Rocks vs Rhinos

[aydee]

any takers for the idea?.....

PS Vitori continues to be a one man cause...what of scrapping Rocks in favour of an Academy side, with the likes of 1. R Kai (20)
2. I Kai (19), 3. Kasuza (18), 4. Bently (18), 5. Waller (20), 6. Moor (20), 7. Sarumba (wkt) (19), 8. Chatara (20), 9. Muzhange (20), 10. Mushangwe (20), 11. Price (20)....maybe add Ncube (21) Vitori (21) Jarvis(22) to this lot...

Keep them together for say 3 or 4 years as an elite team in FC to gradually replenish the national team as time goes???

Don't like the idea at all. At least 6 of those 11 players you named are regulars for their franchises (and Sauramba is close), the others will follow suit in the future, if they have the ability to make the step up. It's best for young players to rub their shoulders with experienced pros, be it national team players or overseas pros, as opposed to the artificial enviroment of an Academy side. Furthermore it would be to the detriment of the franchise system and cricket in general if ZC were to order all young players to withdraw from their teams - where's the incentive for the Mountaineers to develop the likes of Kasuza, if they're taken away from them for 3-4 years? This obviously cannot happen - instead you would end up with a very weak Academy side that gets hammered just as much - wasn't it thus when we had that experiment some while ago?

Agreed.

Plus Southern Rocks have responsibility for developing cricket in Masvingo and Matabeleland South, not just the first class team. This isn't an easy mandate, as this was/is the area of the country in which cricket is least advanced. Hopefully in a few years they will have a crop of local youngsters who will be able to make the Rocks' first team more competitive.

[Boundary]

The Rocks need to develop cricket in Masvingo. Besides Victoria High, do they have good schools for cricket? But Vitori proves that local gems can be found - they need patience and support. Matabeleland has history, therefore they had ready made experience when they started the Tuskers, as well as the schools and club cricket. To put that in place in Masvingo will take time but in the meantime their pros like Maregwede have failed them, Vermuelen and Taibu have been injured and the others have been overwhelmed. In America a team like that would have the draft system to help them out, so the Rocks need similar support. Give them a few of the best youngsters who haven't been given their FC debuts and a good coach and some overseas pros. That should make them competitive next season but in the longer term they need to develop more cricket in schools and a club system to feed on the school output, which in turn feeds the franchise. Then maybe one day test matches might be staged in Masvingo, it's the most populous province after all ...

[Conant]

Oh no, Richmond Mutumbami out to Muzhanje for 92. Well, good knock neverthless. hhm's promising youngster

[foreignfield]

Wow, I'm not following the scores all the time, but I think Vitori just hit 3 or possibly 4 four sixes in one over from Waller: "Look here, mate, you might be telling everyone you're an allrounder, but stop kidding me ..."

I think the consensus on Vitori's batting after his few international outings was: He can hit'em far, if not very often. Good to see him hit a few mighty blows before heading off to NZ.

[jimbo]

I think with vitori s masakadza cremer its a decent tail. Of course rice is the Incumbent spinner and will probably get in as will Ncube over masakadza

[Conant]

And Vitori duly gets his 1st first class half century off just 40 balls. Clearly there's potential there

[hhm]

FP, I think we'll have to agree with foreignfield & aydee on this one! They've provided overwhelming evidence!

Give them a few of the best youngsters who haven't been given their FC debuts and a good coach and some overseas pros. That should make them competitive next season..........Masvingo, it's the most populous province after all ...

You stopped short of saying they should be given a new team entirely! Didn't know Masvingo was the most populous province. Are you sure those census criminals went through Mbare, Highfield, Mabvuku&Tafara. I'm sure those surburbs alone are enough to rival Masvingo! Unless Murambatsvina did too much?

I could be mistaken, but having seen Vitori a couple of times, he has the same mindset as Blignaut when he's at the crease, he may well turn out to be just as effective. Fearless as well a being a good striker of the ball. Unlike Elton, I doubt you'll ever see him get bogged down by any bowler. Blignaut had the same attitude.

Mutumbami is coming along well. Sadly, the reality is that a lot of these guys will never play for the national team, let alone the A Team(I only hope there's enough money in the game to keep them motivated enough to stick with FC cricket as a career) However, what's pleasing is that we're already seeing signs that 2-3 Logan Cup seasons from now, we'll have one of the most competitive FC competitions in World Cricket. I think after Aus, Eng & SA, we'll stand a good chance of being fourth in taht list! I see little in the other Full Members to suggest that they can be better than us for much longer. We have plenty of good young seamers, spinners, seamer-allrounders & decent wicket-keeper batsmen coming up, so much that I believe we can have 6 FC teams with a combination of 3 very good seamer, plus a spinner!

