Archive for the 'Opinion' Category

On the Prospect of Returning “Rebels”…

Published
by
maehara
on November 26, 2007
in Opinion and Zimbabwe Cricket
. 21 Comments

This started off as a comment to another article, but frankly it deserves a post of its own, so I’m reposting it here, with a few additions made now that I’ve had a chance to think about some of what I wrote.

There have been quite a few comments lately, asking for what I think about the prospects of player x returning to the Zimbabwe squad, or why they’ve been overlooked by ZC. I’m not going to get into any further discussion about if or when any of the “rebels” will return, for the simple facts that a) speculating on the matter won’t change the current situation; and b) a wholesale return of the old squad isn’t really what we need right now.

Despite their flaws (and there are many), ZC have done a half-decent job of building the current side into a team that has a chance of going places. The return of Taibu & Brent helped add some much-needed experience, and assuming he’s not immediately overshadowed by the likes of Utseya and Maruma, Ray Price could help in that department as well (although Zim are suffering from an embarassment of riches in the spin department at the moment) - but for the big names like Flower, Streak, and a number of others, a return is simply not on the cards. I said a long time ago that ZC’s best option for the future was to concentrate on developing what talent we had left - with some significant help from South Africa, they’re doing that and doing it quite well, and repaying the efforts of the current side by ditching them in favour of the old boys isn’t the way forward.

That said… Andy Flower has batting skills that we should be bending over backwards to make use of, but he’s been allowed to go and help the English cause instead. Alistair Campbell has helped with the coaching of the current side at times, and was spoken of as a potential national coach before ruling himself out before Brown got the job. Heath Streak has I think the best bowling record of any Zimbabwean - if he returns home now that he’s no longer playing County cricket, then ZC should try and get hold of his services as a bowling coach. Hell, Duncan Fletcher’s currently unemployed - he’s proven he can turn a side from a bunch of Test no-hopers to the #2 Test side in the world - and he’s a Zimbabwean! Coaching is how most of the “rebels” can help, should they choose to, and not as players - as many of them simply aren’t playing any more anyway. But none of this is going to happen until the ZC Board becomes more politically acceptable to the people who want nothing to do with Chingoka and co.

The players we should be looking to get back are the ones lost from the current generation, like Andy Blignaut and Anthony Ireland - but again, these players have issues with ZC that are unlikely to be resolved while the current Board is in charge.

When the current ZC Board is eventually replaced, we’ll see who’s still left available and I’ll debate the pros and cons of whoever you like. Until then, it’s just hot air.

Update break…

Published
by
maehara
on August 24, 2007
in Opinion and Site News
. 0 Comments

I’ll be stuck without internet access for the next week - which unfortunately means I’ll be unable to give coverage of the remaining two ODIs against South Africa. I’ll be back online next weekend (1st August), and will do a summary update & post scorecards then.

A Quick Rant

Published
by
maehara
on July 14, 2007
in Opinion
. 0 Comments

Sri Lanka have just complete a 3-0 whitewash of Bangladesh - this is only the third time that a team has won all matches in a three-Test series by an innings. The earlier instances are when England beat West Indies in 1928 and India defeated Sri Lanka in 1994. Now, please not that Zimbabwe did better than this in their last Test series, against South Africa - and yet we’re not considered good enough to play Test cricket. Is a little consistency of approach too much to ask for? Hell, at least Zimbabwe still have points on the ICC Test Championship table. Bangladesh don’t. By rights, it should be back to the Intercontinental Cup with thee.

No-One Likes the Arrogant

Published
by
maehara
on April 20, 2007
in Opinion and Zimbabwe Cricket
. 6 Comments

From CricInfo’s Beyond the Test World blog, looking at the end-of-day-one score from Kenya Select’s Logan Cup match against Westerns:

Kenya’s slightly below-par performance can partially be explained by the fact that they only arrived in Bulawayo on Wednesday and have been in the country for less than 48 hours. It will, inevitably, take them time to acclimitise.

Get your excuses here (for the record, Kenya were bowled out for 218 in their first innings). It’s snarky little comments like that, that make me hope Westerns wrap this one up with minimal problems…
CricInfo BTTW - Mishra spares Kenyans’ blushes

How to Help Zimbabwe Rebuild

Published
by
maehara
on March 20, 2007
in Opinion and Zimbabwe Cricket
. 1 Comment

An article in the Sunday Telegraph over the weekend got me thinking about how to improve Zimbabwe’s playing standards, given the lack of any truly experienced players in the current setup for the youngsters to learn from. The Telegraph’s Scyld Berry has his own ideas, although first I’m going to poke a hole in his opening argument:

How on earth can Zimbabwe be allowed to resume Test status in November when they cannot even beat Ireland?

