I can't help but notice there's one player out there who averages high at the top of the order in first class cricket and is a solid patient batsman. This player seems to have been breezed over by the forumers and selectors.
I won't tell you all who I'm thinking about....but I'll give a hint... The term "Lamb to the slaughter" made me think of him.
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[Match Thread] 2nd Match: Zimbabwe XI v Australia A
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hhm wrote:
eugene wrote: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.
If Ewing becomes a solid mainstay of the Zimbabwean middle order I will join in your happiness. I never mind a player proving me wrong in a positive way.
My All-time Zimbabwe XI
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
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ZIMDOGGY wrote:I can't help but notice there's one player out there who averages high at the top of the order in first class cricket and is a solid patient batsman. This player seems to have been breezed over by the forumers and selectors.
I won't tell you all who I'm thinking about....but I'll give a hint... The term "Lamb to the slaughter" made me think of him.
Greg Lamb could indeed shore up the middle order plus offer a second spin option in the scenario that we are only going with one specialist spinner. To my way of thinking, the test lineup should be as follows:
1. Brendan Taylor
2. Hamilton Masakadza
3. Vusi Sibanda
4. Craig Ervine
5. Tatenda Taibu
6.
7. Elton Chigumbura
8. Keegan Meth
9. Ray Price
10. Brian Vitori
11. Christopher Mpofu
As you can see there is still one place up for grabs. Perhaps Lamb will seize it. In terms of the top 3, I like Taylor opening and then either Masakadza or Sibanda as the other opener. I don't really have a preference on who opens between those two.
My All-time Zimbabwe XI
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
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Boundary wrote: 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?
A look at last season's statistics shows that there are no outstanding regular openers in the Logan Cup:
Mlambo 523 runs at 34
Mawoyo 522 at 36
SJ Marillier 516 at 36
Duffin 466 at 38
Masvaure 458 at 21
Kasteni 389 at 22
Gupo 382 at 27
And, well, Taylor ... 364 at 72 ... seems like we have to clone him to open and bat at 4 ;)
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The selectors didn't overlook him, Lamb is injured Zimdoggy. The forumers on the other hand did. Not sure why, but if you ask me why I haven't thrown my weight behind him I'll ask you to peruse your mind and review all of Lamb's dismissals that you've witnessed. they've been akin to a tailender who doesn't know how to hold a willow! I've never been so embarrased by a player I looked so much forward to seeing rejoin the ranks. His bowling is great in my view, but fromhis batting he's one player who changed my perception of overhyping our county players.
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hhm wrote:review all of Lamb's dismissals that you've witnessed. they've been akin to a tailender .... overhyping our county players.
I first saw Lamb in the West Indies and though whaaaat this guy cant bat! I would rather have Foster than Lamb. No Lamb for me in ANY of the XIs
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Price if doing a good job with the willow this morning
another taylor 50 :D
another taylor 50 :D
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Im admiring the spunk shown by raymond price at the moment :D
Price for opener? :D
Price for opener? :D
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ShareWhat a match, we deserved to do a bit better maybe lose at the very end. Our bowling was exposed by the OZ openers and then our batting lineup torn to shreds in the second innings. It still gives us a lot of homework to do before the real test with Bangladesh but at least we kind of know how our lineup will look like. The good thing is that most of the young pretenders have been given a chance and cannot complain when they are dropped. The sticky point is that of having a 6th bowler/batsmen, what about an allrounder, i know Lamb is injured but the name which did not creep up is Chibhabha, is he really out of it or he can help out with bat and ball, either way.
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So unfortunately my pre-series prediction has come correct again. I predicted two defeats with one of them being an innings defeat and it turns out I was on the mark. I wish my cynicism wasn't so based on reality!
We clearly still have many questions unanswered, particularly regarding the middle order. It is little secret that I am a big fan of Craig "The Muppet" Ervine so unsurprisingly enough I feel he should be persisted with. I am going with the old saying 'form is temporary, class in permanent'. Dropping players solely based on form is often a mistake (Hamilton Masakadza and the WC debacle for instance) as the good players tend to come out of their slumps fairly soon. I haven't seen much of Craig's batting lately as nothing has been televised so I can't speak if technical errors are the reason for his dismissals, nut it strikes me he is struggling mentally. He almost always seems to get a start but then gets out. The best way for him to rectify mental errors is to be out there playing, not carrying drinks. Maybe moving him up to 4 where he can bat with one of the more in-form batsmen would help. Having a solid partner down the other end does a world of good for a struggling batsmen as it removes so much pressure. These are only my opinions and know not everyone likes Craig as much as I do, but to me I don't really see any realistic obvious replacements for him. I know people will talk about Ewing, Duffin, Sean Ervine, Kevin Arnott, Ali Omarshah, Gavin Bruk-Jackson and others as potential replacements, but of the group that seem to currently be in the selectors minds I can't think of anyone I would rather have in the middle order.
We clearly still have many questions unanswered, particularly regarding the middle order. It is little secret that I am a big fan of Craig "The Muppet" Ervine so unsurprisingly enough I feel he should be persisted with. I am going with the old saying 'form is temporary, class in permanent'. Dropping players solely based on form is often a mistake (Hamilton Masakadza and the WC debacle for instance) as the good players tend to come out of their slumps fairly soon. I haven't seen much of Craig's batting lately as nothing has been televised so I can't speak if technical errors are the reason for his dismissals, nut it strikes me he is struggling mentally. He almost always seems to get a start but then gets out. The best way for him to rectify mental errors is to be out there playing, not carrying drinks. Maybe moving him up to 4 where he can bat with one of the more in-form batsmen would help. Having a solid partner down the other end does a world of good for a struggling batsmen as it removes so much pressure. These are only my opinions and know not everyone likes Craig as much as I do, but to me I don't really see any realistic obvious replacements for him. I know people will talk about Ewing, Duffin, Sean Ervine, Kevin Arnott, Ali Omarshah, Gavin Bruk-Jackson and others as potential replacements, but of the group that seem to currently be in the selectors minds I can't think of anyone I would rather have in the middle order.
My All-time Zimbabwe XI
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
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Jemisi wrote:Sad we fell over. We were kind due for it, plus we had to fit in with Eugene's correct prediction.
Haha. Perhaps I should start predicting victories and then they will happen.
My All-time Zimbabwe XI
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
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