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Zimbabwe Roll Over to Hand Series to West Indies

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 05:22 — admin

After being put into bat by the West Indies & seeing openers Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza put on an opening partnership of 167 - a record by Zimbabwe in one-day cricket - Zim seemed to have full control of the 4th ODI. A cautious start, which saw Masakadza bat more like this was a Test match, eventually gave way to a period of play in which the pair dealt with the West Indies bowling with aplomb, and left the team in a position where, when the first wicket fell in the 37th over, Zimbabwe should have had time and wickets to see the side to an impressive total.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. From 167/1 the side collapsed to 232/9 from their 50 overs - Sibanda (96) and Masakadza (80) were the backbone of the innings, but of the remaining players only Brendan Taylor, unbeaten on 26, showed any sort of staying power, as the rest of the side were bowled out in frankly embarassing fashion.

In reply, the West Indies had only to keep their wickets in hand & they knew they were home free. The first ball of their innings cause a shock when Elton Chigumura removed out-of-form Devon Smith, but from there Parchment, Morton, Samuels and Bravo saw the side home with minimal problem. Zimbabwe's bowlers did the job they were required to do, with the spinners restricting scoring mid-innings and Utseya taking 3/40 to be the pick of the bunch, but the sides inability to bat had left them with a total that was too small to defend, and the Windies wrapped up the match - and the series - in the 47th over.

The Queen's Sports Club pitch has presented problems to Zimbabwe's batting several times in recent months - on this occasion, I don't think it's understating the problem to say their inability to handle the pitch has cost them the match. This is something that really needs to be addressed, and soon.
Zimbabwe 232/9 (50 overs; Sibanda 96, Taylor 5/48), West Indies 234/5 (47 overs; Morton 79, Utseya 3/40). West Indies win by 5 wickets, win series 3-1 with 1 to play. Scorecard below the cut. Next match: 5th ODI on Sunday (9th December).

Zimbabwe innings (50 overs maximum)
V Sibanda 	run out (Bravo) 	        96 	
H Masakadza 	st Ramdin b Lewis 	        80 	
E Chigumbura 	c Deonarine b Taylor 	        4 	
T Taibu 	c Deonarine b Taylor 	        0 	
BRM Taylor 	not out 	                26 	
S Matsikenyeri 	b Taylor 	                4 	
KM Dabengwa 	c Ramdin b Taylor 	        2 	
CJ Chibhabha 	b Taylor 	                1 	
P Utseya 	b Bravo 	                3 	
GB Brent 	run out (Bravo) 	        9 	
RW Price 	not out 	                1 	
    Extras 	(lb 2, w 4) 	                6
    Total 	(9 wickets; 50 overs) 	        232

Fall of wickets: 1-167 (Masakadza, 36.5 ov), 2-173 (Chigumbura, 38.1 ov), 
3-176 (Taibu, 38.5 ov), 4-194 (Sibanda, 42.1 ov), 5-207 (Matsikenyeri, 44.4 ov), 
6-213 (Dabengwa, 46.1 ov), 7-215 (Chibhabha, 46.5 ov), 
8-220 (Utseya, 47.6 ov), 9-231 (Brent, 49.5 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
DBL Powell 	8 	1 	39 	0 	4.87 	(2w)
R Rampaul 	6 	1 	16 	0 	2.66 	(2w)
JE Taylor 	10 	0 	48 	5 	4.80 	
MN Samuels 	10 	0 	36 	0 	3.60 	
N Deonarine 	2 	0 	16 	0 	8.00 	
RN Lewis 	7 	0 	38 	1 	5.42 	
DJ Bravo 	7 	0 	37 	1 	5.28 	


West Indies innings (target: 233 runs from 50 overs)
DS Smith 	b Chigumbura 	                0 	
BA Parchment 	c Masakadza b Utseya 	        25 	
RS Morton 	c Chigumbura b Price 	        79 	
MN Samuels 	c Chibhabha b Utseya 	        62 	
DJ Bravo 	not out 	                41 	
N Deonarine 	c Price b Utseya 	        8 	
D Ramdin 	not out 	                5 	
    Extras 	(lb 5, w 7, nb 2) 	        14
    Total 	(5 wickets; 47 overs) 	        234

