Zimbabwe U19WC Squad Announced

[Marshmallow]

Ya he looked decent as well. I'll kiss my arse if he's 15
None of the bowling has been bad at all. Imnocuous a lot of the time but not terrible.

Zimfan sums it up well. Some decent guys but nobody to win a game.
Having said that, another wicket here and it's game on.

According to Mawoza he is 15 years old.

[aydee]

At this point of the U19 cycle, it is always interesting to post these stats:

Zim U19 Batting:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/te ... tionals-21

Zim U19 Bowling:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/te ... tionals-21

Current players are highlighted. They will probably have another 6 games before this cycle ends with the World Cup in Jan. Doesn't look like anyone will compile a particularly impressive body of work, although they don't appear to be below most previous classes.

Plenty of interesting bits in there form history though.

[ZIMDOGGY]

At this point of the U19 cycle, it is always interesting to post these stats:

Zim U19 Batting:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/te ... tionals-21

Zim U19 Bowling:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/te ... tionals-21

Current players are highlighted. They will probably have another 6 games before this cycle ends with the World Cup in Jan. Doesn't look like anyone will compile a particularly impressive body of work, although they don't appear to be below most previous classes.

Plenty of interesting bits in there form history though.

When you see it like this, we haven't done as bad a retention job as first thought. Could be better but most stayed in the system.

[aydee]

At this point of the U19 cycle, it is always interesting to post these stats:

Zim U19 Batting:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/te ... tionals-21

Zim U19 Bowling:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/te ... tionals-21

Current players are highlighted. They will probably have another 6 games before this cycle ends with the World Cup in Jan. Doesn't look like anyone will compile a particularly impressive body of work, although they don't appear to be below most previous classes.

Plenty of interesting bits in there form history though.

When you see it like this, we haven't done as bad a retention job as first thought. Could be better but most stayed in the system.

Actually an interesting point!

The ones that stand out are probably Murray, Bawa (will he return? Has he massively reduced his ceiling by spending years playing 2nd XI club cricket in England?) & actually David Bennett. With the ball? No one obvious.

I guess the takeaways would be:

- YODI cricket is a very tough level for any and all Zimbos.
- The poor retention probably damages depth and breadth within the system, more than it does the peak. (Granted, I'm a firm believer in a rising sea level lifting all ships! So the remains important)

[Googly]

The one ommission there is Matt Welch. Missed out on one WC because they went with biased selections and the usual delightful folk who offered money, kit and air tickets in lieu of the ability to actually play cricket and then bizarrely spent some of the following WC in covid isolation. Had they batted him and Bennett at 4 and 5 that team would have done a lot better. Opening is a thankless task. In teams devoid of batting talent you just cant afford to "waste" the good guys up front. You have to find someone who can somehow survive the first 10.
They had Welch, Bawa and Bennett in that team. 3 real good batters. In the previous team they had Marumani, Myers and Bawa, but could have included Welch and Bennett, but didnt? Then they would have had 5 good batters. None of these selections ever ever make sense.

Bawa will definitely come back. It will be an interesting comparison between him and Myers. Both took time out to get degrees. Whether that time out affected Myers one can only presume. The reality is that if you spend that time playing our FC here you're not missing out on too much as far as that's concerned. The massive step up is at international level which our domestic leagues just don't adequately prepare you for. Bawa looks a real prospect to me. That one composed innings against SA A was very impressive. What I like about him is he's clearly up for a fight. He takes no shit from anyone.

We are very likely to see a couple of woefully undercooked u19's from this current squad get fast tracked and once again eat into better players' opportunities. The need to justify their new selection criteria is huuuge. There's a lot riding on this new plan clearly.
A good win in a low scoring game against what was about the weakest Afghan side they've put out has prematurely sent folk into rapture. It's an easy gig to promote what they're trying to do. They keep quiet for the 10 shit games and then crow when the the law of averages provides a desperately needed good outcome. Even Larry who pretends to balance precariously on the fence came out strongly.

Having said that there are a couple of good players.
Ive seen a bit of Hlabangana and Patel. Theyre decent.
I haven't seen too much of the Blignauts, from stats it looks like Kian is the stronger batsman.
Senzere looked good and definitely has potential as a leggie.
Zuze looked to have potential as a containing bowler. He cannot hold a bat though. You have to be a serious wicket taker to justify a spot in a national side if you can't bat.

The seamers looked ok, but not threatening enough, but handy enough. I may have missed someone out, but the rest are off the pace. We will see them all soon enough in detail, there's nowhere to hide. The desperately required, but elusive high density home-grown black Brian Lara remains at large.

It's not going to happen without quality age group cricket and careful nurturing in a HPC. It's not hard to get a good kid going at age group, you just play him up age groups.

The ommission from this team that is alarming is Mudenda.
I say that because his stats in SA indicate that he's very good, he's also black and his family are well respected here, which counts for a helluva lot.
There was another left arm seamer we had a few years back that was one of the best prospects we've ever had, also SA based, that was also left out, so it's not actually a first. I can't remember his name, but I will find out. He was exceptional.
They made an exception for Madhevere when he played in SA?

I think we are playing a much stronger Pakistan side today after "making the final" courtesy of the rain.
Had that umpire given that run out Afghanistan would have beaten Pakistan. They should be all playing another round to try out their combinations and there's no need for a final when we are two weeks away from the WC.

