Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe | Tri Series | 25 Nov 2025 | Rawalpindi

[Mueddie28]

Now after zimbabwe stand knocked out, I think ZC might just show a little interest in getting atleast Sean Williams back for the 2026 T20 WC cuz at age 39, even ZC knows Taylor Ervine Raza Williams Cremer might not make it to the 2027 ODI WC. Reality is Craig is 40 atm & he is injured half of the time.. Williams will turn 40 next year with raza taylor cremer but the issue with williams is that he keeps on questioning the coaches.. he had problems with mangongo, rajput & ntini. Other than all this, I think Ervine should be recalled for the 2026 T20 WC , ervine is a lefty.. left right combo can disturb bowlers with their line & length.. if taylor is out of form & scoring run a ball, just get ervine to play in his place.. if Williams is somehow back , his left arm spin can prove to be useful in subcontinent. Pitches towards the end start to support spin a bit more, williams can be effective cuz he can take down any attack with his batting to support his bowling.. as far as ive seen him bowl, he slows it up a bit and his action from wide of the crease helps him to turn the ball more than wellington ever did. If williams plays, wellington doesnt go the world cup next year .. cremer is left as your only frontline spinner.. if cremer can help burl develop a good wrong un(AKA googly) before he retires, burl can play as a proper all-rounder like raza & williams. That would be enough to bench cremer & play someone like jongwe in his place. I still believe jongwe can smash bowlers at the death and if he can control his line & length, he can take one spot in the playing XI, definitely maposas. Muzarabani will obviously return, Ngarava/newman r your left arm seamer, evans is a fast bowling all-rounder, jongwe just might be the X factor in crunch games. If the pitch offers some turn, play cremer, against oppositions like aus & ire, if not, then play jongwe against SL & whoever the last team is in Zimbabwes group. Curran Naqvi Welch madande campbell can take spots in place of marumani myers taylor musekiwa munyonga. If Burl retains his form, a new look Zimbabwe playing XI with muzarabani ,jongwe ,ngarava, raza & naqvi as 5 players of color (if there is any quota system) team up with williams ,bennett , burl , evans ,welch/campbell ,ervine/taylor/madande.. damn.. this 11 can even give Aus a run down memory lane(2007 T20 WC)..

Taylor campbell ervine cremer sit on the bench.. pick anyone as a reserve.. madande hit a last ball 4 against ireland in 2023.. he & jongwe ripped apart sri lanka where ervine scored 70 in a t20i. Madande is their future white ball WK batsman if you ask me. Marumani has failed in the longer run.. no 50+ score in the AFG series & he failed in the tri series too.. PJ Moor went to Ireland & Chakabva decided to play club cricket down under in AUS.. so madande & tsiga r really the only ones left for WK duties.

From how I see ZC operate, Williams would be welcome back in the new year if he shows a little penance.

For all ZC's faults and pettiness, credit where credit is due, they are remarkably forgiving. One of two saving graces of this admin (the other being securing fixtures).

Imagine a lineup

Curran
Bennet
Welch
Raza
Burl
Wk Marumani or BT
NAQVi or Jongwe all rounder
Evans
Cremer or Welly
Ngarava
Blessing

Bench
Maposa
Musekiwa

[TapsC2]

Personally I can't watch a rigged game and support it. The FBi
should investigate everything. This is where I personally sign out

[Googly]

You talking about that game yesterday?
That's the thing- you only need to get 2 or 3 guys onboard to change the outcome. The stand out guy there was Wasim Jr.
That umpire was guilty as well. All he had to think about was that the bowling side could review and he knew they were 99% likely to run. That dolly "dropped" catch, Wasim's throw at the stumps from 1m. There were many many red flags in that game. As someone said, Salman didnt get the memo, brilliant innings.

I wonder why they were/are trying to organize a test or two out of the blue? Why specifically a test? It would make much more sense to play some more T20's or even ODI's with the WC round the corner. Cricket is cricket though and we need to play anything that we can.