I eagerly await your call for Pakistan to be stripped of their Test status, Scyld - after all, Zimbabwe at least managed to tie with Ireland. Pakistan didn’t even manage that.

But enough of the petty point-scoring, as he does propose something useful:

[The ICC] should organise and fund three years of competitive cricket for these Zimbabwean cricketers. They need to gain the experience of winning; they need a batting and bowling role-model in their side to learn from, and that can only mean an overseas player unless Streak returns. Being plunged again into the deep end of Test cricket from November will do them vastly more harm than good.

He goes on to suggest a global under-23 competition as one possible solution. Personally, I’d like to see Zim fielding a side in South Africa’s inter-provincial competition again - Namibia currently play in the 9-side Pool A, Zimbabwe U23 could easily become the 9th side in Pool B to get even more first-class match experience.

The problem, though, is that Zim are relying on other people to help them at a time when providing that help isn’t really politically correct. There are probably other ways of helping Zimbabwe raise their standards more quickly than their current match programme will allow, but the inclination by other nations to lend a hand isn’t really there at the moment. That means we’re stuck with taking the long route - but I do believe Zimbabwe will return to being internationally competitive, given the chance.
Sunday Telegraph - Test return will harm Zimbabwe

Nothing More to Say

Published
by
maehara
on March 18, 2007
in Opinion, Other Teams, Pakistan and World Cup 2007
. 1 Comment

In Multan, Inzamam-ul-Haq’s home town, incensed youth held a protest rally, chanted slogans against Pakistan and demanded that police arrest the World Cup squad. The mob was heard chanting, “Death to Bob Woolmer, death to Inzamam, death to Nasim Ashraf
CricInfo - Irate fans shocked at Pakistan’s World Cup exit

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, died in hospital in Jamaica on Sunday after being found unconscious on the floor of his World Cup hotel room earlier in the day. He was 58. Pervez Mir, Pakistan’s media manager, said: “Bob Woolmer has passed away. I am speaking from the hospital and all the team management is also at the hospital. Doctors have pronounced him dead. Bob has passed away and it is very shocking news to all of the team and the team management.”
CricInfo - Bob Woolmer’s death stuns cricket world

I hope those Pakistani so-called supporters are happy. They got at least part of what they wanted.

So, What Are the Odds?

Published
by
maehara
on March 5, 2007
in Opinion, World Cup 2007 and Zimbabwe Cricket
. 1 Comment

By special request, here’s a quick look at Zimbabwe’s chances in the World Cup - apologies for not doing more of these, but I changed jobs a few months back and don’t have quite as much free time on my hands as I used to.

We’ll start with the warm-up matches, against Australia and Bermuda. These aren’t being played to the usual ICC ODI rules - each team is allowed to play 13 players, to give as many people a chance to get some matchtime as possible - so they don’t count towards the ODI rankings, but they may give some indication of form in matches where the two sides are on roughly equal terms. In Zimbabwe’s case, sadly, they’re not. Read on below the cut…

Continue reading ‘So, What Are the Odds?’

Former Zim Coach: “Zim Not Ready for Test Return”

Published
by
maehara
on September 13, 2006
in News, Opinion and Zimbabwe Cricket
. 0 Comments

Former Zimbabwe coach Geoff Marsh has come out against Zimbabwe’s planned return to Test cricket after the hammering they received at the hand of Australia Academy. In a CricInfo report, Marsh wonders how a team that couldn’t beat an Academy side could possibly be ready for top-flight cricket:

“They’ve got to be competitive. We’ve just sent a cricket academy side there and absolutely belted them. You would like to see Zimbabwe back in Test cricket, no doubt about that, they’ve got some terrific young talent in the system but they’ve just lost too many senior players. The whole thing is sad … I think next year is too early.”

Fair comment, on the face of it, but there are a few caveats to be added from the point of view of a Zimbabwe supporter:

  • Zim didn’t play their full-strength team against the Academy
  • While winning is always nice, games at that level are played more for experience and to bring new players through
  • Australia have a frightening level of depth to their cricketing - I’d hazard a guess that the Academy side could probably give most Test nations a good run for their money

To my mind, it’s too early to judge now if November 2007 is too early for Zim to make their Test return. They (hopefully) have a lot of practice matches to play between now and then, and their performances in those matches will allow a fair decision to be made closer to the time - certainly, the ICC have already indicated that they’re not prepared to allow Zimbabwe to resume Test cricket until they can at least put up a competitive performance. Now isn’t the time to make that choice - let’s wait until this time next year, when the team will have a lot more experience, and then start getting critical.
CricInfo - Zimbabwe not ready for Test return: Marsh

The Great English Player Theft

Published
by
maehara
on September 4, 2006
in England, Opinion, Other Teams, Overseas & Former Players and Zimbabwe Cricket
. 0 Comments

There’s an article in today’s Sunday Telegraph looking at the use of Kolpak players in the English county system which contains a few disappointing tidbits, and that links into a pet peeve of mine: the way the ICC’s player qualification rules allow stronger nations (most notably England) to leech talented players from weaker teams. In this case, the player concerned is 16-year-old Gary Ballance, a talented batsman who is a product of Zimbabwe’s CFX Academy and recently made an impressive debut for Derbyshire. Ballance played for Zim in the U19 World Cup earlier in the year, and was impressive, but according to the Telegraph:

…he wants to play for England and his recent 73 in a Pro40 match indicates such desire not to be unrealistic.