This new plan of signing up for cricket only two years prior to the WC is almost the most detrimental thing they've ever done, and they've done some really harmful stuff. It halves our miniscule talent pool, and effectively cuts out the private schools. You can look at the past stats and results and ask if it really matters. Well we are absolutely going to find out. Unfortunately that's going to take about 3 WC cycles and by then we are going to be so deep in the hole.

[TapsC2]

I think the key issue Elton is trying to address is that we don't play enough cricket at age group level. Think about it. They effectively play 12 weeks of cricket out of 52. Maybe 14 weeks if you add festivals etc. that's not good enough. The school sports calender was designed before we saw the rise of professional sports leagues. It's archaic and outdated.

If a kid genuinely has a chance of making it as a professional sports player they need to play that sport regularly. This affects all sports. If it hasn't changed you basically get 6 weeks of cricket/basketball then 6 weeks of athletics. Then 12 weeks of hockey/rugby/ football in winter. Then another 6 weeks of cricket/basketball before the final 6 weeks where there are exams /swimming etc. It was designed for a kid to be a well rounded individual not a professional athlete.

It would be interesting to know how the other full member u19s do it. I suspect Zim, SA, Australia and NZ are the only countries where you will get their u19s playing multiple sports if they are genuine prospects. They have strong club systems. We dont

The private schools also have to adapt.

[TapsC2]

What he should have done is be flexible since it's a new concept. I don't see how a kid with a contract from ZC could be forced to play other sports if cricket really is in their heart. People must also remember some of the kids will be good at multiple sports. That's why they probably wouldn't sign. The guys out of Zim should obviously be given a pass.

[ZIMDOGGY]

What he should have done is be flexible since it's a new concept. I don't see how a kid with a contract from ZC could be forced to play other sports if cricket really is in their heart. People must also remember some of the kids will be good at multiple sports. That's why they probably wouldn't sign. The guys out of Zim should obviously be given a pass.

If the kids are getiing paid then it might be fair but i doubt it.

[Googly]

I think the key issue Elton is trying to address is that we don't play enough cricket at age group level. Think about it. They effectively play 12 weeks of cricket out of 52. Maybe 14 weeks if you add festivals etc. that's not good enough. The school sports calender was designed before we saw the rise of professional sports leagues. It's archaic and outdated.

If a kid genuinely has a chance of making it as a professional sports player they need to play that sport regularly. This affects all sports. If it hasn't changed you basically get 6 weeks of cricket/basketball then 6 weeks of athletics. Then 12 weeks of hockey/rugby/ football in winter. Then another 6 weeks of cricket/basketball before the final 6 weeks where there are exams /swimming etc. It was designed for a kid to be a well rounded individual not a professional athlete.

It would be interesting to know how the other full member u19s do it. I suspect Zim, SA, Australia and NZ are the only countries where you will get their u19s playing multiple sports if they are genuine prospects. They have strong club systems. We dont

The private schools also have to adapt.

Ya I absolutely agree with you. The private schools have currently been completely inflexible. In my day we played about 12 games in the first term and about 12 in the third and obviously no T20 back then.
They make such a big deal about athletics and cross country in the first term which 90% of the kids hate and its all for one day basically , its bizarre. On top of that they insist on a club and a hobby, just to round you out as an individual
Ive never understood it. Nobody takes it seriously and they all do their best to dodge it.
Nowadays there's such pressure on these kids in the third term to pass exams that they can't and won't take time out to play sport, let alone practice it. In my day you came back the following year if you failed or if there was a school tour . Its a new world with a lot more pressures.
Australian school cricket doesnt seem to be a big thing, if youre that keen on cricket you join a club.

Any good sportsman here wants to play first team rugby and first team basketball or hockey as well. The guys good at multiple sports are generally the more talented ones as well.

[Terryalderman]

I think the key issue Elton is trying to address is that we don't play enough cricket at age group level. Think about it. They effectively play 12 weeks of cricket out of 52. Maybe 14 weeks if you add festivals etc. that's not good enough. The school sports calender was designed before we saw the rise of professional sports leagues. It's archaic and outdated.

If a kid genuinely has a chance of making it as a professional sports player they need to play that sport regularly. This affects all sports. If it hasn't changed you basically get 6 weeks of cricket/basketball then 6 weeks of athletics. Then 12 weeks of hockey/rugby/ football in winter. Then another 6 weeks of cricket/basketball before the final 6 weeks where there are exams /swimming etc. It was designed for a kid to be a well rounded individual not a professional athlete.

It would be interesting to know how the other full member u19s do it. I suspect Zim, SA, Australia and NZ are the only countries where you will get their u19s playing multiple sports if they are genuine prospects. They have strong club systems. We dont

The private schools also have to adapt.

My son plays junior cricket in Australia, some weeks he plays 3 games a weekend. Friday unders, Saturday school cricket and Sunday men’s cricket. Probably plays 30+ games a year. He plays with and against a couple of boys who play state under age cricket who do the extra pathway training. A couple of these boys still play AFL in the winter. Unfortunately some decent junior cricketers have given up because they’ve been selected in AFL pathway squads and they are already training three nights a week. It’s a shame because none will make it professionally.