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Opening post · Edited
Let's get the humiliation over with. A few good individual performances will be nice.
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Zimbabwe vs India
3rd T20I · Harare Sports Club
Status
MATCH OVER
Series: India tour of Zimbabwe 2026
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ZCF OriginalVeteran
That should be the only T20I he ever plays. We need him good for Tests and ODIs
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ShareWho's going to come in his place? I'd rather have him than a Madande
The issue is he's out of place, he'll be better at 4
The issue is he's out of place, he'll be better at 4
Zimbabwe fan, long time lurker on the old ZCF
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Quoted from Marshmallow in post #46217
When the next series?
Tri series in Namibia next month
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The few positives I would take from this series is Blessing is genuinely class apart. Wes is surely on the right track. Brad Evans is a supreme athlete, the only thing close to a death bowler Zimbabwe have
Not a Zimbabwean, a massive cricket fan and longtime lurker on the old ZCF
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ShareBennett's and Raza's form remain a concern. A sum total of 4 runs in 3 matches for the latter.
For the Namibia series, there's a 90% chance Curran is dropped, though the alternatives don't promise much either.
Maybe calling up Matt Campbell is a solution? Even Jono Campbell wouldn't be a problem
For the Namibia series, there's a 90% chance Curran is dropped, though the alternatives don't promise much either.
Maybe calling up Matt Campbell is a solution? Even Jono Campbell wouldn't be a problem
Zimbabwe fan, long time lurker on the old ZCF
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Quoted from dandy in post #46216
Who's going to come in his place? I'd rather have him than a Madande
The issue is he's out of place, he'll be better at 4
To state the obvious, Zimbabwe simply do not have enough genuine T20 batters who can clear the boundary consistently and maintain a high scoring rate.
Most of our victories are not built on overwhelming opponents with the bat. We usually win by scraping together a competitive total, squeezing the opposition in the field and hoping the bowlers can drag the game into a low-scoring scrap.
The batting firepower just is not there.
Dropping Madande, moving Curran to four, bringing in the Campbells or the Welches, or waiting for Naqvi to become eligible will not solve it. No disrespect to any of those players, but none has demonstrated that he is a dominant T20 batter capable of regularly taking apart international attacks.
In truth, nobody in Zimbabwe’s current player pool has.
Bennett, Raza and Burl have done most of the heavy lifting with thrle bat. When one or two of them make a significant contribution, Zimbabwe compete. When they fail, the innings often collapses into a collection of nudges, dots and hopeful slogs.
That dependence is becoming even more dangerous because Raza’s best years are almost certainly behind him. He may still produce the occasional brilliant innings, but at 40, Zimbabwe cannot continue treating him as the foundation of the batting unit.
Unless new hitters emerge, we should expect more poor batting displays, particularly against top sides with the pace, variation and spin to expose our limitations.
The issue is not finding a better position for one player. The issue is that Zimbabwe are trying to assemble a modern T20 batting line-up from a player pool that has produced almost no proven modern T20 batters.
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ShareUnfortunate truth but I would also say it's a mindset problem, than a technique problem.
Take Myers, for example - the way he got out in the 3rd game says it. That ball could have been worked on to the leg side for a single, but he instead chose to make room and go over the off side.
What resulted was him looking like a retard and the ball just shovelling up. That's poor thinking and the over had already gone for 7.
Our guys seem to get cowed down under pressure, which is never desirable. People like Wes, Maru, Evans try to dominate but players like Myers and even to an extent Bennett don't really play smartly. These thrashings are the result of us playing rather naive cricket, than smart - like how we did in the world cup.
How can we fix this?
Also, for the love of god, I would like them to shift Maru back to the opening position. Failures or not. I believe there was something with him that made Bennett keep his head on.
Take Myers, for example - the way he got out in the 3rd game says it. That ball could have been worked on to the leg side for a single, but he instead chose to make room and go over the off side.
What resulted was him looking like a retard and the ball just shovelling up. That's poor thinking and the over had already gone for 7.
Our guys seem to get cowed down under pressure, which is never desirable. People like Wes, Maru, Evans try to dominate but players like Myers and even to an extent Bennett don't really play smartly. These thrashings are the result of us playing rather naive cricket, than smart - like how we did in the world cup.
How can we fix this?
Also, for the love of god, I would like them to shift Maru back to the opening position. Failures or not. I believe there was something with him that made Bennett keep his head on.
Zimbabwe fan, long time lurker on the old ZCF
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Quoted from Mr Twig in post #46218
Quoted from Marshmallow in post #46217
When the next series?
Tri series in Namibia next month
According to Namibia Cricket's 2026 schedule, the Tri-series is not listed. It has most probably been canceled.🙂
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Quoted from Marshmallow in post #46224
Quoted from Mr Twig in post #46218
Quoted from Marshmallow in post #46217
When the next series?
Tri series in Namibia next month
According to Namibia Cricket's 2026 schedule, the Tri-series is not listed. It has most probably been canceled.🙂
It's happening.
https://www.cricinfo.com/story/this-time-for-africa-the-odi-world-cup-returns-to-a-changed-continent-1548247
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ShareKnew exactly who the article was going to be by before I even opened it.
But glad this is still going ahead
But glad this is still going ahead
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