hhm wrote:Who would've thought - eugene has Duffin & Ewing in his squad, and Sloandog ctually concurs!!!!! McLean Park what have you done :?:
Apart from Waller for Vitori i think it's essentially the same XI that took to the field aginst Bangladesh! Nothing original! I don't like it, but I can't argue much with the XI. Although, you do know that mine would look different!
I do feel that you guys are being insensitive to our 'young' players! Craig, Jarvis, Vitori, Regis, Meth & Waller etc are good, but they have time on their side. To continue to throw them in the deep end only for them to continue to have poor displays, is not good. We can afford to leave them in the fringes for another 2-3 years.
Craig may have done well, but I don't think you're paying sufficient attention to the captains-field settings argument of Zimdoggy. I once said that any international captain who fails to successfully employ a field to remove Craig does not deserve to captain at this level. Craig's deficiencies were heavily exposed for all to see, which is why he was struggling.
I still maintain that Duffin must be brought in to open, while Vusi drops down to 3, Hami@5, Matsi instead of Waller and Jarvis can carry the drinks(if not reserve that duty for Panyangara completely), while Rainsford does new ball duties with Mpofu! True, Regis deserves to be there, along with Meth & Cremer. Vitori needs two seasons of FC cricket.
One major thing I see you guys have softened up to is the 3 seamers + 1 spinner. All along most were averse to that, arguing it's too thin, but I see we went with that in this Test.
Two questions for you guys:
1)Price won't last beyond two seasons at best, so we do need to produce a ready spinner of quality. No doubt Cremer shows the most promise, and is a leg spinner. Already at a young age he's shown signs that he can truly be a world class spinner. In almost every Test he has played thus far he hasn't impressed. Being such a difficult art to master that it is, if the Logan Cup is in season, wouldn't Cremer be best served by staying away from camps and the full of tour, but only restricted to local tour/A games as well as ODI legs? Being a squad member won't benefit him in any way! Can't see Heath/Grant improving his leg spin, or the nets for that matter!
2)Zim gets one or two Tests, but mostly a minimum of 2xT20Is and 3xODIs. Jarvis gets thumped and is a very poor limited overs bowler. What's the point of persisting with him for local&overseas series, when the bulk of the matches we play are limited overs, and there's nothing, if anything at all, superior about him in Tests, over options who are better limited overs bowlers, e.g. Rainsford, Mupariwa, Muzhange etc! Case in point, his worst is superior to Panyangara, and Tinashe's best is superior to his. Last time I checked. even the coach were reluctant to play him in limited over matches! Won't his career be smahed to it's end, and his very Test credentials questioned when put against the multiple seamer options who have better FC records!
Actually hhm I have said many times that Ewing deserves a shot due to his prolific domestic form. Duffin is a very limited player with few strokes, but then so is Mawoyo so to me he is the logical replacement for Mawoyo if he loses form.
In answer to your questions:
1. I agree that Cremer is the future of spin in Zimbabwe. I think he does need to go on tours, but he also needs to play plenty of club and domestic cricket, perhaps he should be sent to play Sydney grade cricket - although whether they would do that after the Vusi debacle is doubtful.
2. Jarvis is worth persisting with, he just shouldn't be expected to be the senior bowler in the lineup. If Mpofu, Price, and Chigumbura can bowl steadily, then that allows Jarvis to weave his magic without the extra burden of leading the attack.