[Match Thread] New Zealand v Zimbabwe: 3rd ODI

[Jemisi]

At least Ray brightened things up a bit

[Jemisi]

No idea what Regis was doing really.

[Jemisi]

[Jemisi]

We might as well open with Ray in the T20s, he has as much idea, innovation, chance of scoring as Matsi & co.

[andybligz93]

We might as well open with Ray in the T20s, he has as much idea, innovation, chance of scoring as Matsi & co.

well said . lets just get our boys on the next plane back to zim and try figure how to even get close to winning ( drop matsi , chakabva , vitori !! )

[takleg]

We lost because Meth didn't play

[zimbos_05]

Inept coaching and inept selections cost out team.

The batsmen played like it was a test and there was far too many balls being bowled down leg. We also picked players who are not up to the standard and have been substandard for a very long time. Absolutely shocking in the field and that is one thing we have taken soo much pride in.

[aydee]

We lost because Meth didn't play

And Bradman. He might have helped...

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Ah, not such a good game.

Zimdoggy, you said earlier in the thread that I mentioned Vitori should be the first name on the team sheet? Admittedly I don't have instant recall for the 3000 odd posts I've made here but it doesn't sound like something I'd say as obviously I think it should be BRM Taylor... but I have mentioned a number of times that Jarvis and Vitori should be persevered with. I still stand by that, although on the back of being hammered for a century it's going to be hard for the selectors to justify his inclusion; and rightly so. Luckily for him there's a long time between this series and the next.

I'm not wearing rose coloured glasses when it comes to Vitori, blind Freddy could tell you that there's no way he bowled well today and that with the exception of the Stanbic T20 he hasn't bowled as well as he did in the Bangladesh series. I do like what I have seen in him though - that's what I am judging him on. He made an immediate international impact which no other Zimbabwean bowler (besides maybe Cremer in ODIs, but that was well after his Test debut) has done in a long time; and that shows potential. He tore apart Bangladesh - and regardless of the quality of Bangladesh, he still outbowled his fellow seamers and you can only make do with the opposition in front of you. And the way he did so, with swing and pace demonstrates raw talent.

He's only played 6 ODIs, and despite today's hammering he's still got an ODI average of 23. In the last couple of years players with far less skill and far fewer individual achievements had many more opportunities than 6 ODIs to demonstrate their worth. I hope he comes back strongly from this - this tour will be as big an indicator of mental strength and intestinal fortitude as a Zimbabwean cricketer is likely to come across.

Good to see Taylor notch up another fifty; not much else to cheer about in todays performance.

[hhm]

Good to see Taylor notch up another fifty; not much else to cheer about in todays performance.

Taylor's been magnificent for us as a batsman, no doubt! Begs the question why he wasn't opening, because his innings count for nothing now as they were never going to amount to anything with th ematch beyond us from ball one!

Same of his batting cannot be said about his captaincy - he's been horrible! Jarvis too may very well have conceded over 90 runs in all three matches if he was bowled at the times he should have instead of being 'protected'. How else can someone justify the point of saving him for the death to bowl against middle to lower order largely made up of bowling allrounders - NZ having gotten over 250 runs by that time! How Hami(economical)&Shingi(actually takes wickets), Zimbabwe's best seamers, were left out of this game is beyond me!

Bowling tactics when wickets fell, bowling changes, plans to specific batsmen, field settings etc - he simply had no clue! Whatever the nature of the pitch, why on earth he chose to field in the 2nd game, with such poor new ball bowlers, against a team this thirsty for runs, will remain a mystery to me!

Taking into account that his players were the best prepared compred to our lean exile years, Taylor has overseen what is probably Zimbabwe's worst series ever! A better captain would've lessened the impact!