Payment issues

[betterdays]

If you don't like essays, stop reading NOW

here's my essay ... in the form of an extended question. I'm not sure I am particularly interested in watching a sport that is being played by people who are discontentedly doing so, run by people who are out for themselves using a board that is broke and futureless.

Players are paid all their salaries every month without fault ... the contract drafted by the board allows for the accumulation of match fees, those match fees can then be paid as a lump sum at a time the board feels it can pay out.

He also claims they are highly paid in a country that is not full of wealth and from a cricket board that is without doubt struggling ... he lost creedence though when defending the bigdogs ... as Hhm pointed out..

We know about [...] 'honoured' player salaries & 'fair' contracts,[but] player discontent is not a fallacy

but what do we know?

Rikki Wessels was paid... late, but he was paid

we also know this ...

If all the players have been paid on time as reported by Flash g why did Vermeulen and a few other players from the Mountaineers not take the field on the last day of their four day match against the Mash Eagles in protest that they had not been paid for some months and why since then has Fat Phil been booted out as CEO of the Moutaineers.

but then Vermeulan came back (in terms of jobs, is ZC the best of a bad lot in Zim?)... and as ZIMDOGGY said somehwere (to this effect): "I don't know why Taylor, Jarvis... stay. Maybe ZC are lucky"

It can't just be luck, on the surface it seems that although it may not be the most stable job in the world, it seems to still be a fairly attractive one in Zim. But i would like to know if anyone actually knows the situation. Are we simply being propped up briefly only to be disappointed round the corner by more walk outs and less Int cricket?

[djsch3]

Lets hope that these issues won't tear the game apart in Zim again as we all probably know from what is occassionally said in player interviews. It would be sad to see problems like this escalate after the building and progression of the last three years.

One huge incentive for the guys is the chance at IPL. Really a struggle for them when they are not playing Test cricket. Hope BRM will pick up an IPL contract soon - not just on ability but because he is a true cricket personality.

[sscricket]

betterdays, someone chose to respond to your post after almost 10 days.

The only way to really go forward is for Zimbabwe to get more wins under their belt especially against the top 4 teams or even SL,wI or even Nz. For that they need to play more games against the top teams first to get more match experience which they will definitely need to improve their skills and confidence and secondly to set the stage for upsets.

Some of the IPL auction results and decisions have been curious and misleading. There is no natural justice as to why some players like David hussey, jp duminy, kallis etc are overpriced whereas the likes of Guptill, Ryder, Mitchell Marsh etc who are phenomenal players get unsold or undersold. Even Chris Gayle went unsold during last years auction. So the only way to get IPL contracts is to catch the eye of the IPL scouts either by playing against India or the Champions league or be a standout like Shakib or Taylor.

This years auction will be very tough for Taylor to get in given that one of the franchises has been dismissed and a lot of quality players including Mccullum are up for auction. So he might have to wait another two years. The IPL guys dont see value and justification unless you put a string of performances together and cause upsets especially in the big stage like the world cup.

So long story short "cause upsets in the world cup or beat india and you will be rewarded". Even so many English players like Jimmy Anderson who has expressed a burning desire to play in the ipl and stuard broad have been unrewarded while the a mundane talents of Bopara and Owais Shah have been welcomed. All in all it is about mass perception just like the stock market (macroeconomics) and there is only one easy way to get your stock to go up. Or atleast invite the ipl owners to harare like NZ did in 2009.

For now if I was an IPL scout I would easily pick Taylor based on his form and Keegan Meth who has troubled batsmen more than any other bowler I have ever seen on his future potential with both the bat and the ball.

So there is still some ways to go in terms of getting there as a team and slaying the likes of India and South Africa which will not only increase future viewership and revenue for ZC but also land the much needed ipl contracts. In essence it is a self reinforcing , self-sustaining cycle and the fate of the players rests in their own hands you can say bcoz everything including the ipl contracts is merit based.

[betterdays]

betterdays, someone chose to respond to your post after almost 10 days. .

not just respond ... s/he was compelled to join the forum to do so. the power of the post!!

I guessed most others were either fed up of the topic, disinterested, were as in the dark as me or simply heeded my opening statement...

thank you dj... and welcome! Yes, I agree, it would be really sad for these issues to resurface after the strides made (but as no-one seems to have a clue beyond the occasional fractious rumour we just follow the progress in the blind hope we've become so accustomed to) !!

[betterdays]

It would be better if I knew how to copy and paste the picture but here is a nice link to the topic [don't worry I won't bring this topic back up to the top again ]

http://www.memecenter.com/fun/101303/yo ... ot-growing

[hhm]

I think the value of the players in the IPL is also influence by the international calendar. Which is why the the other English players couldn't be bought, and Gayle was thought to be unavailable most of the time due to the WI calender that year. His spat with the WIB hadn't played itself out yet, but they quiickly jumped at him once it was obvious that he would be available!

Because Zim's schedule isn't that packed, I'd tip Taylor to be bought by one of the sides, even though one of the teams has been culled! Looking at his recent ODi form, plus his T20 returns in the just concluded Stanbic competition, they would be stupid not to buy him, and play him(unlike Price)! Let's hope he does well again in both the T20s&ODIs in NZ. that should seal it!

If Tsotsobe hasn't been picked at all, that trend probably explains why the likes of Elton, Vusi, Hami, Vitori etc won't be easily considered. Catch my drift!

