OBSERVATIONS FROM THE UK

As a Zimbo now in the UK I was glad to get the opportunity to watch Zim live on the internet. Despite the results from the two Tests and the two one-dayers that have gone so far, I was still heartened from what I saw. No, not on the pitch, but in the crowd. The scenes of the crowd which consisted of black Africans was awesome. To see your fellow countrymen dancing and chanting even when Zim were not doing so well shows that the game really does have a future in Zimbabwe, and the population is now starting to realize just how good a sport it is. Zimbabwe is still, I believe, the best place in the world to watch cricket and the pictures on the TV proved this - bring on the World Cup.

It was especially pleasing to see Blignaut do well in the Tests and the first ODI. I believe this guy has tremendous potential to be a top player when he is not relied on to be an opening bowler or merely a pinch-hitter. The same is true with Sean Ervine. He hit the ball so cleanly in the second ODI and look like he has the talent to become a very solid batter, but we must not rely upon him to bowl 10 overs in a ODI. He would work really well as the type of player who can bowl five overs and pick up a couple of wickets, which I believe he has the talent to do.

I was pretty miffed to at the selections in the first Test of Mahwire and the second one-day international of Mwayenga. These two guys are capable bowlers, and with time one of them could certainly turn into a top-class bowler, but to throw them in at the deep end for the benefit of one test or one ODI is suicidal. They should have been given more time in domestic cricket and encouraged to play league cricket abroad for a while. If the ZCU do insist on picking them then give them a run in the team, as one game is hardly enough for these teenagers to get over their nerves. I think the same is also true of Barney Rogers and Matsikenyeri.

The worry for Zimbabwe is now the bowling attack. Our batting looks at its strongest for a while, with our lower order able to chip in when they have to (which in the last two ODI they have!!) but with Streak out our bowling is just not Test standard. I really have no thoughts on who could fill the void there at the moment. Why is Pommie not playing at the moment? His experience and knowledge for the game would be useful right now. Also, do you know what happened to Brighton Watambwa? He seemed a good prospect.

To finish up I would just like to say well done to Tatenda Taibu. His place had been questioned before this series, but now we can see that he just may well be our next Andy Flower!!

Keep up the good work - Zimbabwe Cricket Online is an excellent read.

Nick Byas (UK)

Reply: We did mention in an earlier issue that Brighton Watambwa this season rejected a new contract and immigrated to the USA.

It seems the Pakistan batters are having a feeding frenzy on Zim's bowlers in the first two one-dayers. Great comeback in the first, but as you said the damage had already been done.

Hopefully Zim will bat first in the three games in Harare and put some pressure on the Pakistan batters, otherwise I can't see much else changing. Good to see Taibu and Ervine going so well. They look to have the talent to become two of the mainstays of the team in the future!

Michael Shepherd (Australia)

I am very disappointed with the performance of the team in the current one-day series but it is something we expected. What I do not understand is why the selectors still go on and include young players into the team before they are ready. The inclusion of Waddington Mwayenga and Stuart Matsikenyeri was really a bad decision on the part of the selectors. Let the boys grow up and mature until they are ready to face up to international cricket.

This has affected other young players with the example of Mluleki Nkala there for all to see. Henry Olonga might have bowled badly but if we don't have other experienced players, we might as well stick with him. He has the pace and can take wickets. Where is Mpumelelo Mbangwa, or Gus Mackay for example or Everton Matambanadzo? These are some of the older guys available for the selectors to use.

One wonders just what this has done to the confidence of these boys after the baptism of fire they got from the matches they played. It will take time for them to recover. What makes it worse is they are going to be thrown by the wayside after their failure now. In the place of Stuart, what happened to Mark Vermeulen, Dion Ebrahim or Doug Marillier? They may not be playing well at the moment but they have the vital experience.

Hope the selectors do look at this and see what they are doing to our young players. A lot of soul-searching needs to be done.

Hilario Chinondo (Austria)

Reply: Everton Matambanadzo actually emigrated to the USA more than a year ago.

I don't know about the rest of the supporters, but I am sick and tired of the results of out national team. It's been a decade since our first Test, yet we continue to tolerate the poor results. It's not the Development Programme, nor quality of our players that are problematic - the whole thing is mental. We do not believe we can bowl a side out during a Test. What are we doing about belief in ourselves?

Prince Moyo (England)

They are the scourge of bowlers. They graced the game with their mercurial presence and elegant batsmanship for a long time.

Yeah, I'm talking about the special club of only ten batters who reached 50 fifties in LOIs. Haynes, M.Waugh, Sachin, Ganguly, Jayasuriya, de Silva, Azhar, Miandad, Inzamam and now our very own Andy Flower.

The first five are pure openers. Azhar took lot of matches to attain this feat and the two Pakis rarely found themselves in grim adversity simply 'coz of world-class bowlers in their squad. The latest inclusion in this special list, Andy Flower, can seldom afford such a luxury.

It is a matter of conjecture what Andy Flower would have done had there been no shackles of enormous responsibilities on him. Still he is the one who reached this coveted milestone in the shortest time. Just 200 matches.

Phenomenon is the word to describe you, Andy. Keep it up!

(Dr) Situ Phalswal (India)

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