All-time Zimbabwe XI

Zimbabwe ODI XIs by Decade

These selections are for One Day Internationals only.

The basic eligibility rule was simple: a player had to represent Zimbabwe in at least three ODIs during the relevant decade. Performances outside that decade were not considered when selecting that particular XI.

I initially attempted to enforce a "one player, one decade" rule. Under that system, once a player had been selected in one decade, he could not appear in another.

I eventually abandoned it.

The rule punished players for longevity. Heath Streak, Grant Flower, Andy Flower, Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza all made meaningful ODI contributions across more than one decade. Preventing them from appearing twice meant leaving out deserving players merely to satisfy an administrative restriction.

Each decade is therefore judged independently. A player may appear in more than one XI, but only his ODI performances within that specific decade count.

† Wicketkeeper
(c) Captain



1980s XI

Robin Brown, Grant Paterson, Andy Pycroft, Dave Houghton †, Kevin Curran, Duncan Fletcher (c), Andy Waller, Iain Butchart, Peter Rawson, John Traicos, Malcolm Jarvis

Zimbabwe played relatively little ODI cricket during the decade, with most of its matches coming at the 1983 and 1987 World Cups.

Houghton, Curran and Fletcher form the core of the batting, while Rawson, Butchart, Jarvis and Traicos give the side a balanced attack.

Eddo Brandes could replace Malcolm Jarvis, but his best performances were in the 90s. For that reason, Jarvis sneaks in.



1990s XI

Grant Flower, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower †, Dave Houghton, Alistair Campbell (c), Guy Whittall, Paul Strang, Heath Streak, Eddo Brandes, Henry Olonga

This is probably Zimbabwe’s strongest ODI generation.

Campbell is batting lower than his natural position, but the top five places are occupied by players with compelling claims. Grant Flower, Johnson, Goodwin and Andy Flower produced stronger returns during the decade, while Dave Houghton remains Dave Houghton.

Campbell therefore occupies the only available batting position at six. It is not his ideal role, but leaving him out altogether would weaken the team considerably. Besides, he can move up to 3 to stabilise the innings when an early wicket falls.

The bowling attack has pace, movement, leg-spin and several all-round options. Streak and Johnson take the new ball with Brandes and Olonga offering support. Paul Strang is the frontline spinner and Whitall offers military medium pace.



2000s XI

Grant Flower, Brendan Taylor, Andy Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Sean Ervine, Tatenda Taibu †, Elton Chigumbura, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Ed Rainsford

Honourable mentions: Hamilton Masakadza, Tawanda Mupariwa, Prosper Utseya, Gary Brent and Dougie Hondo.

Stuart Carlisle gets the crucial middle-order position ahead of Hamilton Masakadza.

Masakadza scored heavily against associates and Bangladesh, but his returns against the strongest teams were far less convincing. Carlisle produced ODI hundreds against Australia and India, including performances against genuinely elite bowling attacks.

Taylor, Rainsford and Chigumbura are the only post-2004 players to make the team.



2010s XI

Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Brendan Taylor (c) †, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Tendai Chatara, Kyle Jarvis, Tinashe Panyangara

*Brian Vitori misses out because Panyangara and Chatara were wee bit more consistent. I wouldn't complain if he replaced any one of the 3 fast bowlers

Chigumbura makes this team as a pure batsman because his bowling faded as the decade wore on. His batting returns were not all that great as well. He only makes the team because I couldn't think of anyone better.



2020s XI

Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Regis Chakabva †, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (c), Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza*, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani

*Wellington’s place should eventually go to Newman, but I can't select the kid after one good series. He needs a larger and more sustained body of ODI work first.

Regis solves the keeper/batsman problem we have with our current squad.

This decade has a gun bowling attack.

We are only halfway through the decade. Who knows? Madande could find himself in the XI at the end of the decade.
___
I'll do one for tests next. That one should be interesting.

I finally got around to my Test XIs by decade.

Same rules as the ODI XIs: there is no one-player-per-decade restriction.

To make comparisons easier, I've listed all the teams together below. I'll explain the selections afterwards.