Did not bat: RN Lewis, DBL Powell, R Rampaul, JE Taylor

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Smith, 0.1 ov), 2-62 (Parchment, 13.3 ov), 
3-167 (Morton, 35.3 ov), 4-176 (Samuels, 37.2 ov), 5-197 (Deonarine, 41.4 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
E Chigumbura 	6 	0 	39 	1 	6.50 	(1nb, 1w)
GB Brent 	10 	0 	46 	0 	4.60 	
RW Price 	9 	0 	44 	1 	4.88 	(1w)
CJ Chibhabha 	2 	0 	16 	0 	8.00 	(1nb)
P Utseya 	10 	1 	40 	3 	4.00 	(1w)
KM Dabengwa 	10 	0 	44 	0 	4.40 	(1w)

Comments

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 19:37 — jimbo (not verified)

Obviously for this match williams has to come back into the series..i kNow its been talked to death regarding him and masakadza but williams is the better one day player with a better strike rate and better conversion rate of innings into half centuries considering how little williams has played compared to masakadza.

Also we need a left hander in the top order to put the west indies bowlers off there line and lengths, Rotate the singles and we are laughing

Could then play mpofu considering that williams can bowl as a spinner... Who would i drop.. Hmmm hard one but i would say dabengwa as he has done little to suggest that he can control the middle overs when he was bowling.. Price and utseya are very reliable and rarely come in for some tap

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 21:47 — brmtaylor.com admin (not verified)

Guess what, Masakadza has been promoted to opener in place of Brendan Taylor. Whoever was the brains behind that move mustn't have realised Masakadza is batting at a strike rate of 46.80 this series, as opposed to Taylor's 77.

I disagree with the move, Sibanda and Taylor are the natural opening partnership. Having said that, Taylor averages over 40 batting at number 5 if I recall correctly - let's hope the move pays dividends.

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 21:49 — jimbo (not verified)

Hi brm taylor is the live stream working for you?

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 21:56 — brmtaylor.com admin (not verified)

Unfortunately not. Apparantly it came on for the last over of the match in the 3rd ODI... hopefully they put it on a little earlier today.

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 22:55 — Tawacricket (not verified)

Masakadza is a test player period.

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 23:01 — brmtaylor.com admin (not verified)

H Masakadza 17(41)

A bit slow, especially for an opener. It will be interesting to see who is the next batsman in, Taylor or Chibhabha.

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 23:20 — watcher (not verified)

Hehehe Seems like the move has paid dividends Masakadza is now on 45 and seems he is going( more like it ...) I like one opener to stay in and plod along and the other one to attack so long they dont get out cheaply everytime (sometimes they will) . Taylor is a brilliant finisher but then again he is been getting in and out in the 30s I think No3 or 4 will do for taylor. Imagine going into the 40th over with Chigumbura and Taylor ...absolute fireworks. The best batsman dont open the batting they come in the middle overs

Thu, 06/12/2007 - 23:51 — Jagdish (not verified)

how about this line up

1) Sibanda
2) Masakadza
3) Taibu WK
4) B Taylor
5) S Williams
6) Matsikenyeri
7) Chigumbura
8) Gary Brent
9) Utseya Captain
10) R Price
11) Rainsford

I think this line is very good let me no what u think guys there a good ballance of strike bowlers in ranisford and chigumbura and two good spiners how about taibu at 3.

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 01:03 — jimbo (not verified)

Dissapointing that zim collapsed but i still feel that 232 is a competitive score

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 03:10 — watcher (not verified)

What A COLLAPSE ....THESE GUYS NEED A PSHYCHOLOTGIST TO help them get confidence ...you have seen a record made by grant and andy broken and we throw it all away. Jagdish that is a good line up but maybe we shud get someone in Faster for brent because the spinners are doing the holding job well.

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 03:19 — watcher (not verified)

I hope these guys get used to Pace when they play in the South African domestic season they definetely need the experience....I am still hoping for a win though,

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 04:36 — Andy (not verified)

Well I think that Taylor may hev been pushed down the order to provide some big hitting at the end of the innings though while Masakadza would be more ideal to buiding a platform for the Zims to work with on another note isn't it quite sad that Sibanda got out so close to a well deserved century.

