[Match Thread] 2nd Match: Zimbabwe XI v Australia A

[shumbat]

Gee. Bad day at the office. Let's draw a line under it.

Chatara and Jarvis seem to have confirmed themselves as unready. Everyone seems to have been unsettled by the very large squad and no clear plan for the 3 or 4 test places up for grabs.

Glad Utseya is dirty about being left out. Hami had similar kinds of comments and he has come back firing.

Utseya made himself unavailable due to a court case so I don't know how he can feel dirty about being left out. Maybe he realise that there are others that have step up and are keen to take his place.

Chatara & Jarvis need another full franchise season and lots of A matches. I guess Vitori, Mpofu and Chigs are our seamers plus/minus Meth otherwise our spinners are still our main form of attack. I guess Ireland will be a bonus if he eventually gets tempted by test cricket, he is isn't getting a game at Middlesax

[hhm]

The Aussies have been here for too long rubbing shoulders with our guys. That batting card is starting to look ominously like our own!

[brmtaylor.com admin]

So definatley days two and three are a boon for the batsmen, as the Aussies have shown today; but equally it has shown just how vitally weak our attack can be. Jarvis just made a strong case for Meth today, and he can bat. But more likely Prosper will come in for him leaving the team with three seamers, Chris, Brian and Elton

I agree, I think this is the most likely scenario as well.

Australia A finally all out for 498. I think it's a pretty good sign that Zimbabwe were able to get 10 wickets in 2 sessions, but that huge 300 run opening partnership was very unfortunate.

It's pretty important that Zimbabwe bat through to stumps without losing a wicket. The aim should be to ensure that Australia A do not bat again, the longer the top and middle order are facing the Australian bowlers the better prepared they will be for the match against Bangladesh.

[hhm]

Even if it's at the expense of the Zimbabwean cause, I can't say I'm disappointed to see Mawoyo go cheaply. Perhaps irrefutable evidence will be sufficient to convince those less disposed to common sense. This guy does not belong at this level!!

A considerable number have thrown their weight behind Vusi being an opener, going so far as to say he's the one we can sacrifice as a shield for those supposedly more precious. Sadly, that's how low the definition of a Zimbabwean opener has been rewritten! Since he's one of my most admired players I can only sympathise with this lamb being sent to the slaughter, as his value down the order will be sorely missed, while his dogged presence up top is quite baffingly preferred. The ever changing inclinations of the posters here are synonymous with the hormones of our female counterparts. That Taylor and Hamilton were the preferred openers was cast in stone not too long ago. Today Vusi & Mawoyo are at the head of our renewed onslaught on world cricket! As then, I on the other hand, will persist with calls for a Taylor-Duffin opening pair.

Mpofu & Price underlined their class. Vitori solidified his status as a worthy contender despite any negative outcomes which may nevertheless await him in the second innings, if we get that far. Jarvis has, however, discounted himself despite any heriocs he may create in the second innings, again should we get that far. Elton remains a justifiable option.

I am leaning more towards a Elton, Meth, Utseya, Price & Mpofu bowling unit (and in that batting order). Should the need for a second spinner be found to be surplus to requirements, then Vitori can come in place of Utseya, or perhaps boldly speaking, a batsman. I somehow get the feeling that if it was Meth whom the selectors were not sure of then it would have been him instead of Vitori who played in this game. On that basis I'd say Meth is being protected form injury as opposed to being dropped for him. For me the pressure & consistency of Meth & Mpofu remains a better solution to getting early and regular wickets. It still appears to me that quality batsmen are not troubled by Brian. They play him carefully but that's about it. Then again, that's just my opinion. I'll have to see him I suppose.

The key to our saving this match lies not in Taylor or Hamilton, or a typical late charge from Chigumbura. In my view that responsibility rests with Craig Ervine, and I fear it is that on which his destiny much be judged. One mind pointed out that Hamilton was dropped in whim, and likewise Craig should not be guaranteed immunity. I quite agree!!

[Conant]

Hehehe. Very entertaining, hhm.

One hopes Keegan Meth gets a second chance soon, in the warm up against Bangladesh, and does justice to it. Because, for some reason, most of it underlined by our seamers yesterday, a three pronged seam attack (when you include Chigumbura) feels me with dread.

I would rather have four, with a spinner, and of the rest of the pretenders who are to back up Mpofu and Vitori (I presume this is a given now), only Meth has shown to be anyway near the standards required and quite incredibly, Kyle Jarvis has shown to be quite last.

Indeed, with hindsight that experiment in the last four dayers has been shown to be a total waste of match practice, quite on par with Charles Coventry’s howler even if it mercifully hasn’t lasted that long.

I do not see the need for two spinners in the team unless we are playing at Queens, or two off spinners for that matter. In that respect Prosper Utseya and Raymond Price should be left to fight for one spot.

They have born been incredibly loyal and reliable servants but there's only space for one, and this will be magnified greatly when Graeme Cremer, quite easily our best spin bowler, takes up pole position onthe spinners pecking order. And so if you can’t make the bold decision to drop one, no leave out one now, what are you going to do then??