Zayn, not sure why you are revisiting Luke Jongwe. That man has had endless opportunities. Hugely talented guy, but took his spot for granted for a long long time. He could have turned himself into a fantastic batsman, but didn't, he could still be bowling 135, but trundles in. The second some players get told they're golden they go down the toilet. Jongwe got vomitus red carpet treatment for years and it made him a lesser player. I remember him pitching up to play in a sawn off shirt. When did he last smash bowlers at the death? Everyone deserves a second chance though, not too late to reinvent himself, but 6 variations of the "slower" ball per over is not the way into the national side. Drop 20 pounds, bowl 135 and hit 2000 balls a week then maybe.. His competition is Evans. Its not a contest. He'd have to be Miracle Max to get ahead of him. Zim is the only place where that would be possible. As much of an iffy seaming "all-rounder" Evans is, there is nobody else. If Tom Curran or Higgins ever came back then they're Evans' competition.

Why are you talking about Madande? How many times do we need to see him to know?? I remember that last ball 4 win- bottled it up to that ball and then it was a mis-hit. Does one lucky game keep getting you re-selected 30 times? It's like talking about Jongwe's double hundred many moons ago.
If you want to see 2 good young keeper/batsmen that are a light year ahead of Clive look no further than Welch and Taruvinga. They're both better than him now and they have not had the benefit of 68!!!!!!!! internationals. Its just bizarre!!! Of course they've stopped Welch keeping again to keep him out the equation, so maybe just Taruvinga. Watch them ruin this guy as well by telling him he's the next black Gilchrist so many times he starts to believe it.

Quite what Williams did this time around to make it the last straw we will probably never quite know. They've tolerated his drug issue for a long time, there's more to it. As crazy as he is he's the one guy who says it as it is. Not one player will speak his mind, they are all frightened. If more players, especially senior ones, did the same our cricket would be in a better place. He suddenly lost the support of the coach and probably Raza. As poor as some of his antics have been, he deserved this WC as a sign off, he's been a fantastic servant of our game for 20 years. I wonder how much thought the guys who knifed him put into the decision.

[zimbos_05]

It's obvious to everyone that ZC has no idea what they are doing. We have talent, but they don't nurture it. The only talent we do have, they treat like plebs, yet the players who continually under perform are always given a chance to play.

We then have to bring back BT and Cremer, and they haven't contributed anything. So not only are we bringing back older players, they are not contributing, but we are persisting with them.

ZC clearly has no idea how to develop or nurture talent, and they keep letting Mutendera pick players based on his agenda and sick ego which needs to punish the game for what he perceived to be unfair treatment. He is willing to destory the sport for his own personal agenda.

So we are stuck in this cycle of random odd wins, and no major progress. Every other team is catching up and fast. We'll be languishing quite far down in the rankings if this continues.

[eugene]

Having Taylor and Cremer playing is such a waste of time. I'd rather Williams come back, at least he is still one of our best. Williams has honestly surpassed Taylor in terms of great Zimbabwean cricketers anyway.

[ZIMDOGGY]

Having Taylor and Cremer playing is such a waste of time. I'd rather Williams come back, at least he is still one of our best. Williams has honestly surpassed Taylor in terms of great Zimbabwean cricketers anyway.

The time away was just too much I think for BT, but I think that it is good to have these guys amongst the setup until the next World Cup. Cremer is still probably our best spinner and should only improve. Jury out on BT but T20 was never his strong suit.
After the next WC probably only Raza will remain so let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

[Zayn_63]

