Zimbabwe to Co-Host 2027 ODI World Cup

CholeZimbo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:59 am

Also, it is high time they put up those floodlights at HSC. SZ, any reason why they still haven't? many years ago the reason was that the lights were stuck in customs and that is like 7 or 8 years ago 😂

Yeah they were apparently in ‘customs’ for a long time (debatable whether that’s true though). I think Googly has said they’ve been in the car park at the ground for a number of years though. They can’t put them up because the towers they built are upside down 😂

Marshmallow wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 7:10 am

So looks like the CWC Super League is dead after this edition.

10 highest ranked team will automatically qualify and remaining team will determined through global qualifier.

It's very unfortunate to see Super league concept going to stop. Super league concept give more chances to smaller teams to compete against bigger teams.

https://twitter.com/ICCMediaComms/statu ... 2RNfQ&s=08

I reckon this is dreadful for ZC potentially. We’ll be back to whoring ourselves out to bigger boards in exchange for a few measly meaningless fixtures once every few years.

secretzimbo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:03 am

I reckon this is dreadful for ZC potentially. We’ll be back to whoring ourselves out to bigger boards in exchange for a few measly meaningless fixtures once every few years.

I was thinking this saves ZC from the possibility of relegation to World Cup League 2, which was unlikely, but then again I didn't expect Taylor to quit before the 2023 WC either. If the other Big 4 quit in the next 18 months, ZIM could have struggled heavily to qualify for the next Super League.

Now there will be a higher volume of ODI cricket at least. 5 match series vs BD, SL, WI, AFG.

TapsC2 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 7:41 am

For me this might actually save ODI cricket. Playing 24 ODIs over 2 and a half years just isn't enough. T20s were now becoming the priority

Bingo. Hated seeing 5 T20 series and just 3 ODIs. I hope this brings back the 5 ODI series. Although the Super League concept was good...the first cycle got hit with COVID plus India refusing to play PAK so only 8 series per cycle. This will hopefully bring ODIs back to the forefrunt.

I'm of the opposite opinion really. A 5-match (or however many matches) random bilateral series with no consequence is boring beyond belief. The same few teams playing dozens of matches against each other for no real reason whatsoever.

The super league has added a lot of context, at least for the bottom handful of teams. Qualifying for the world cup and picking up points and moving up the table has been exciting to follow and from a Zimbabwean point of view has added a lot of context to the series. Would we really haver given anywhere as near as much of a f**k about an ODI series with Ireland if there weren't 30 points on the table and potential WC qualification/avoiding 13th place?

It might not have added anything for the top teams but for the bottom group it's been really good.

Sure, we might go back to playing 5 or 6 random matches against Bangladesh every year but it will be for basically no reason.

I think the World Test Championship has been great - cricket with consequence. I wish we could be in it or even a second division.

And I think the Super League has unfortunately been badly impacted by Covid and the top nations not having to care - but still a good concept.

And why can't we have a Super League even without qualification on the line? It can still be interesting and competitive with teams wanting to win it - just like the Test Championship. It doesn't have to be a means to an end. Pretty sure it could survive on its own.

Without it we are very unlikely to be playing anyone other than Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland. We can kiss goodbye to ever potentially playing England. Australia probably wont bother again after this cycle. India and Pakistan will only come if we whore ourselves out and vote with them on something.

I feel for the Netherlands the most. Worked their arses off to qualify for the league and get all these glamour fixtures. Now, regardless of how well they do, they are going to go back to basically zero guaranteed fixtures and having to beg (and compete with Ireland & Scotland) for any teams going to England to pop over the channel for a courtesy game.

Actually I don't mind us being threatened with relegation or whatever. Having those very real risks are the very thing ZC and the twats within it need.

Not automatically qualifying for 2019/2021 WC's are probably the best things that could have happened to us long term. ZC appear to actually be trying to make an effort with things at the moment. Because they know its in their interests for us to actually perform and improve and qualify.

Previously, when we were basically guaranteed qualification as full members, it made absolutely no difference to the board whatsoever how well we did or not. Nobody cared. Their pockets got lined regardless.

We need world cup qualification to be difficult. We need all our fixtures to have consequences and worth fighting for. We need threats of relegation or negative consequences.

Otherwise you watch and see Takemore, Mukuhlani and the whole gang fall back to their own ways.

Guys as of now the WSL is going on until 2023 so teams should focus on that. It is nowhere mentioned by the ICC that WSL is scrapped even beyond that. As secretzimbo has mentioned, they may yet keep it as a stand alone competition and at the end of it look at the rankings table. I mean who knows.

If it is scrapped, then obviously the teams outside of top 9, suffer the most. Associates +Zim, Ire, Afg. It's a sad state of affairs but it is how it is and I don't expect anything good from the ICC anyways.

I just hope the teams outside of top 9 make a strong statement in the current WSL and then subsequently in the WCQ. Imagine one of the big teams missing out on a WC berth and instead Zimbabwe or Ireland or Netherlands qualifying! Afghans missing out will also hurt the ICC as Afghans for some reason are their favt boys.

