Test XI for New Zealand right now

[takleg]

1.Hami
2.Mawoyo
3.Taylor(c)
4.Taibu(wk)
5.Waller
6.Mutizwa
7.Elton
8.Meth
9.Price
10.Vitori
11.Jarvis

I'm not at all comfortable with this line up, but it's the best we can come up with imo.
NO MATSI PLEASE
NO CHAKABVA PLEASE

[FlowerPower]

Pretty much takleg, and not to worry (maybe we should the way ZC works), Matsi has been ordinary in FC, but sublime in both the T20 and Pro50 competitions, my hunch is they will give him a go there, more so that Vusi has been done in "sigh of dejection"...

Chigs must have a HUGE fan in the hirachy, one hundred and he's in. In Test for me (read lone voice) Chigs doesn't fit the bill, he is very much like Afridi, exceptional player (Afridi that is) in T20 and ODI, but not a Test player. But the way things have gone he may the benefactor of Vusi's demise.

Cremer inclusion for the Test squad was a dead give away, I see us going in with a 5 man attack (2+3) and sacrificing a batter, with the hope that Chigs late lone 100 is a sign of form..."sigh of dejection"...and that Cremer and Vitori's maiden fifty proves he can bat...."bigger sigh of dejection"

So analysis aside:

Test:

1. Hami (poor guy just when he was getting comfy away from the openning...at least they didn't ruin another Coventry with a lurid experiment)
2. Mawoyo (him and Hami openning ...cold sweats...)
3. Taylor
4. Mutizwa/Waller
5. Taibu
6. Waller/Mutizwa
7. Chigs
8. Cremer
9. Vitori
10.Jarivs
11. Price

Meth and Shingi lose out...this Meth boy is about the unluckiest man alive!

ODI:


1. Hami
2. Taylor
3. Matsikenyeri
4. Waller
5. Taibu
6. Mutizwa
7. Chigs
8. Meth/Shingi/Utseya
9. Vitori
10.Jarivs
11. Price


A Vusi in there would have made a HUGE difference..."even bigger sigh...and total dejection...sob...sob..."

PS...can anyone explain Chakabva's inclusion? Look I like the kid, but honestly? If I was ZC coaching staff, I'd be looking at Mutizwa, even force him to work on his keeping at Eagles. I mean we have 3 keepers for the shorter formats, (Taibu, Mutizwa and Taylor) and two for Test (Taibu and Mutizwa, Taylor can't keep and be in top order AND captain in Test its a bigger ask), so where is the logic in Chakabva? Certainly not for his batting....."no more sighs left...anguish..."

[ZIMDOGGY]

is greg lamb injured?

[hhm]

I cannot for the life of me believe that by taking Cremer to NZ, the are actually considering going in with two spinners on a pitch that has nothing for spinners and everything for seamers! Vitori, Jarvis, Price, Cremer, plus Elton as the all-rounder!!

Guys question Regis' inclusion, I think you should be just as alarmed at the inclusion of Cremer. Expensive, undercooked and most likely ineffective! If he's in that Test XI - which he will be judging for the whole Cremer-Utseya arrangement - then I predict abject failure! Bet against me on that one and you'll lose. I still don't see Vitori & Jarvis picking up more than 4 first innings wickets between them, unless NZ put on 400runs on the board before that!

[Flower power]

My line up would be

1. ................... no one
2.Mawoyo
3.Hami
4.Taylor
5.Taibu
6.Waller
7.Chigumbura
8.Price
9.Vitori
10Shingi Masakadza
11Jarvis

[aydee]

I cannot for the life of me believe that by taking Cremer to NZ, the are actually considering going in with two spinners on a pitch that has nothing for spinners and everything for seamers! Vitori, Jarvis, Price, Cremer, plus Elton as the all-rounder!!

Guys question Regis' inclusion, I think you should be just as alarmed at the inclusion of Cremer. Expensive, undercooked and most likely ineffective! If he's in that Test XI - which he will be judging for the whole Cremer-Utseya arrangement - then I predict abject failure! Bet against me on that one and you'll lose. I still don't see Vitori & Jarvis picking up more than 4 first innings wickets between them, unless NZ put on 400runs on the board before that!

They've simply given themselves the option of playing 2 spinners or 1 in the test, depending upon the conditions they are met with. Seems entirely sensible to me. You wouldn't want to second guess the wicket from hundreds of miles away, weeks in advance of the game... There is also the possibility of Price injuring himself on the morning of the match, in which case you would need another spinner ready to go...

[Jemisi]

Yeah, Cremer is not necessarily in, he is just clearly the test No2 after Price and ahead of Utseya.

My team
1 Hami
2 Tino
3 Taylor
4 Mutizwa
5 Taibu
6 Waller
7 Chigumbura
8/12 Meth/Cremer - depending on the pitch conditions
9 Jarvis
10 Price
11 Vitori

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Yeah, Cremer is not necessarily in, he is just clearly the test No2 after Price and ahead of Utseya.

Which seems perfectly reasonable to me as Cremer is Zimbabwe's long term future. I would actually take 2 spinners into this match no matter what - Napier is supposed to be something of a batting paradise and we could be fielding for long periods so I think it makes more sense to have someone like Cremer taking advantage of a wearing pitch than Meth who, unless he's getting assistance through the air, might not have enough pace to trouble the batsmen.

Sibanda's omission hurts as there was a good opening partnership forming between he and Mawoyo. I see this as a minor setback though because unless he pulls up stumps and quits, he'll be back opening for the next Test - whenever that might be. So we need a makeshift opener much in the same way that Michael Hussey opened temporarily a few years ago when Hayden was injured - which leaves Masakadza, Taylor and Matsikenyeri as they have experience opening the batting in Test matches. As Masakadza and Taylor are settling into their respective positions it might be counter-productive to unsettle the lineup for one match so Matsikenyeri is my pick. This is a huge opportunity for Matsikenyeri to prove that he is up to it at international level because to retain his spot he'll need to play pretty damn well.

1. Matsikenyeri
2. Mawoyo
3. Masakadza
4. Taylor (c)
5. Taibu (wk)
6. Waller
7. Chigumbura
8. Cremer
9. Vitori
10. Price
11. Jarvis

[clikcspeed]

1 Tino
2 Hami
3
4 BT
5 Tibba
6 Waller
7 Chigumbura
8 Shingi
9 Vitorri
10 Jarvis
11 Price

One thing I'm looking forward to is watching our bowlers under the speed gun. Shingi for me, has to play, he can be VERY expensive but he is a match winner - we all know tha

[Zimfanatic69]

1.Hami
2.Mawoyo
3.Taylor(c)
4.Taibu(wk)
5.Matsi
6.Waller
7.Chigs
8.Cremer
9.Price
10.Vitori
11.Jarvis