Anyone here who thinks Burl should be recalled into the test side? I know he scored 3 ducks and has a best of 16 in tests but I rewatched his debut test & he played Morkel better than almost everyone , including Taylor , Hamilton , Craig , Chibhabha & Raza against the swinging pink ball & South Africas pace trio of Philander, Morkel & Rabada. Kyle Jarvis top scored being the night watchman. If Cremer can help Burl develop a good wrong un (AKA Googly), I think he can play at no4 as a proper all rounder. His previous position didnt help his case either as he had to play his natural game with the tail. With Williams in rehab and ZC deciding not to renew his contract, ZC should recall Burl if Naqvi is still stuck in his passport scene. Burl is somewhat similar to Williams, the only difference is Burl is more of a hard hitter whereas Williams was a natural stroke maker. I still remember Burl taking Shakib down for 30 in an over & he smashed 30+ against Nasum too, he plays spin better than BT & Craig to say the least, BT only slog sweeps or brings out the reverse sweep, he doesnt pick leg spin at all, no disrespect, Babar Azam & Virat also have problems against leg spin, particularly Adil Rashid. I think Burl deserves one last shot at red ball cricket if he is still playing FC. No4 is the only position up for grabs as Naqvi has not yet made his debut. When Taylor , Ervine , Raza & Cremer retire, Welch takes one spot from BT. Curran is similar to Ervine. Naqvi is a all rounder just like Raza. Bennett is one attacking batsmen but he is right handed so he isnt a like for like replacement if you look at Williams. That leaves the door open for Ryan Burl. At 30+ age, Burl is their best striker in T20I, his ODI spot is not guaranteed but I think he should be given one last chance in ODI & Tests at no4. Chibhabha & Waller played a lot yet both have a best of 99 in ODI, waller being not out, I think the only reason Burl doesnt have a ODI 100 as of yet is because he is playing with the tail more often than not. His maiden hundred couldve been in the Scotland game where Sole destroyed the top order. Even Williams himself had to wait for years before scoring his first 100 in ODI, I still remember him scoring 96 against Ire in 2015 WC, where he was given out while the cameras showed the catch was taken with foot touching the boundary rope. Burl at no4 could be a match winner for Zimbabwe in longer formats like tests n ODIs.

[zimfan1]

Probably but he won't be.

[Mueddie28]

Anyone here who thinks Burl should be recalled into the test side? I know he scored 3 ducks and has a best of 16 in tests but I rewatched his debut test & he played Morkel better than almost everyone , including Taylor , Hamilton , Craig , Chibhabha & Raza against the swinging pink ball & South Africas pace trio of Philander, Morkel & Rabada. Kyle Jarvis top scored being the night watchman. If Cremer can help Burl develop a good wrong un (AKA Googly), I think he can play at no4 as a proper all rounder. His previous position didnt help his case either as he had to play his natural game with the tail. With Williams in rehab and ZC deciding not to renew his contract, ZC should recall Burl if Naqvi is still stuck in his passport scene. Burl is somewhat similar to Williams, the only difference is Burl is more of a hard hitter whereas Williams was a natural stroke maker. I still remember Burl taking Shakib down for 30 in an over & he smashed 30+ against Nasum too, he plays spin better than BT & Craig to say the least, BT only slog sweeps or brings out the reverse sweep, he doesnt pick leg spin at all, no disrespect, Babar Azam & Virat also have problems against leg spin, particularly Adil Rashid. I think Burl deserves one last shot at red ball cricket if he is still playing FC. No4 is the only position up for grabs as Naqvi has not yet made his debut. When Taylor , Ervine , Raza & Cremer retire, Welch takes one spot from BT. Curran is similar to Ervine. Naqvi is a all rounder just like Raza. Bennett is one attacking batsmen but he is right handed so he isnt a like for like replacement if you look at Williams. That leaves the door open for Ryan Burl. At 30+ age, Burl is their best striker in T20I, his ODI spot is not guaranteed but I think he should be given one last chance in ODI & Tests at no4. Chibhabha & Waller played a lot yet both have a best of 99 in ODI, waller being not out, I think the only reason Burl doesnt have a ODI 100 as of yet is because he is playing with the tail more often than not. His maiden hundred couldve been in the Scotland game where Sole destroyed the top order. Even Williams himself had to wait for years before scoring his first 100 in ODI, I still remember him scoring 96 against Ire in 2015 WC, where he was given out while the cameras showed the catch was taken with foot touching the boundary rope. Burl at no4 could be a match winner for Zimbabwe in longer formats like tests n ODIs.

I argee
After 2026 World cup
Squad for Odi should be

Curran
Bennet
Welch
Raza
Burl
WK KAMWENDO OR MARUMANI OR TSIGA
Naqvi
Evans
Vincent or Welly
Blessing / Chivanga
Ngarava

Bench
Kaitano
Wez

[Mr Twig]

If Burl wants to play Tests/ODIs it really shouldn’t be too difficult for him to score a couple of hundreds in Logan Cup/Pro50 to get back in. I’m sure he will as long as he doesn’t get injured.