Makoni Hints at Changes For The 3rd ODI

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Monday, 25 February 2013

MAKONI IMPRESSED BY THE 2ND GAME BUT SEES CHANGES IN THE 3RD ODI

National team convener of selectors Givemore Makoni expressed disappointment at the team him and his selection team chose to do battle for the country in Grenada in the first One Day International in their on going tour of that country.

Makoni says he would have expected a better performance in the first game particularly from the batting department. Zimbabwe lost the game by 156 runs and improved on the second, loosing by seven wickets.

Makoni commented on the second game saying he expected better from the batsmen. "It was a flat wicket, I would have expected a lot from the top order senior batsmen. They didn't show how senior they are considering it was a flat track what l would term a batsmen's paradise. But the whole game was a no show from our boys, they didn't apply themselves accordingly" he said in an interview with OFF THE CREASE.

He continued to say he was happy with the improvement in the second ODI from both the bowling and batting department. "We played well in the second match, in fact we were very competitive as you saw we went to the wire. Victory was very, very close for us but again had we put about 20 more runs on the board" he added.

Makoni also bemoaned lack consistency from some top order batsmen. "Look at all these forties and fifties, no one is converting them to bigger scores. In that light I am convinced without a doubt that we have a chance to win as soon as these senior guys lead from the front" said Makoni.

Responding to a question on whether Zimbabwe has the capabilities of beating the West Indies, Makoni said he was very confident on his charges. "Oh yes we have a chance of beating the West Indies and l can safely say we have a side that can beat them in their own backyard. Look at Sunday's game we were just 4 runs shot of making it as winners" said an upbeat Makoni.

"We will have changes in the third ODI definitely but we will have to meet as a management team

then we can see if our game plan goes with the resources that haven't played yet" he concluded.