Anyone else? Ballance?
Wasn’t long ago the diaspora list of quality was longer than we could think but it’s shrinking now.
In the words of another great Italian, let’s make them an offer they cannot refuse.

While wondering how I do look at a tapeball...(?), Ballance himself, though for an unfortunate too short stint, has proved that it may be possible to seek in the diaspora.
Anyhow, I'm not thinking of present stars or semiretired 'foreign' players.

The "Italian" players, currently forming 9 out of 11 of "Italy", are third generation descendants (none of them speak Italian, a few of them have never set foot in the peninsula).
I'm thinking that among the tens of thousands of Zimbabweans who left the Country, there are surely children (maybe some grandchildren) who are young prospects who are going to give away a cricketing career in the near future because they do not see opportunities where their parents have settled.

Present wicket keeper for Italy is Giampiero Meade. Born and raised in South Africa, with no remote chance to be in any cricket league in South Africa, he is playing international cricket for Italy.
Surely for the modest quality of Italy who for us is a "star" would be a mediocre third tier player for Zimbabwe.
On the other hand it is statistically believable to investigate that there must be young interesting, Zim eligible, prospects in the tens of thousand of Zimbabweans in the diaspora who could fit in the quality required to represent Zimbabwe.

Isn't Joe Burns also playing for Italy now?

Not sure what the agenda is against Andrea, but the work that needs to be done by ZC can't really be fixed through simple diaspora recruitment. There is definitely heaps out there - Brydon Carse the latest example.

Problem is that ZC are too entrenched in their corruption to offer these players anything worthwhile. Threw Ballance to the curb first opportunity they got, yet their mates can get away with corruption beyond corruption and still be in the squad or in leadership positions.

Yes, after a few matches playing for Italy, Joe Burns has been appointed: captain of Italy! What a honour for him, hahahahahaha

[ZIMDOGGY]

I think adAM theo dislikes Nick Welch. He seems to omit him from any mention, but congrats other players easily.

More to this Im sure