Just a few hours away. No dead rubbers anymore with points at stake. BD will not want to end their streak especially on the festive occasion of Eid al Adha, which begins tomorrow, commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael.
Should be a cracking contest with 10 points still up for grabs.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
Wow, Bangladesh take a bow. They've got two or three absolute gems here who have shown they're going to be excellent players. Nurul and Afif loomed brilliant with the bat.
I mean, this is where even Wes could have told BT not to bowl DT, I mean even anyone could see that. Hard to take this! And next are the T20s where we are garbage.
T20s lol. I don't care bcz its not worth for us.super league is important and we lost badly against bangladesh.
Zimbabwe win the series against Bangladesh & pakistan..but zim cricket now has batters..but bowling is not upto the task..muzarbani,ngarava,jongwe is ok..we want another 2 pacers,2 spinners wickettaking bowlers..odl super league hope is gone now..1 out of 6 matches..
From what I watched, we seem to give away our wickets too cheaply. We play pre-meditated shots too much and are often falling over a lot. That is how Regis got out too. He was falling over before the ball got to him because he had pre-meditated to go leg side when that shot was not on offer.
Burl plays that leg side scoop/slog quite well. It is clearly a strong point of his, so if he could work on his other areas, he would come along very nicely.
We gave away wickets too cheaply at the end too. The plan to the tail should have been to get to at least 300 and not just swing.
Not sure why the sweep hasn't been cut out of our games. It has cost us on so many occasions and the fact that the coaches are not fixing this says a lot.
I don't think Burl was needed to bowl. Could have bowled out Raza who had a very good econ, and you have to be bowling out your best bowler in Blessing. You can't finish the game with your best bowler having overs spare. He may have been being saved for the final over, but when you can see it is not getting to that final over, you have to try and change things up a bit.
After watching the Test and the ODI series (never been bothered with T20s unless its a world cup and even then only just bothered), I'll dish out my assessment, starting with the new guys. Marks are out of 10.
Myers: The future is potentially very bright. I was [quite] skeptical of all the hype on the new batch of guys given their mediocre records at the last U-19 world cup. However, Myers is the biggest talent since the Taylor/WIlliams/Ervine generation ie in the last 15 years. Thats a once-in-a-generation thing. Positives: Solid technique, keeps the scoreboard ticking, can score on both sides of the wicket, has that mental x-factor that most Zimbabwe players lack. Negatives: temperament and shot selection, but that can be fixed in due time. Marks: 6/10
Madhevere: Not as naturally gifted as Myers IMO, but still loaded with potential. Not as sound technically so might just be a white ball player for now. Positives: Busy cricketer who rarely gets bogged down. Negatives: temperament and shot selection. Marks: 6.5/10
Shumba: I'm not sold on this guy, definitely not as much as the two guys above. Still very early days, but he's got to work quite a bit on the same stuff as Myers and Madhevere without as talented IMO. Marks: 4/10
Marumani: Looked like a young Cephas Zhuwao to me. Again very early days so who knows what the future holds, but from the little I saw of him, he's got a lot of work to do on everything from technique to shot selection to just stopping wildly swinging the bat hoping to hit some leather. Marks: 2/10
Burl: Solid guy to have in the setup. I think his white ball game is best suited to a lower order batting slot. Positives: big and clean hitter, has potential with the ball as well. Negatives: Inconsistent with his bowling and questions exist about whether he can play a long innings. Marks: 6.5/10
Blessing Muzarabani: Bowled awesome in the Test...when the pitch had some juice. Struggled from thereon out. Bowled with a lot of spirit in the ODIs, and was the only real threat in the side. Positives: that bounce and his exploits with the new ball, not a total mug with the bat. Negatives: has to figure out how to bowl when the pitch is unresponsive. Marks: 6/10
Taylor: Did well in the Test, underwhelmed in the ODIs although he caught a very tough break with that hit wicket dismissal. Again, his lack of stamina is what is keeping him from being a world class batsman. Marks: 6.5/10
Chakabva: Really reinvented his game. Was playing top class shots both sides of the wicket. Really didn't think he'd be able to do this so late in his career. Marks: 7.5/10
Kaitano: Faced a lot of balls. Positives: has the mindset to grind. Negative: has just the one gear suggestive of a lack of scoring ability. Marks: 5/10
Kaia: Not good enough for this level IMO. Marks: 0/10
Maruma: Same as Kaia above.
