Hitting School

[brmtaylor.com admin]

He averages 9.

If Waller averaged 9 and you backed him with the same gusto you back Maruma I guarantee the responses would be no different.

[bavuma_rabada]

He averages 9.

If Waller averaged 9 and you backed him with the same gusto you back Maruma I guarantee the responses would be no different.

Stop playing ignorant. You can't compare someone with 25 internationals, more than half of which were as a very young player picked as a bowler, with an adult who has racked up close to 70 internationals. That's no excuse. The reasons are deeper.

[foreignfield]

Maruma is a solid domestic player, especially in the longer format (reason why Crimson and me phantom-drafted him last season) and I've actually seen him hit a few boundaries in one international match (can't remember which). I agree he hasn't been given a fair chance at Test level, but the few chances he got in limited overs (where I don't rate him as highly, having followed him closely as a Goats' fan: if I had the coice of Kasuza or Maruma at 5/6 I'd always go for Kasuza) he looked unable to rotate the strike, something important for a lower middle order bat in ODIs. So yes, he mainly deals in boundaries, but if the bowling doesn't serve up boundary balls as often as franchise bowlers do, he seems to struggle.

I think he fits into the category of players who are just not up to the standard required but who will always be around the fringes of selection due to the fact that we have so few batsmen who are. For me he always needed to bowl again to really make it. Mutombodzi seems to be on par with him as a batsman now and he stills bowls, and not too shabby by today's showing

[bavuma_rabada]

Maruma is a solid domestic player, especially in the longer format (reason why Crimson and me phantom-drafted him last season) and I've actually seen him hit a few boundaries in one international match (can't remember which). I agree he hasn't been given a fair chance at Test level, but the few chances he got in limited overs (where I don't rate him as highly, having followed him closely as a Goats' fan: if I had the coice of Kasuza or Maruma at 5/6 I'd always go for Kasuza) he looked unable to rotate the strike, something important for a lower middle order bat in ODIs. So yes, he mainly deals in boundaries, but if the bowling doesn't serve up boundary balls as often as franchise bowlers do, he seems to struggle.

I think he fits into the category of players who are just not up to the standard required but who will always be around the fringes of selection due to the fact that we have so few batsmen who are. For me he always needed to bowl again to really make it. Mutombodzi seems to be on par with him as a batsman now and he stills bowls, and not too shabby by today's showing

That's a rational comment. You have your doubts about Maruma and they are on point. Even I would pick Kasuza ahead of him of course, but I'm convinced maruma has a role to play for Zimbabwe with the bat and he'll do better than most think he will. As for bowling I think the captain just needed to throw th eball in his direction more often. Look at Mutombodzi today. If you check some of the old comments many were saying he doesn;t bowl. He's almost won the side the match. My only concern was the sample size of matches to judge him from is so small yet in contrast the ridicule is of a someone who's played and is as experienced as Malcolm. it's funny that people forget how he turned himself into sucha top batsmen. Chigumbura did the same too over time. last season in domestic cricket Mutombodzi had excellent stats as a batsman. Ittakes a lot to change yoursel fthat way and succeed. So it's strange to be a punching bag having achieved so much.

[sixes fan]

are we all 4getting maruma became the fans no1 enemy in a T20 match.... failure to rotate strike or hit big..... Fans celebrated his wicket like a series victory..truth is we lack big hitters to consider maruma as 1 ..... maybe he can hit 1 bt is he a 30 or 20 ball 50 man like chigz, raza, zhuwao, gumbie def NO

[brmtaylor.com admin]

are we all 4getting maruma became the fans no1 enemy in a T20 match.... failure to rotate strike or hit big..... Fans celebrated his wicket like a series victory..

Welcome to the forum sixes fan. I had forgotten about that, but the memories are flooding back now.
Forward defence in the 16th over or something wasn't it.

Great first post!

[jaybro]

No no Maruma is brilliant and the future of Zimbabwean cricket .....

[bavuma_rabada]

No no Maruma is brilliant and the future of Zimbabwean cricket .....

I oculdn't have said it better myself.

Maruma has not experienced anything like the Indian&Pakistani players and their coaches have experienced in times past, so he'll get over it.