My biggest worry lies in the batting. I see little progress in that department to suggest that we can fill each of those six sides with a quality top 6, the openers being the most critical area. For that I would have to blame the senior batsmen(e.g. Matsi, Tailor, Hami, Waller) who prefer the soft part where they can rack up enough score sto impress the selectors! Unlike Duffin&Ewing, most of them aren't brave enough, and choose to throw the youngsters into positions 1-3, while they occupy 4-5 instead. Maybe that's why it appears as if we are very thin on the batting side. Perhaps they are capable, just not good enough yet to face the good seam bowling up front. Steve Marillier may not be a youngster, but I'd love to see Wessels opening instead of him. Rather let the overseas 'pro' collect starts, while Steve comes in when he can pick up big fifties and centuries!

[takleg]

Did Rainsford get himself injured again, he only bowled 4 overs?

Wow, way to go Vitori!! He sure is carrying the Rocks team on his shoulders. 5 for with the ball first up and now a FC fifty!

And Crems lays the challenge to Razor's spot. Who knows, he might be Razor's spin twin if required in Auckland!

[FlowerPower]

Don't like the idea at all.

Fair enough....But let's engage....

At least 6 of those 11 players you named are regulars for their franchises (and Sauramba is close), the others will follow suit in the future, if they have the ability to make the step up. It's best for young players to rub their shoulders with experienced pros, be it national team players or overseas pros, as opposed to the artificial enviroment of an Academy side. Furthermore it would be to the detriment of the franchise system and cricket in general if ZC were to order all young players to withdraw from their teams -

6 is an average of ONE per franchise...if our franchises are so weak that the loss of ONE teenager has such a profound effect then we are terrible! Besides that still leaves over 6 older players from the disbanded Rocks to plug the gaps.......

where's the incentive for the Mountaineers to develop the likes of Kasuza, if they're taken away from them for 3-4 years? This obviously cannot happen - instead you would end up with a very weak Academy side that gets hammered just as much - wasn't it thus when we had that experiment some while ago?

Not really unless I don't get the idea...the Kasuzas have come through the school system at 18 he is sure to be fresh from school...the Academy would get players from the age groups (schools)...and they can only take so many the rest can go the franchise route, and because the academy would be elite I doubt they'd get clobbered any worse than the Rocks have been...who saved face for the Rocks today? Youngsters....

The Rocks need to develop cricket in Masvingo. Besides Victoria High, do they have good schools for cricket? But Vitori proves that local gems can be found - they need patience and support. Matabeleland has history, therefore they had ready made experience when they started the Tuskers, as well as the schools and club cricket. To put that in place in Masvingo will take time but in the meantime their pros like Maregwede have failed them, Vermuelen and Taibu have been injured and the others have been overwhelmed. In America a team like that would have the draft system to help them out, so the Rocks need similar support. Give them a few of the best youngsters who haven't been given their FC debuts and a good coach and some overseas pros. That should make them competitive next season but in the longer term they need to develop more cricket in schools and a club system to feed on the school output, which in turn feeds the franchise. Then maybe one day test matches might be staged in Masvingo, it's the most populous province after all ...

Plus Southern Rocks have responsibility for developing cricket in Masvingo and Matabeleland South, not just the first class team. This isn't an easy mandate, as this was/is the area of the country in which cricket is least advanced. Hopefully in a few years they will have a crop of local youngsters who will be able to make the Rocks' first team more competitive.

More plausible reason I get the regional reason, but just like quotas it can be detrimental to the whole FC if Rocks is weak, ie we have a team in Masvingo just so that there is a side from there not because it's good enough, on the flip side the Academy side would be an elite group of youngsters growing for the next 2 or 3 years, and released into the system thereafter to join FC sides proper....

But thanks for your thoughts guys...evidently I'm in the minority on this one

[betterdays]

More plausible ... I get the regional reason, but just like quotas it can be detrimental to the whole FC if Rocks is weak, ie we have a team in Masvingo just so that there is a side from there not because it's good enough,

what has been the long term effect of those 'detrimental' quotas? an ever improving FC system.

I kinda get what you're saying about taking them from school but i can't imagine a Franchise being interested in the 12th best 18 year old in the country or the 5th bext 18-y-o bowler. I think an elite academy of 18 year olds that get trained and give each of the Franchises a warm up game pre-season (like some varsity teams do in the UK) might be plausible when the system has some money ...