hhm wrote:FlowerPower, Elton is as good a batsman as any that we have, and he's as good a bowler as any that we have. His batting against quality opposition can make Hami/Vusi/Taylor look like juniors in comparison to him, while at the same time his bowling can make Mpofu/Jarvis/Vitori look like amateurs. Badly managed & granted liberties? Yes! Because, injuries aside, he should never have been allowed to shy away from bowling as captain, while he should have been made to bat higher up the order as often as possible.
Granted injuries have set the lad back, and I have alluded to this in the past, but to say Hami/Vusi?taylor would be made to look like juniors….I suspect you are at pains to show how good he is, I humbly disagree…
hhm wrote:In a better attempt at betraying your own intelligence than convince me otherwise, you point to recent ODI stats and make a naughty comparison with Prosper whom we know would never make up those 170 runs in 2 innings;
That Prosper’s average is higher than Chigs in the last 20 Zim innings is a FACT not my wish, desire conjecture or anything you may want to call it, his making up the 170 on the other hand is probably true he is highly unlikey to, but its not a FACT, I will leave you to work out who is twisting what, I merely stated a FACT you cant wish away.
You unfortunately have taken it to mean that Pro is a better batsman than Chigs which I never said, what I wished to point out was that Chigs has been that off form, and hardly the top 6 TEST batsman you are pushing. I merely showed how off form he is despite the potential he undoubtedly has. So CURRENTLY, battingwise ….nope not for me I aint convinced…happy you are…
hhm wrote: or a Malcom Waller who cannot play a single stroke half as convincing as Elton does & owes his runs to an attack weaker than all the first-choice attacks from our local franchises right now. Craig is arguably a better batsman than all 3, but he's the one who's been genuinely hopeless for some time,
…as is Chigs... and that’s my point which I think you totally miss…I am probably the biggest and probably only Mutizwa fan, but I am big enough and honest enough to admit that at this point, the first season after over half a dozen stellar FC seasons, he is off colour right now, you don’t get me stubbornly insisting he should have the number 6 spot….
hhm wrote:and I think opposition bowlers(Siddle & Hilfenhaus included) will probably tell you that Chigs is the one they fear most besides our top 3, but they'd rather bowl to Craig all year round!
…really how has he done vs the vaunted Bangladeshi attack in the past two years…I’m sure they heave a sigh of relief when Chigs exits (what a pity its BEEN less often and quicker than we’d like…)
hhm wrote:Your assessment of him based on YOUR OWN analysis of the 2011/12 FC stats
[Aside: not too sure what that means…did I do something wrong? I merely used cricinfo’s statsguru..]
hhm wrote:is even more frightening! Elton has more runs and a far much higher average than Hami who batted 3 innings more! Malcom has just 49 runs more from batting consistently higher, and unlike Elton's 121 I doubt you'd discount his 174(his only 50+ score in the same number of innings - 5)! In achieving those stats, Craig only scored one half century during the last 5 matches of that 8 match season(and he's clearly off to a much brighter start this season). Yes, Mutizwa our poor equivalent of a Hick/Ramprakash, is very much ahead, but I doubt either of us is under any illusions about who of those two merits consideration as a batsman of international worth. The underlining factor is none of those 4 bowled 76 overs and picked up 8 wickets at 24, to go with their 200+ runs at 41!
We traverse totally different tracks, firstly this was to show Chigs poor form in FC last season, (and never in comparison) and secondly none of the four are allrounders and never did I imply they were…my point was he is not a top six bat, and cannot get into the side on his batting alone. Even as an allrounder his batting is currently not at allrounder status. Trust me I'm not a mean spirited person. The minute his batting comes good, he’s on my team sheet, and bad as he has been I’ve said he’d be first on my ODI/T20 list….as a fifth bowler who shortens our tail. ...[PS totally agreed Hami had a stinker! And in line with my argument he'd be sidelined if selection was based on THAT season, fortunately he's come through it unlike Chigs who needs to work out of it...]
hhm wrote: ….
I’ve left the Panyangara issue out…prefer to debate one point at a time
hhm wrote:Anyway in our Test XI, I think Elton is good enough to be among our top six batsmen, or among our 3 front-line seamers. You disagree. I say he should be a definite first XI Test player at #6, whatever the conditions. You disagree. But crucially, you haven't taken him out of the picture altogether. A great afternoon to you! ;)
Happy to leave it at that! :) Besides we digress my point was to support your point on dropping Vusi down the order and slotting Duffin to open....