Zimbabwe vs South Africa | 2nd Test | 6-10 July | Bulawayo

[Kriterion_BD]

You've escaped from that ICE detention centre spitting fire
Glad you're alive.

Alive? I've probably died and gone to hell if you're here.

[ZIMDOGGY]

If I’m selector;
1. Curran
2. Bennett
3. Welch
4. Willo
5.Ervine
6. Raza
7. Joylord (w)
8. Burl / Ngarava
9. Evans
10. Chivanga
11. Blessing

[mnelson68]

If I’m selector;
1. Curran
2. Bennett
3. Welch
4. Willo
5.Ervine
6. Raza
7. Joylord (w)
8. Burl / Ngarava
9. Evans
10. Chivanga
11. Blessing

Richie can't be considered in test cricket , he is simply not fit enough. The keeping spot is a problem , nobody wants to take their opportunity. Taylor would be perfect for it at the moment if he gets back in as i expect.

[Mueddie28]

If I’m selector;
1. Curran
2. Bennett
3. Welch
4. Willo
5.Ervine
6. Raza
7. Joylord (w)
8. Burl / Ngarava
9. Evans
10. Chivanga
11. Blessing

Great team selection but the ZC selectors
Say Wes deserve a place in the squad for no reason..
Welly or Vincent are the best spinn ballers in the country put at least one in..
Madande or Marumani are the future after the failed Tsiga expertiment not ready to try Matthew Welch he is too young..
Evans is not fit enough to play test after the injury let keep trying Nyamhuri or Gwandu..
While drinking beer at a sheban waiting on the likes like Chatara to speak out..
Or Coltalt ..

[Googly]

You've escaped from that ICE detention centre spitting fire
Glad you're alive.

Alive? I've probably died and gone to hell if you're here.

I'm not feeling the love

[Googly]

If Knackers is now available they could potentially parachute him into the T20's even.
Who is in the T20 squad?

[Andy31]

If Knackers is now available they could potentially parachute him into the T20's even.
Who is in the T20 squad?

Like that would have come out by now lol

[ZIMDOGGY]

We definitely cannot keep Tsiga in the team again. He comes in with low pressure but just can’t handle it.
I mentioned Joylord since he was good enough to be picked on merit as an opener not too long ago. Perhaps coming in at 7 removes the extra work he needs to do. Worth a shot.

By the same token if he fails, Marumani should be given a shot. For the same reason that he often makes the white ball team on batting merit alone (despite failing) he might be worth a look.

Also I’d like to see how Matt Welch responds to the step up, maybe in the shorter formats. We need to ‘build a squad’ and he is a great project player. His ceiling is high.

[Andy31]

We definitely cannot keep Tsiga in the team again. He comes in with low pressure but just can’t handle it.
I mentioned Joylord since he was good enough to be picked on merit as an opener not too long ago. Perhaps coming in at 7 removes the extra work he needs to do. Worth a shot.

By the same token if he fails, Marumani should be given a shot. For the same reason that he often makes the white ball team on batting merit alone (despite failing) he might be worth a look.

Also I’d like to see how Matt Welch responds to the step up, maybe in the shorter formats. We need to ‘build a squad’ and he is a great project player. His ceiling is high.

With so many test, ODI and 20/20

We can actually expose a few more players and preferably in desired formats.

I agree Tsiga is done.
If Gumbie hits form again then his worth it.
Muramani seems like the obvious choice.

[Googly]

I wonder why Zolsky hasn't fired at Coltart's tweet?

We do have a new Minister of Sport. He's the ex Commander of Combined Forces- Lieutenant General Sanyatwe. Fantastic credentials to be a sports minister. We also have a new SRC board of complete unknowns, which would indicate they're toothless, but let's be optimistic. I'm sure there to rubber stamp the Minister's wishes.
He will have a lot more clout than Farmer Coventry
I wonder if she had a good season and got her share of free inputs?
I think he's in Uganda with the Zim rugby side which has 9 white players, including a couple of imports.
He's either there to endorse that or put a lid on it, remains to be seen.

We saw what happened last time government tried to dip their toes into cricket. I dont think we can afford that again as a nation. We have to be on our last strike with ICC I'd think.

New appointments generally come out of the gates pretty fast and he hasn't been near cricket yet, so its likely he will give it a wide berth. If he has any interest in the only $20m sport we have it all rests on who he talks to and who has the most sway with him. My money is on Mukhulani. Hes a smart guy and has weathered many storms.

He could make a polite enquiry as to how selections happen. That's a real chink in their armour and where we've gone wrong from age group level upwards. Its killed our cricket.
The number of good players that have thrown in the towel over the years at all ages is astonishing and incredibly wrong. We'd have a helluva lot more good players to choose from if this had been done correctly.
To play God with people's lives needs people with skill and above all a conscience. Something which our selectors sorely lack. I doubt there's even a twinge of remorse either.
They can't even spell the word, it's smugness actually. Killing a guy's dreams warms the cockles and worthy of a Green Label and Fanta toast. Nasty nasty people.

I've listened to age group selectors make trades over players-
Ok you give me that guy and I'll give you this one, to satisfy a racial or provincial quota. Its astonishing. The problem at national level is that I dont think there's ever even a debate, they're always on the same page. We dont really know who makes the selections- there's Mutendira as convenor and Chigumbura. Who else? Who really has the final word? We will never know that. Once a squad is selected at national level presumably the coach and possibly the captain (if its Raza) also has an input.

We have such a poor history here I think it's almost impossible to find an unbiased selector. If it was more transparent so you knew who were making the calls and you actually had real sports journalists that weren't afraid to ask the hard questions, and selectors that were obliged to avail themselves for question and answer time and justify what they're doing you'd clean a fair amount of this up.
Currently they can just refuse to answer and you can't find a journalist brave enuf to ask
One could assemble a board of good/decent selectors who'd do it for free thus freeing up enough money for at least 5 cricketers to eat food and pay rent.

The problem is there are so many grey areas. You can quote stats, and if that doesn't suit you can fall back on potential.
For example Nyamhuri doesnt have FC stats, well he does, but they're really really bad. He's going to play next game. He's a good player and has a bright future if he learns control, but we currently have better options.
There are numerous examples.
Its exceedingly difficult to justify Evans' exile when he's the logical choice and everyone knows it.
A deal couldn't be reached with Higgins who wanted to play and has great credentials. We are crying for a good seaming all-rounder. We're never winning without one. Every team has one except us.

You can quote this season's stats or overall stats, there's many ways to be slippery if there's an agenda or bias.
They could release a list of PONI's for journalists and armchair critics to dissect.
They should have to justify their A team selections, U19, age group and Emerging team selections. If there was some level of accountability it would go some way to straightening a few things out. The players in UK waiting to join this side know theyre delayed because theyre only doing the visas now and they leave in 2 days and the guys here have no idea that it's already a cluster-fuck Surely fire someone?

Already the test batting line-up is causing ZC stress. Is it a failure to find a top order black batter? Well yes, they've had years to put systems in place and they haven't. Own it and put them in place now and in the meantime let's put our best guys forward. Youre not learning your trade in a concrete net in Gokwe with a ZC level one coach. It will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever happen. They could potentially get Muyeye, but they won't spend the money. You could swap him out for a fat cat administrator and have 10k in change so another 10 cricketers can live
What does Jarvis do and what does he get paid? Thats another 5 cricketers taken care of.
Nobody would notice what the administrator isn't doing but the cricketing world would notice Muyeye. Its a no-brainer.

C'mon General!