1990s

Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower †, Dave Houghton (c), Neil Johnson, Guy Whittall, Paul Strang, Heath Streak, Bryan Strang, Henry Olonga

2000s

Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Sean Ervine, Tatenda Taibu †, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Douglas Hondo

2010s

Sikandar Raza, Tino Mawoyo, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (c), Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Regis Chakabva †, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara

2020s

Ben Curran, Brian Bennett, Craig Ervine (c), Sean Williams, Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva †, Brad Evans, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi

RATIONALE

1990s

Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower †, Dave Houghton (c), Neil Johnson, Guy Whittall, Paul Strang, Heath Streak, Bryan Strang, Henry Olonga

Compromises

Bryan Strang gets the final seam-bowling spot ahead of Pommie Mbangwa and Eddo Brandes. Strang took a respectable 50 Test wickets and could be an absolute menace when conditions offered him something. He did lack pace though rendered him useless in unhelpful conditions. Mbangwa was also a decent Test bowler and, statistically, you could probably make a stronger argument for him than Brandes. Ultimately I go with Strang.

On slower surfaces, Adam Huckle comes into consideration, potentially replacing Bryan Strang and operating alongside his brother Paul.

Neil Johnson is another slightly awkward selection. He wasn't particularly prolific in Tests and only played three Tests during the 1990s, although he did score his only Test century against Pakistan who had Waqar and Wasim. I'm partly picking him because of the cricketer he demonstrated he could be in ODIs.

Alistair Campbell did not open the batting in Tests in the 90s, but I picked him to open with Grant Flower. Gavin Rennie is a contender, but I still struggle to pick him ahead of Campbell. AC was the better batsman.

Overall, though, this is a bloody decent team.

2000s

Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Sean Ervine, Tatenda Taibu †, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Douglas Hondo

Compromises

Grant Flower didn't open much during the 2000s, but I'm moving him up because he makes the best XI and had loads of experience as an opener.

Murray Goodwin only played four Tests in the decade before his Zimbabwe career ended. Fortunately for him, he scored heavily enough in those four matches to force his way into the side.

Alistair Campbell is probably the most vulnerable selection in the top order. His best years were clearly in the 1990s, but I've stared at the alternatives and haven't found an opener I'm happier with. So Campbell survives.

Sean Ervine is basically a selection on demonstrated potential. Five Tests shouldn't normally be enough to earn a place in a decade XI, but he remains one of those enormous Zimbabwean "what if?" players. Without the 2004 standoff, I think he could have had an excellent international career.

The final bowling spot came down to Douglas Hondo versus Travis Friend. Friend was quicker and lengthened the batting, but he could also spray the ball around. Hondo was the slightly better bowler, so he gets the spot.

2010s

Sikandar Raza, Tino Mawoyo, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (c), Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Regis Chakabva †, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara

Compromises

Sikandar Raza did start his career opening the batting, so I'm dragging early-career Raza back up the order. He has to play ahead of Vusi Sibanda, whose special move always seemed to be playing several gorgeous shots, reaching a sexy 13 and then getting out.

Tatenda Taibu versus Regis Chakabva was difficult. Taibu was the better wicketkeeper and probably the more dependable batsman, but he retired very early in the decade. Chakabva played substantially more cricket during the 2010s, so Reggie edges it.

Brian Vitori is another close shout. His international career started with fireworks, but he couldn't sustain that early impact and being reported for an illegal bowling action several times doesn't exactly help his case.

Then there's Graeme Cremer. His Test bowling record is fairly ordinary, and I was seriously tempted to pick Ray Price despite Price playing relatively little Test cricket during the decade. But Cremer was Zimbabwe's regular frontline spinner for a significant period and also offered useful runs down the order. That gives him the spot.

2020s

Ben Curran, Brian Bennett, Craig Ervine (c), Sean Williams, Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva †, Brad Evans, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi

Compromises

Victor Nyauchi has a Test five-for and has done enough to keep the final bowling spot for now.

If Newman Nyamhuri continues developing and keeps his head straight, I'd expect him to overtake Nyauchi before the decade is finished. But right now Nyauchi gets in.