Taibu was on fire at the time, plus his a wk, which made it simpler!

[djsch3]

Some of the IPL auction results and decisions have been curious and misleading. There is no natural justice as to why some players like David hussey, jp duminy, kallis etc are overpriced whereas the likes of Guptill, Ryder, Mitchell Marsh etc who are phenomenal players get unsold or undersold. Even Chris Gayle went unsold during last years auction. So the only way to get IPL contracts is to catch the eye of the IPL scouts either by playing against India or the Champions league or be a standout like Shakib or Taylor.

I find it extremely hard to understand this too, who is offered what and why. After what they displayed during the Ashes in the Australian Summer last year, Swann and Anderson would have been bargains, and they went unsold. Now word is that they will be bid high after they have played India.

When looking at last years prices and you see:
Andrew McDonald $100 000
Michael Klinger $75 000
Matthew Wade $100 000
James Franklin $100 000

I would rather have BRM than all these players. There is plenty more too on that list I could add without trying to raise conjecture. Point is that he so easily deserves one. When is the next auction anyway? Has there been a date set. Had read sometime ago that it was scheduled for December.

[sscricket]

dj,
Fortunately you are I are on the same page so I dont have to spend keystrokes trying to drive home my point. Like I said it is mostly based on performances against India or the big stage. Because India is the no 1 team right now, any performance against them is worth its weight in gold. Also due to the dominance of Australia in the last decade and their ability to hand comprehensive defeats to India on a regular basis they commend a lot of respect even to the extent that their FC players have more value than the internationals.
Just look at Daniel christian $900000 and David hussey in the first ipl. Somehow the same logic does not apply to South African FC players or to the county cricketers who dont get along very well with the Indians for some reason. Even the likes of Matthew wade, Chris Lynn and George Bailey were able to land in the money last year. I am hoping this years big bash will also make some auzzies rich and probably sling shot them to the national team.
Some of it is just speculation (Justin Kemp, some other guy from lancashire cant remember his name etc.... got it Tyron henderson) may get picked up in the auction but end up warming the benches or become waterboys (which is not in their job description).Even James franklin who apparently is not good enough to get a national contract plays in the best ipl team because he scored 2 90 odd scores against india just before the auction.. and besides he is a supernice guy.

They might have taken note of Taylor's performance and the kind of form he is in he can possible walk into any national team. They may not know he can shuffle across and get a boundary anytime or hit good balls over the infield but surely they will look into his credentials and weigh it up against their needs and amount of money they have left.
Surely Taylors base price will be set around 100000 and that is not a lot money for them but will be ideal to land a contract.

Fundamentally it is demand supply equation and any team that is short on batsmen will have BRM in their crosshairs.
This years auction will be limited by money and the existing pool of foreign talent which is almost at a surplus in all teams.
The auction usually happens late december/jan. you might want to go to cricinfo to get the exact dates.

Here are my potential candidates for this year if you know someone feel free to add
1. Pat cummins - he will be the most valuable player in this auction and teams will be hot for him. Fastest bowler in the world atm and has done well in the CLT20 and in SA. He does an excellent job in the t20 format and is far more effective than steyn who has managed to lose more ipl games than he has won.
2. Brendon mac
3. jayawardene
4 brm
5 philander
5 brad hodge - somehow he gets sold every time. eats a lot of balls everytime before catching up.
6 all the english players who dont have a contract
7 all the overrated wi players including darren bravo, since they just completed a series in india should increase their face value

Like I said BRM is certainly better than everyone on this list except 1 2 and 3 who will compete with him. BRM can keep which should add value and if i was a scout I would definitely pick him ahead of the others.

Also looking at the vacancy situation in terms of teams there are very few slots so we can only pray and hope he gets his just reward.

[betterdays]

if you are not in the CLT20, in the counties, in Aus, in the top 8 test nations or, as in Shakib's case, the #1 in the world at one of the three disciplines - then you're struggling to get a contract...period!
I will be very surprised (no matter how pleased) in the unlikely event Taylor gets a contract. The only vague possibility is if he repeats his heroics from the last tour in NZ - that just might get him a bid on 'current form' criteria.

IPL is a business more than other forms of cricket and as such is a balance of winning games and attracting crowds. Cummins may do both (??), Steyn [although he's lost one T20 game - in the CLT20 - to which a whole cricinfo article was dedicated - not becasue it deserved to be but becasue it panders to punters expectations "ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF SA CHOKING!" - always meaningless drivel which is also a good formula to follow when comenting on cricket] is more of a crowd draw than a T20 match winner - though he can bowl exceedingly well in all form, I think T20 is his weakest suit. Kallis will demand that kind of paycheck because he'll do both ... Shakib will probably quietly win matches but I doubt he'll be a massive crowd draw (though with a population the size of BDs you'd imagine it's a smart move to widen that broadcasting base.

where does BRMT fit into any of this? he doesn't!!

If they change the format of the IPL but keep the bidding prices high ... T20 cricket will not be called 'circus' stuff for very much longer.

[hhm]

A lot of what you say makes sense betterdays.

Still, I'm hopeful that at least one of our guys will make it! We have a few Price, Taibu, Vusi, Hami, Taylor, Coventry etc. They just need be on form in order to catch the eye when an opportunity presents itself!