I sincerely hope Afghans and one of the big teams whoever finishes outside of top 8, goes on to miss the WC 2023 with Zimbabwe and Ireland qualifying (won't mind Netherlands or Scotland ahead of Ireland either) . That'll be massive.

Cricinfo reported that WCSL is is now cancelled beyond 2023.

I agree with Zimbos that it gave additional context, but I'm not that will matter too much in the end. At the end of the day it's about watching your favorite players score rubs and take wickets and that won't change.

If they keep it to rankings, they should reset the rankings every 4 years.

The only poor thing about this 2027 WC hosting I see is that they're going to revisit the Vic Falls cricket stadium all over again. It will be used once and will stand empty thereafter.

And somebody is going to make a lot of money.

For the same amount that will be bandied around you could resurrect 10 club grounds to mint condition. Which would be more useful?

Googly wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:24 am

The only poor thing about this 2027 WC hosting I see is that they're going to revisit the Vic Falls cricket stadium all over again. It will be used once and will stand empty thereafter.

And somebody is going to make a lot of money.

For the same amount that will be bandied around you could resurrect 10 club grounds to mint condition. Which would be more useful?

Jesus f**k, let's hope not.

Fwiw, I don't think they will. Unless the government intervenes and forces it. I can't see ZC itself going down that road again (hopefully).

CholeZimbo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:44 am

secretzimbo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 9:14 am

Googly wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:24 am

The only poor thing about this 2027 WC hosting I see is that they're going to revisit the Vic Falls cricket stadium all over again. It will be used once and will stand empty thereafter.

And somebody is going to make a lot of money.

For the same amount that will be bandied around you could resurrect 10 club grounds to mint condition. Which would be more useful?

Jesus f**k, let's hope not.

Fwiw, I don't think they will. Unless the government intervenes and forces it. I can't see ZC itself going down that road again (hopefully).

Why is it a disaster to have a ground there? Unless there is obviously no money for it? Queens stands empty almost all the time lol. Have it in a good location, partner with hotels there and have a decent sports club around there, get kids playing the game etc. Also, there is an International airport, teams can fly in direct from South Africa. 45 minute flight from Harare, and domestic games can be played there too, rather than the 4 hour drives from Harare to Mutare, Kwekwe and Masvingo. This could be a better venue than Queens and an even better one if we still played cricket against England, with their fans coming down on tour. Great for the Vic falls economy at large. Am I missing something or I'm just pulling a classic Raj here 😂

I mean everything you say is true and it would be great, but it’s the stuff of fantasy and dreams. It will cost an absolute fortune and it’s unlikely to ever happen.

There’s no cricketers in Vic Falls. People joke about there being no cricketers from Masvingo or Mutare but there’s a lot more than there is in the falls, that’s for sure!!!

At the end of the day 90% of our cricket scene and cricket players are in Harare and another 9% are in Bulawayo. Spreading the game elsewhere is a great idea but it’s going to cost a fortune and is wholly unrealistic in the current climate.

We’ve got abandoned grounds and low quality un maintained grounds in Harare that could be brought back up to scratch first. As Googly says, you could probably spruce up 10 existing grounds for the price of building 1 in the falls. Even our other provincial grounds - we are currently sending supposed international level players to play at a sports club in Mutare that doesn’t even have running water for the loos or showers. There’s almost 100 old school pitches around the country that are disused.

If we are rich and had unlimited money then yes absolutely, it would be great to see! But we’d get 1000x better value for money elsewhere I think.

Also the heat and humidity for most of the year would make it pretty unpleasant to play there. I suppose it would be an easy victory - bring the English over for a match and watch half their team die by mid-afternoon 😂 Then there would be issues with mist depending on where you build it and the direction of the wind.

Also there would never be a domestic game played there. I don’t think ZC has the money to pay for 30 blokes (players, coaches, umpires) cricketers and bag carriers to fly to Vic Falls and stay in Vic Falls-price hotels to play a Logan Cup match watched by about 7 people and a couple of warthogs!

It's like the Chitungwiza Aquatic centre they built in the high density area for the All Africa Games. What an absolute disaster. I think it was used twice since then and it's now abandoned. There aren't even ducks!

As SZ said- it's a 10 hour drive from Harare, probably 5 from Bulawayo and literally nobody plays cricket there at all. It's miles from anywhere and completely isolated.

There was actually a cricket club at Hwange many years ago, I played there a few times, which is fairly adjacent to Vic Falls.

Aside from the above the heat there during summer is astonishing. Its often in the 40's. It's absolutely brutal.

You cannot build a place in the middle of nowhere to encourage anything. It doesn't work like that. The only thing that works that way is a shopping centre in South Africa. You could build one in the middle of the Karoo and the following day it would be full.

Our government's plan is to build big airports at Masvingo and Mutare and the expectation is that it will boost tourism, its just such a bizarre thought process. If there wasn't tourism in the first place they weren't avoiding the place because they couldn't fly there. You just have to shake your head at the logic.

I just know someone is going to have a stab at this Vic Falls stadium thing. Watch.

The big thing I believe we need is a few indoor centres.

The summer heat and sun here are toil. Playing under a roof, even if the sides are open would be a big win. You wouldn't need lights if u had a few skylights and open sides.