Dave Houghton Head Coach

That zimbabwe will not qualify for 2023 WC is almost a given, neither do I think any new team will, it will be exactly the same set of 10 teams that played in 2019.

But then who knows? Strange things have happened in cricket when you least expect them!

sam_ahm wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:23 am

That zimbabwe will not qualify for 2023 WC is almost a given, neither do I think any new team will, it will be exactly the same set of 10 teams that played in 2019.

But then who knows? Strange things have happened in cricket when you least expect them!

I think WI have real potential to miss out in the qualifier. They wouldn't have qualified last time either if it wasn't for some exceptionally bad umpiring that went in their favour.

secretzimbo wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:28 am

sam_ahm wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:23 am

That zimbabwe will not qualify for 2023 WC is almost a given, neither do I think any new team will, it will be exactly the same set of 10 teams that played in 2019.

But then who knows? Strange things have happened in cricket when you least expect them!

I think WI have real potential to miss out in the qualifier. They wouldn't have qualified last time either if it wasn't for some exceptionally bad umpiring that went in their favour.

You are right SZ, actually Afghanistan have got Zimbabwe's number, there is a greater possibility of ZIM beating WI or SL than beating AFG.

No disrespect to SL but I think ZIM does fancy pulling an upset win over them or WI more so than over AFG these days.

The bigger problem atm is that for WI to drop down to below 8, RSA will have to win some games against really good sides in the next 8 months.

Sri Lanka are building a serious LOI side right now. We won't touch them

I hope he does come, and I hope he fails - it will be so hilarious 😂 😂 😂 Nearly three years since he scored a century in international cricket. How many has Sean Williams scored in that time? 4? And he's probably played a quarter of the matches.

If that doesn't fire up the Zim bowlers then nothing will.

That's a double glove slap.

Ya that doesn't surprise me at all, Zimbabwe's reputation has hit rock bottom in the world of cricket. Even below Ireland tbh.

I think Brendan was the last of the well recognized and respected ZIM player, now some people know about Muzarabani and Raza, otherwise casual fans don't even know ZIM players names.... A big change from the times of Flowers, Streak, Campbell, Johnson, Olonga, Blignaut .. common names on a fans known list.

Higgins is a fantastic player. Doesn't get the credit he deserves.

No chance of him coming here though - he will have a very long and successful county career for sure.

We need all 8 plus Matigimu. We need depth and options.

That's the problem. These dudes think one guy fixes everything. f**k it up for 20 years, pick one guy to save the day at the 12th hour and carry on enjoying the good life, if only it were that easy 😂

They still can't pick the strongest squad out of our existing players 😂

Higgins is decent for sure. He's got better stats than Curran, which is where I was going with that conversation.

That's before you even get to Willey, who never gets a game

Higgins left Middlesex because he wasn't being selected, goes to Gloucestershire and his career kicks off. Believe me that had something to do with him not being a born and bred.

The reality was that he wasn't doing that well at Middlesex.

There are so many damned good cricketers that fade away because some dipshit doesn't like them personally or prefers someone else. If I was a cricketer I'd go on a Dale Carnegie course because it's more important than your cricketing ability.

Probably similar things going on with Welch at Leicester. He finally got some T20 games towards the end of the competition and I'm sure he'll play the List A stuff next month. But how he doesn't get in their completely awful championship team is beyond me. Dominates at 2s level and has dominated in club cricket too this year (he plays in Surrey for club cricket weirdly).

The only explanations are someone taking exception to him because he's a Zimbo or he's just fell out with someone.

Ya to date they've effectively hamstrung his progress. He's been contracted for 2 years and not played one full 50 over or 4 day game!! That's a world record, and if you consider that Leicestershire are bottom of the log and have changed their team less than any other county it doesn't make sense. They've plugged away with the same guys that don't get them over the line. They're all good players, but they invariably get beat on the day. Its actually their seam bowling that let's them down more than their batting. Even Hendricks and Mulder have taken tap. They actually sat Mulder (their overseas) out of some T20 games. 😂 😂 The guy is a world class international player yet couldn't get a start in the Leicestershire side. If I were on their Board I'd have been asking the coach to justify that!!

They've given other guys opportunities that have been released from other counties long before they've given NW a run. Rishi Patel (ex Essex) is a good example. He's a world class looking player right up to the point where he inexplicably goes out, beautiful stylish technique, maybe the best in England actually, but he's been 4 years as a pro with only 4 fifties and 1 hundred? . They have about 3 similar guys that seem to just do just enough to justify ongoing selections and NW has been forced to sit and wait and nobody really knows why.

Ackerman, their captain once went about 15 innings without getting into double figures, then out of nowhere had 3 fantastic T20 innings and an unbelievable 250 in red ball. But which county will let you go 15 innings without a score? Thats Kohli and Zimbabwe territory.

They've had opportunity to pick up 2 really good older players with good stats that had been released and they've plugged for cheaper options hoping they'll come good. If I were them I'd have really pushed the boat out to get Byrom, but they'd want a Byrom at 2k a month 😂 , they're better off buying lotto tickets. They're the only county with this strategy. The problem is if those guys do end up doing well they're unlikely to pay to retain them. I saw Azhad didn't play the last red ball and I'll bet my bottom dollar that it's a contractual dispute. If they let him go they're dumb. They'll lose Riahn Ahmed the second his contract is up for renewal and again I'll bet my bottom dollar they're going to lose Benny Mike, he'll have other counties after him and they won't match the offer. Ben Mike has a big career ahead of him, they'd be incredibly short sighted to let him go, he's a proper player. He might be the best no 8 batsman in County and bowls quick, but he's wayward. Anyone who does well at Leicestershire gets poached by Notts. I'm sure money is tight for them, but surely pay fewer players better or they'll stay at the bottom of the pile.

If you gave NW 4 years or even 15 innings like they seem to give a lot of others he'd be an established pro by now and an absolute gun T20 opener. Something doesn't stack up.

I'd think a lot hinges on how he goes in this RL 50 over comp which has been weakened by guys playing the 100 and he's going to need to go big in at least 3 games and at least get them starts in a couple of others. That's assuming he opens, they may bat him middle order, who knows with them.

Surrey have 13 guys playing in the 100 and yet they'll still put out a strong list A team. They're the Takashinga of English Cricket 😂

They'd happily sign 200 players and pat themselves on the back because they're so good.

6/6 for Dave so far!