Seriously, I think that it is the combination of the
experience we have had as a team over the last few years and the
introduction of one or two players of high class in particular Goodwin
and Johnson on the batting side and Olonga and Mbangwa on the bowling.
travis: [krish-] Zimbabwe seems to do pretty decently vs Pak.
always. What would you attribute this to?
DH: We always seem to play against Pakistan, we've played half
our tests against them. It would be nice if we could have the
opportunity to play more against some of the other sides, in particular,
we have yet to play Aus and WI.
travis: [SherShah] What was your most memorable innings and why?
DH: In ODI, the 142 I got against NZ in 1987 World Cup and thats
easy to remember because its the only ODI hundred I got. In tests, the
266 v SRL, will always be my most memorable innings during this knock I
batted for nearly two days and dont remember ever playing and missing.
It should be remembered that whenever I scored runs we never won!, so
may be some of my best innings were zeros!
travis: [Fuzzy] Murry Goodwin seems to be a top class player,
you comments on murray??
DH: Murray came back to us already established in the first
class game having played for 3 years for WA. Our Zimbabwean new comers
come into test cricket without a FC background because we dont have a FC
competition, hence, their first couple of years in test cricket is taken
up getting FC experience. Fortunately the arrival of Murray coincided
with my retirement so we were able to replace one experienced player
with another.
travis: as a followup: is it a priority in Zimbabwe to establish
a competitive FC competition? A few years ago, you had 4 equal strength
teams, now you've gone back to the unbalanced 2 traditional teams.
Surely this was a backward step?
DH: As with many third world countries the population tends to
drift to the main cities and this is what has happened at home. I am
trying to push players back to the smaller provinces in an effort to
rekindle cricket at that level with a view to restablishing four
provincial sides so that we can have a meaningful FC competition. This
is not an easy exercise as the young players of today are more
interested in looking after themselves than doing the right thing in
terms of our National cricket.
travis: [Rohan] Dave, there's often criticism of England sides
for including foreign born, or foreign-raised players, rather than
home-grown talent.. We've seen Zimbabwe recently include both Murray
Goodwin and Neil Johnson, who both played their cricket outside
Zimbabwe... what is the feeling on this back home ? Is there any sort fo
reaction parallelling that we sometimes see aimed at England ?
DH: My feelings are that anyone who was born in Zimbabwe and
wishes to live in that country should be allowed to do so. We have no
intention of offering any incentive foe anyone to come and play for us.
If they wish to return to the country of their birth and they happen to
play cricket, all well and good. It should be noted that both the
players mentioned started on C grade salaries the same as any junior
player making his debut for Zimbabwe.
travis: [feebee] (from Andy Pycroft, Zim selector in Harare) I
believe that Paul Strang is injured. How did he get injured, how bad is
it and will he be able to play in the next test if he is picked?
DH: Paul injured his finger at fielding practice but should be
fine for the next test. Whether we use him or not will depend on the
wicket at Faisalabad.
travis: [krish-] Zimbabwe from the very beginning has been a
brilliant fielding side. Any reason in particular?
DH: We practice a lot. From an early age most Zimbabweans play a
lot of ball sports and this seems to help with hand and eye
coordination.
travis: [bakait] Olonga got the better of Tendulkar in the early
Sharjah game, but then got slaughtered in the next game. As his
coach/manager, what advice did you give him then?
DH: When somebody plays as well as that there is not much we can
do. Take heart from the fact that he does to every bowler in the world
on his day.
travis: [Cybiades] Hello Dave...congrats on the
win at Peshawar... What do you think of Gavin and Craig's poor run of
form lately?
DH: The wickets we are playing on are not the easiest for the
batsmen especially against two of the worlds best bowlers. I am not sure
replacing them with anyone else will make any difference. I try to see
the team result as a whole rather than criticise players individually.
It is my job to try and encourage these two in particular to make better
contributions in the remaining innings of this tour and hopefully a
useful 40 or 50 in the right place may be a match winning or saving
contribution.
travis: [feebee] (from Dave Ellman-Brown - CEO of ZCU) Is the
fog that is affecting play a normal thing in Lahore? Is it likely to
play more of a part in this test match?
DH: It is the same that cost us two days in a test we played
here in 1993. However, it cleared quite quickly this morning and we were
able to get a start at 10:45. However, it comes back in the afternoon
which means not much play is possible after tea.
travis: [kamalp] why is the large black pop in Zimbabwe so
under-represented in the team?
DH: Our black population only started playing cricket in 1980.
We have no history of them playing before that therefore, we are doing
very well to have as many coming through as we have at the moment. My
belief on cricket is that there is a culture that needs to be taught
alongside the technique of the game, How long does it take to teach a
culture? I always thought that it would be the second generation of
Zimbabweans who would really come through, I think I am being proved
right. Over the next 10 years or so you will see a major shift towards
an all black side and without doubt for Zim to continue to succeed at
this level thats an absolute must.
DH: Last question please for me I have to go to the team as its
lunch here
travis: as a followup: you certainly seem to be having more
success with black players than South Africa. Any particularly reason?
DH: Tough question, they have a lot more money and resources for
their development programmes Perhaps, we have been able to offer more
opportunities at an earlier stage purely because of out limited number
of cricket players nationwide and that has given them the necessary
exposure and experience. Thank you for the q's.
travis: and thank you David Houghton. And good luck in achieving
your aim of a first Test series win