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 05:12 — Jagdish (not verified)

i want sean williams in for matsikenyeri or someone needs too drop out williams has too come for the final game im my view i think i would compare sean williams to a dwayne bravo williams has to be in the starting line up.

i wonder if steaky was at the ground wacthing the action i wonder if zc can tempt him back

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 22:12 — jimbo (not verified)

I was reading an intresting article by dean du plessis the blind commentator in zimbabwe regarding selection on merit and players coming throught the system natarully such as impressing at club cricket then logan cup then board 11 then playing for zimbabwe.

It is obvious that a couple of players have had sudden elevations to the top such as kamungozi, A seriously talented left arm spinner but when he made his debut in the champions trophy he hadnt represented zimbabwe at any level and hadnt even played in the logan cup

Friday kasteni would be another one..... a solitary logan cup century in 2004/05 does not make you a world cup candidate.. He played against south africa a in a one day series and his highest score was about 20 odd but still he was picked.. WHY!!!!

I think the current squad havec played their fair share of matches domestically.. only we are missing mpofu williams to strengthen squad.

I understand that probably timcyenc maruma will probably play for zimbabwe soon.. Lets hope this young man is properly nurtured and has plenty of one day games and first class games domestically under his belt before he is thrown in on a regular basis.

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 23:34 — jimbo (not verified)

Also i will say a major problem with the zimbabwe batsmen in particular is consistency, Thats probably why we lost the series, It seems that players seem to be aware that their places are in jeoperdy slam a 50 then do nothing the rest of the series as if thats enough, A case point would be chamu chibabha, Scored a lovely 73 in the first match and then done nothing.. Same with matsikenyeri.. If you look at all the matches played by the batsmen and their conversion rates into 50's its pretty pathetic..... Matsikenyeri 70 matches and hit 7 50's!!!.. So about 12% out of his overall matches he's scored 50's

Williams is the best of the bunch.. 19 innings and 5 50's my maths would tell me that out of all the matches he's played 30% of the time he would hit 50.

And tatenda taibu if he doesnt score big in sunday's match should be considered to be dropped for the pakistan tour.. a proven player he is but it would send out a clear message for selection whoever you are there shoudnt be any freeloaders in the team as its unfair to be in a squad on repuatation alone.
Who would i pick in place of taibu? I would give a certain charles coventry a ring and see if he's available as he did play logan cup matches.. He averages a shade under 20 but hasnt had the chances that some of the other guys have had and his strike rate is 94!!!

i think matsikenyeri played about 40 internatiopnals before he scored his first 50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fri, 07/12/2007 - 23:57 — dr.situ (not verified)

Ah Jimbo, great point. Coventry was my best striker when he was in team. He still is the most feared striker.But he had problems with ZC and thats why wasnt picked for WC. If we can give Rinke-so caled hitter for such an extended stint,then why cant Coventry?

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 00:10 — maehara (not verified)

Worth pointing out that Coventry's issues weren't with ZC as a whole, but with Kevin Curran (see this article) - now that Curran's out of the way, I'd like to think that ZC should at least approach him and see if he's willing to play again...

Rinke's on of the ones that Dean du Plessis's comments would apply to - he did great against the Associate sides, but couldn't handle the step up to the top-class competition - needs some more experience at a lower level before he'll be ready, but I think he has potential down the line.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 03:04 — Jagdish (not verified)

guys what about the forgotten Greg Strydom a big striker of the ball this guy deserves a recall has first class average of nealy 40 and can score big in first class cricket he should get another chance of a recall for zim hes a good player hope he returns.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 03:20 — brmtaylor.com admin (not verified)

He's been forgotten for a reason, he averaged 14.7 from about 15 games. The fact that he wasn't even selected for the Twenty20 means the selectors don't have much faith in him.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 03:26 — Jagdish (not verified)

matsikenyeri is useless his first class average is only 27 and strydoms average is 40 how can matsikenyeri play strydom will do a better job matsikenyeri played 45 odi and got a fidty and strydom got a fifty in his 12 macth give the guy a run.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 03:47 — jimbo (not verified)

I think until the west indies tour of 2006 vusi sibanda was averaging something like 12.50 per innings, That was the tour however that things got better for him as well as the tri-nations series.