Likewise, Andy Flower will soon qualify for England by virtue of four years’ playing & residence there, and I somehow can’t see England coach Duncan Fletcher - himself a Zimbabwean - not at least considering bringing Flower into the England setup - he is, after all, a former world #1 test batsman and has been consistently impressive in county matches. If either Ballance or Flower were to end up playing for England, they would just be the latest in a long string of overseas players hoovered up by the England machine (Ireland’s Ed Joyce and South Africa’s Kevin Pietersen being the most recent examples).

Associate nations are perhaps more at risk of losing players to Test nations - they usually can’t afford to pay players on a full-time basis, so those like Joyce with the talent to make it as a professional player will usually end up playing domestically in England or other Test countries, and once the lure of top-level international cricket comes calling it’s hard to resist. That said, such players can at least continue playing for their “original” Associate country until that Full Member call up eventually comes.

To Zimbabwe, though, it’s a much bigger problem. Talented Zimbabweans who wish to play for another Full Member nation can’t play for Zim during their qualification period - so those players, like Ballance, who feel the draw of playing for England are essentially lost to the national side, which to me simply doesn’t seem right - especially when they’ve come up through the Zim Academy and U19 teams and have been developed within the Zimbabwean system. Never mind the possibility that after working their qualification period, there’s no guarantee of them getting picked.

Stronger nations like England should be capable of developing their own talent, without “stealing” it from weaker nations. At what point will the ICC see this and tighten the qualification rules to match those of other international sports? If development of weaker nations is their aim, as they claim it is, should this not be an issue they should be looking at? Or is it, as usual, simply a case of the bigger bank balances winning?

As a related aside, the Telegraph article also reports that Heath Streak is likely to switch from being an overseas player a Warwickshire to being a Kolpak player for next season - which would, of course, rule out any possibility of a return to the Zimbabwean side.
Sunday Telegraph - It makes sense to let counties field one extra foreigner each

On the Subject of Timely Successes…

Published
by
maehara
on August 11, 2006
in Opinion and Zimbabwe Cricket
. 4 Comments

CricInfo’s Steven Price has an unusually positive look at Zimbabwe’s recent series win against Bangladesh - I’m used to his opinion pieces being laden with gloom and doom, which makes this piece particularly nice to see. The full article is worth reading, but for me this is the highlight:

“The series victory is a major landmark as Zimbabwe struggles to mend its defaced public image. The last notable achievement came a few months back when, after losing an ODI series in the West Indies, they bounced back with easy victories over Bermuda and Canada. That triumph dispelled, and convincingly so, suggestions that they had plummeted to the levels of the Associate nations.

The players’ lap of honour after the series clinching-win on Friday brought them and the fans into total harmony. For the administrators, the sight of spectators going into overdrive must have left them amazed. Here was a reminder of the power of sport, even in a country that is going to rack and ruin.”

He then indulges in a little wishful thinking on the way forward for the game’s administration:

“To build on that Bangladesh win is what every sensible person is talking about. Building on the win means a lot of things. It means getting back players who have left, and finding a good blend with the current crop. It means bringing back transparency in the constitutional process and administration system. It means cultivating confidence, and winning back the trust of each other in spite of past differences.

Most importantly it means healing domestic cricket, as the lifeblood of the game in the country. Already, some splinter clubs are reported to be coming back into “the official system” to form a stronger national league next season. It also means clipping the wings of individuals and eradicating repression, and bringing sanity and transparency into selection.

This requires good faith if it is to be done. Ultimatums and mudslinging have failed. Stakeholders, the influencial older people in Zimbabwe cricket, owe it to each other to revive Zimbabwe cricket together. They owe it to the players, who get entangled in a trap when they fight. And they owe it to the supporters, and to everyone who cares about Zimbabwe cricket.”

I echo the sentiment, but I wonder if the wounds ZC has inflicted on itself aren’t too great to be healed by a series win. The key test will come when the SRC names its appointess to the new ZC board - if it names people with long years of experience in cricket administration, regardless of their background, then the road ahead will look a lot brighter. If, as I suspect will happen, we get a group of placemen with limited cricketing experience and/or axes to grind against the “privileged elite”, then the off-field wranglings will only continue.
CricInfo - Timely success just a re-building block for now