[Boundary]

I like this. Now we are not talking hypothetically - guys like Mawoyo and Jarvis have been given a chance (and hence the doubts are legitimate) and guys like Vitori have earned more chances to impress. Let's hope Mutizwa and Raza are in the next 'A' games. I'm pretty sure Duffin would have been part of our opening pair experiments but I must say I'm almost now certain that I like the Taylor, Sibanda, Masakadza lineup. I was certainly not adverse to Mawayo, Sibanda, Masakadza, Taylor but only provided that opening pair did more that get 30s each. Remember in Tests we have to bat a day and a half as a matter of routine and being 60-2 after the first session isn't going to help anyone. Nevertheless Taylor at 4 is attractive, provided we find an opener capable of seeing of the shine of a new ball and scoring 70-100 regularly. I'm not sure whether Duffin's that man but I'm not against proving it either way. So it's a shame he's injured. So if it's not Duffin then who? Who are the 10 openers in the Logan Cup?

Still, I posit that the middle order softness is our greatest weakness right now.

[hhm]

Still, I posit that the middle order softness is our greatest weakness right now.

And indeed it shall continue to be the case until Ewing forms part of it!!!!!

Afterall, Williams knew he probably woudn't cut it, and Ervine seems keen to force everyone to acknowledge that he was rushed or that since the 'rebels' left we are too desperate to turn any glimmer of hope that comes up into a mainstay!

With due respect to those who for various reasons doubt Ewing, if you were to question Mutizwa, Waller & Chakabva in their sleep, they would all plead inferiority to Ewing. Does he have some outstanding issues with the Administrators, or perhaps him, AC, HS & GF, rubbed each other up the wrong way during their stints together? No matter how little any of you might view him, he should have been trialed somewhere from the training games until now. Unlike Duffin, I don't remember hearing that he's injured.

Doesn't the following line up inspire confidence in you Boundary, in comparison to what we've been sujected to off late?
1Taylor, 2Duffin, 3Hamilton, 4Vusi, 5Taibu, 6Ewing*, 7Chigumbura, 8Meth, 9Vitori, 10Price(or Cremer/Utseya), 11Mpofu
*With Ewing as an effective part-time spin option, not to mention top level-headed batsman, Vitori can come in for the 2nd spinner option. That should also appease those who are irked by my constant preference for Meth over Vitori.

[eugene]

Still, I posit that the middle order softness is our greatest weakness right now.

And indeed it shall continue to be the case until Ewing forms part of it!!!!!

Afterall, Williams knew he probably woudn't cut it, and Ervine seems keen to force everyone to acknowledge that he was rushed or that since the 'rebels' left we are too desperate to turn any glimmer of hope that comes up into a mainstay!

With due respect to those who for various reasons doubt Ewing, if you were to question Mutizwa, Waller & Chakabva in their sleep, they would all plead inferiority to Ewing. Does he have some outstanding issues with the Administrators, or perhaps him, AC, HS & GF, rubbed each other up the wrong way during their stints together? No matter how little any of you might view him, he should have been trialed somewhere from the training games until now. Unlike Duffin, I don't remember hearing that he's injured.

Doesn't the following line up inspire confidence in you Boundary, in comparison to what we've been sujected to off late?
1Taylor, 2Duffin, 3Hamilton, 4Vusi, 5Taibu, 6Ewing*, 7Chigumbura, 8Meth, 9Vitori, 10Price(or Cremer/Utseya), 11Mpofu
*With Ewing as an effective part-time spin option, not to mention top level-headed batsman, Vitori can come in for the 2nd spinner option. That should also appease those who are irked by my constant preference for Meth over Vitori.

hhm, are you Gavin Ewing? From all reports I have ever heard of Ewing, he doesn't have much of a technique and would be cruely exposed at international level. Also, his bowling is pretty much a non-event these days. I have never seen him play in person so I could be wrong about this, but these opinions of him as a player must have some basis in truth.

[jimbo]

As I said before If payangara or Shingi masacadza do well in the bangladesh warm up they could get into the test squad through the back door, Presuming they play, I think shingi is a good player in the longer format and his succesfull seasons with his franchise prove that

[hhm]

hhm, are you Gavin Ewing? From all reports I have ever heard of Ewing, he doesn't have much of a technique and would be cruely exposed at international level. Also, his bowling is pretty much a non-event these days. I have never seen him play in person so I could be wrong about this, but these opinions of him as a player must have some basis in truth.

You might want to extract your quotes next time eugene. No, I'm not Gavin Ewing. But if my memory serves me right, what you say sounds exactly like what John Ward said about him. I have the greatest respect for JW, but I have seen Ewing bat&bowl live and on TV, and I strongly disgree with him on that. Particularly when you consider that a lot of what was said about Ewing, actually applies to an undeserving majority of the cricketers we keep on handing the national jersey to, and yet that should be the pinnacle of any discipline. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have no doubt that I will be vindicated on that one. My only concern is that I hope his latest snub does not affect his season.