Raza: A successful comeback I'd say. Marks: 6.5/10
Tiripano: Overall a mediocre bowler, but somehow gets a few wickets every series. Is he better than we think? I don't think anyone knows. Marks: 3.5/10
Ngarava: Hot and cold. Marks: 5/10
Chatara: A terrible series, looked toothless. Marks: 2/10
Jongwe: Like Shumba, I don't what the fuss is about. His bowling is like Tiripano's - wholly unthreatening but somehow always gets a wicket or two. His batting is uptill now reasonably non-existant with an average under 15. Marks: 3/10.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
After watching the Test and the ODI series (never been bothered with T20s unless its a world cup and even then only just bothered), I'll dish out my assessment, starting with the new guys. Marks are out of 10.
Myers: The future is potentially very bright. I was [quite] skeptical of all the hype on the new batch of guys given their mediocre records at the last U-19 world cup. However, Myers is the biggest talent since the Taylor/WIlliams/Ervine generation ie in the last 15 years. Thats a once-in-a-generation thing. Positives: Solid technique, keeps the scoreboard ticking, can score on both sides of the wicket, has that mental x-factor that most Zimbabwe players lack. Negatives: temperament and shot selection, but that can be fixed in due time. Marks: 6/10
Madhevere: Not as naturally gifted as Myers IMO, but still loaded with potential. Not as sound technically so might just be a white ball player for now. Positives: Busy cricketer who rarely gets bogged down. Negatives: temperament and shot selection. Marks: 6.5/10
Shumba: I'm not sold on this guy, definitely not as much as the two guys above. Still very early days, but he's got to work quite a bit on the same stuff as Myers and Madhevere without as talented IMO. Marks: 4/10
Marumani: Looked like a young Cephas Zhuwao to me. Again very early days so who knows what the future holds, but from the little I saw of him, he's got a lot of work to do on everything from technique to shot selection to just stopping wildly swinging the bat hoping to hit some leather. Marks: 2/10
Burl: Solid guy to have in the setup. I think his white ball game is best suited to a lower order batting slot. Positives: big and clean hitter, has potential with the ball as well. Negatives: Inconsistent with his bowling and questions exist about whether he can play a long innings. Marks: 6.5/10
Blessing Muzarabani: Bowled awesome in the Test...when the pitch had some juice. Struggled from thereon out. Bowled with a lot of spirit in the ODIs, and was the only real threat in the side. Positives: that bounce and his exploits with the new ball, not a total mug with the bat. Negatives: has to figure out how to bowl when the pitch is unresponsive. Marks: 6/10
Taylor: Did well in the Test, underwhelmed in the ODIs although he caught a very tough break with that hit wicket dismissal. Again, his lack of stamina is what is keeping him from being a world class batsman. Marks: 6.5/10
Chakabva: Really reinvented his game. Was playing top class shots both sides of the wicket. Really didn't think he'd be able to do this so late in his career. Marks: 7.5/10
Kaitano: Faced a lot of balls. Positives: has the mindset to grind. Negative: has just the one gear suggestive of a lack of scoring ability. Marks: 5/10
Kaia: Not good enough for this level IMO. Marks: 0/10
Maruma: Same as Kaia above.
Raza: A successful comeback I'd say. Marks: 6.5/10
Tiripano: Overall a mediocre bowler, but somehow gets a few wickets every series. Is he better than we think? I don't think anyone knows. Marks: 3.5/10
Ngarava: Hot and cold. Marks: 5/10
Chatara: A terrible series, looked toothless. Marks: 2/10
Jongwe: Like Shumba, I don't what the fuss is about. His bowling is like Tiripano's - wholly unthreatening but somehow always gets a wicket or two. His batting is uptill now reasonably non-existant with an average under 15. Marks: 3/10.
Good analysis Kriterion.
Zimbabwe need better bowlers and a genuine spinner. The absence of Cremer is felt now. I'm OK with some of the young batters, atleast there is some potential in the likes of Myers, Wesley, Kaitano. Bowling needs a big upgrade.