Regis Chakabva probably shouldn't really be in a 2020s XI. He's fundamentally a 2010s player. The problem is that Zimbabwe haven't produced a wicketkeeper-batsman of sufficient quality to take the position away from him. Maybe Panashe Taruvinga, Villan Changa or Matthew Welch eventually solve that problem. Tsiga hasn't fired with the bat. Madande and Marumani haven't given me much confidence that they will.

The Brendan Taylor selection is worth discussing. He is obviously one of Zimbabwe's great batsmen and he's getting into this side partly on reputation. However, he did score four fifties in the 16 innings he played during the decade. For me, Nick Welch needs to find some consistency. He blows hot and cold and still hasn't produced the international innings that makes you think, right, he's arrived. There have been a few fifties against respectable opposition and the potential is clearly there, but it hasn't properly clicked yet. If he sticks around and begins producing consistently, he has the ability to replace Taylor in the decade XI. It would be real shame if the rumours that he has thrown in the towel were true.

Innocent Kaia might also come into contention soon. He doesn't make it yet because he's only played one Test.

NO TESTS FOR ZIMBABWE/RHODESIA XI

I somehow ended up looking into Zimbabweans/Rhodesians who never got to play Test cricket for the country but probably should have.

This includes Zimbabweans/Rhodesians who represented other countries as well as players who never played Test cricket at all, but had strong first-class records and, in some cases, ODI records.

This one is much harder for me because, unlike the other sides, I never watched most of these guys. I'm relying almost entirely on records, career numbers and what I've read about them.

Tony Pithey (c), Brian Davison, Graeme Hick, Colin Bland, Kevin Curran, Colin de Grandhomme, Trevor Penney †, Jackie du Preez, Peter Rawson, Joe Partridge, Goofy Lawrence

A few notes:

Chris Duckworth should probably play if I'm selecting purely on wicketkeeping ability. He didn't offer much with the bat, though, and I suspect modern cricket has corrupted my brain sufficiently that I've gone for Trevor Penney, who occasionally kept in limited-overs cricket and was a considerably stronger batsman.

Duncan Fletcher is unlucky to miss out, but Colin de Grandhomme gets the nod after having an outstanding international career for New Zealand.

David Pithey would also be a serious option on slower surfaces, potentially operating alongside Jackie du Preez.

Ed Rainsford is another decent shout, but I'm struggling to find somewhere to put him.

The obvious weakness in this XI is that I'm judging players I largely never saw. With the other teams I can combine statistics with memory and context. Here I'm basically arguing with scorecards.

What surprised me is that on paper this hypothetical side might actually beat all four of the decade XIs player for player.

ONE THING THAT STOOD OUT

The recurring formula seems to be something closer to:

one genuinely world-class batsman + one genuinely world-class bowler + a few good international cricketers around them to make the team competitive.

The 1990s is the best team by far.

Andy Flower and Heath Streak were world-class. They were well supported by excellent players like Goodwin and Houghton. Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell, Paul Strang and Henry Olonga were also very capable international cricketers.

The 2000s team looks surprisingly strong on paper, but it's also a slightly deceptive XI. It combines the remnants of Zimbabwe's strongest generation with players whose careers were cut short or badly disrupted around 2004. There is a lot of talent in that XI, but Zimbabwe never really got to field that collection of players together for long enough.

In the 2010s, Brendan Taylor carried a huge amount of the batting responsibility. Hamilton Masakadza gave him support here and there, but wasn't consistent enough. There was also no genuinely world-class bowler comparable to Streak.

Blessing Muzarabani has been excellent so far in the 2020s. I would say he is world-class. Richard Ngarava is developing into a very solid Test cricketer, which is encouraging. Brad Evans passes the eye test, but still needs to put the numbers on the board.

And that brings me to the biggest concern with today's Test team.

Unless Brian Bennett develops the volume and consistency to match Zimbabwe's best batsmen from previous generations, this decade could finish without producing another truly elite Zimbabwean Test batsman. Zimbabwe desperately need Bennett, or somebody from the generation behind him, to go beyond merely being promising. We need someone who can spend several years doing what Andy Flower, Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams did before him.

Ben Curran and Wes Madhevere also need to step up and support Bennett. Wes seems to have turned a corner recently. Hopefully he stays consistent.