Stan Hannan (Florida, U.S.A.)

On the subject of Goodwin's dismissal.....its a learning curve...but all is fair in the game of cricket. I remember years ago as a wicketkeeper coming around the wicket after 'Pud' Godden from Old Hararians had blocked the ball...flicking it behind me and luckily connecting the stumps...he was out ...everyone was disgusted .....but my contention was always 'batsman beware'.....know the rules and keep your eyes open. Sri Lanka were well entitled to the wicket....because as they say ...'that's cricket"!

Keep up the good work!!!

Reply: Thanks for your letter. When you say 'everyone was disgusted' - I feel the question we all need to ask ourselves is, "Was it worth it to take a wicket in a way that disgusts and offends the opposition to that extent?" It looks like we differ on that one!

Dave Deane (Zimbabwe)

I am a cricketer and a supporter of Zimbabwe National Cricket. Generally I like to get to see the games in Harare but with the Sri Lankan tour have had to watch it on the box. The coverage has been excellent but I feel I need to comment on the commentating.

Andy Pycroft - He has the following nicknames in our family: Mr Negativity, Geoff Boycott look-alike, and others. Andy seems to have fallen into the trap that Geoff Boycott did, that of seemingly being better at everything in his day. Further, he comes across very negative against Zimbabwe. For example, if a Sri Lankan takes a swipe at a ball, it is a controlled miss that should have been dispatched to the boundary. If a Zimbabwean plays a similar shot it is rash and typical of Zimbabwe. The killer was when one of the Sri Lankan commentators complimented Zimbabwe on some excellent bowling and fielding. Pycroft interjected and said that "some would say that our batting is still to come." Comments like "they would do good to do ........", "they should do this and should do that" just give such a negative feeling to the viewer. Although one does not want to get to the extremes of the Aussie commentating, a little bit of positive comment from this man would help. Otherwise I will have to do as I used to with Boycott....Hit the MUTE button, when he is on.

Des Evans - Careful, Pycroft is rubbing off on you a bit. You use the same comments from time to time.

Denis Streak - Well done, balance, knowledgeable and supportive. You need to give a course to Pycroft.

Hope this is constructive criticism.

Reply: Andy Pycroft does have an outstanding technical knowledge of the game, and he and Geoff Boycott were both absolute perfectionists during their careers. They spent so much time eliminating defects from their own techniques and were so hard on their own failings that they probably find it very easy to see the faults in others. Concerning Andy, he doubtless also finds it very difficult to be restrained in his comments when the team he supports so passionately makes a pig's ear of it at times! Many Zimbabwean supporters I have met this season have had some very harsh words to say about our players, although all seemed to be forgiven and forgotten after our victory in the final match. I have had some of them encouraging me to be much more critical in my writings, and probably some of them feel Andy has been too lenient at times! Of course, different people react in different ways, which I suppose is why a team of commentators is employed to try to keep a balance.

Neville Jackson (Australia)

It was great to see Zimbabwe gain some rewards for their consistent efforts, with a win against Sri Lanka in the final ODI. Even though I live in Australia, I have been following Zimbabwe with a great deal of interest since they were granted test status. I think they have done an extraordinary job in reaching their current level of cricket, given the relatively small number of first class players when compared to other countries. It is very disappointing that my country Australia, and the other leading test countries, have not given them more support by playing more matches against them. I hope this improves.

Finally, I think it's great that Guy Whittall is starting to move back up the batting order again, as I think he is very important to the success of the Zimbabwean team.

Good luck to the team, and I will continue to watch their progress with great interest and support.