i think that keegan meth looks promising as an all-rounder but again we need to be fair to the lad and play him in the logan cup and fairweather tournaments before giving him another crack at international cricket
Im undecided on strydom i find him a bit of a one dimentional player.. I woudnt like to see him come in to bat with zim 60-5 as he's a bit of a bang bang out player rather than accumulating the singles.. However he's scored some superb hundreds against very good players

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:11 — Jagdish (not verified)

jimbo and guys strydom in my view is a really good player zc should think of him more highly is it just politics they seem to play matsikeyeri a lot why not give strydom a go at 6 or seven hes a afridi type of player give him a run hes very much expereinced in first class criket im a big fan of strydom i think hes the real deal give him another shot hes 23 not many players in zim domestic cricket have first class average 40 strydom does.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:25 — jimbo (not verified)

When i say im undecided on strydom thats actually a positive when you think of my scathing reviews of some players

I would play strydom over matsikenyeri all the time but thats not saying much.....I prefer coventry to all of them get him in the side. then perhaps it would be a toss up between butterworth and strydom

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:32 — Jagdish (not verified)

coventry is good but strydom in my veiw is the best option dont u think

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:36 — Jagdish (not verified)

in fast bowling get rid of dabengwa get in a qaulity fast bowler like ian nicholson hes got pace accuracy everything give him a go he can also strike a criket bell unlike the useless mpofu.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:47 — jimbo (not verified)

Ian nicholson plays in south africa nowadays so not sure on his availability...

Mpofu is ok i dont see the problem with him

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:48 — Jagdish (not verified)

ive been on the reuters news website guess what chingoka bvute and the rest of the regime are on there way out the icc are charging them this is history for zim who is going to replace chingoka and bvute bvute the one who caused the rebels fiasco good riddens these clown are on their way out finally the chingoka regime is coming the clock is ticking on chingoka and bvute.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:59 — Jagdish (not verified)

what about this player who scores at a fast rate Steven Nyamuzinga he sounds like decent player.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 05:08 — jimbo (not verified)

Nyamunziga needs more domestic matches for experience, He hasnt been playing for that long....A good future prospect but not ready yet

Have you got the link to the bvute/chingoka article, Is this latest news from today? as i know that there have been allegations of financial mismanagement but they have been unproven thus far

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 05:19 — brmtaylor.com admin (not verified)

Jimbo, I'm pretty sure he's just been reading last weeks news. The ICC aren't set to make a decision until next year: http://www.zimcricketforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&p=488#p488

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 05:30 — jimbo (not verified)

I thought as much

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 06:07 — Jagdish (not verified)

yes go to cricinfo zim its their.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 06:12 — Jagdish (not verified)

finally they are going these two clowns are going we the the great fans of zimbabwe crickets will be more good the future looks bright all the rebels will be back once these two clowns are gone we will see a more ruthlees zimbabwe mark my words.

Sat, 08/12/2007 - 09:11 — maehara (not verified)

Greg Strydom: I suspect there are other issues there. He made himself unavailable for selection for unspecified 'personal reasons' ahead of that last tour to Bangladesh, and hasn't appeared for a national team since.

Rinke or Strydom? Both fill the pinch-hitter sort of role, but given a choice I'd go with Strydom - he's got some form against full-member sides, which Rinke never had. Both would be good long-term options though, if there are no other issues to stop them appearing...

Jagdish: that's an article we already covered a week or two ago. No decision will be made on charges until the next ICC Executive meeting in January. I wouldn't start writing any obituaries for either Chingoka or Bvute yet - they've both proven remarkably hard to remove.

Sun, 09/12/2007 - 00:49 — Jagdish (not verified)

maehara and all guys when this is done chingoka and bvute are going.

Sun, 09/12/2007 - 22:59 — watcher (not verified)

What is the issue with Blignaught ....HE bowls with pace ....he can hit the ball out of the park in the last overs (even when he played in the SA 20-20 he was one of the best). Is he playing cricket at all after he left the Lions. I think he is a good prospect to get into the side.We cant play with three spinners, India dont do it, Pakistani dont and even Sri Lanka dont we need a strike bowler. One day cricket is not about holding you need to take out the opposition and hold in the middle overs. Sean Williams should come in, Strydom sounds Like another Chigumbura to me (it can either come off or blow off "shahidi afridi, Justin Kemp" these players are not good for a fragile batting line up we need solid cricketers.