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*Official* Zimbabwe in West Indies
- Thread starter James
- Start date
WindieWeathers
International Regular
It's not me saying our domestic cricket is rubbish!!
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Maruma at three is one of the most puzzling things ever. Two games in a row now.
Beamer
International Vice-Captain
Bravo is certainly not at full pace but there is something wrong with the speed gun in this match tbh.Bravo and Bernard clocking under 70mph. Bravo's last delivery was bowled at a mere 56mph.
shivfan
Banned
It might not be great, but it's the best we have, so we have to work with it....
As roseboy says, any batsman worth his salt should be dominating the bowling at that level.
Hamilton has played a total of six FC matches, and has a batting average of 27. He needs more time, clearly, to show that he can dominate with the bat at regional level....
I hope he gets a shot at the A-Team when the Saffers come. But of course, that will be just one step in what I hope is his future development.
As I've said time and time again, Adrian Barath trod that path, and it served him well. As I've said time and time again, I think other prospective youngsters should also follow Barath's path....
Beamer
International Vice-Captain
Well it was an interesting series, both encouraging and dispiriting at the same time for the 2 teams.
West Indies were clearly the better side by some margin even though they were slightly depleted through injuries and resting players etc.
Positives:
- Kemar Roach was awesome on some extremely slow pitches.
- Darren Sammy was unerringly accurate and deserved his bundle of wickets.
- The fielding was mostly very athletic and good.
- Narsingh Deonarine batted with great assurance until the last game.
Negatives:
- It is worrying that our younger middle order players play so arrogantly against spin, some of it wasn't even good spin bowling tbh. For example, I have seen Darren Bravo stroke around some very effective spinners who turn the ball big like Shane Shillingford, but today he never looked likely.
- Following on from this point, our less experienced players lack cricket sense at the moment. As soon as the tiniest bit of pressure is on you can see the panic set in, especially if Gayle, Shiv, Sarwan or Bravo aren't there to guide the chase.
- Another problem is the increasing trend of producing pitches that suit the opposition far more than us. As Gayle and Otis Gibson have said, this has to stop now.
- Ramdin, apart from today, was awful with the bat. Luckily for him, Fletcher was even worse, but it just can't continue like this and we need to see steady improvement from him over the next year.
Zimbabwe won 2 international matches which must be a big boost for their confidence at the very least. But their strategies are severely flawed in most conditions and they have a lot to work on.
Positives:
- Cramer was outstanding, a proper leg spinner with all the tricks of the trade. He got some very good batsmen like Gayle and Barath out by genuinely defeating them in flight which says a lot for his capabilities.
- Chigumbura was solid as always, he was decent with both bat and ball and thoroughly deserves his chance with Northants.
- Taibu's keeping was mostly impressive and he still looks very decent with the bat.
- Lamb looked to be a much improved off spinner who was defeating the batsmen on both edges of the bat, which really surprised me as when I saw him play for Hampshire he was dreadful.
Negatives:
- Not one decent seamer at their disposal. Nobody who can even reach 85 mph or move the ball about sufficiently. This will prove to be their undoing on most occasions in the future and needs urgent attention.
- Their batting was woeful and all the batsman were beaten for pace most of the time when Roach bowled. Some of their play reeked of minnow status as they scratched around for 50 overs to get up to 150ish against a Windies attack missing Taylor, Edwards and Roach.
West Indies were clearly the better side by some margin even though they were slightly depleted through injuries and resting players etc.
Positives:
- Kemar Roach was awesome on some extremely slow pitches.
- Darren Sammy was unerringly accurate and deserved his bundle of wickets.
- The fielding was mostly very athletic and good.
- Narsingh Deonarine batted with great assurance until the last game.
Negatives:
- It is worrying that our younger middle order players play so arrogantly against spin, some of it wasn't even good spin bowling tbh. For example, I have seen Darren Bravo stroke around some very effective spinners who turn the ball big like Shane Shillingford, but today he never looked likely.
- Following on from this point, our less experienced players lack cricket sense at the moment. As soon as the tiniest bit of pressure is on you can see the panic set in, especially if Gayle, Shiv, Sarwan or Bravo aren't there to guide the chase.
- Another problem is the increasing trend of producing pitches that suit the opposition far more than us. As Gayle and Otis Gibson have said, this has to stop now.
- Ramdin, apart from today, was awful with the bat. Luckily for him, Fletcher was even worse, but it just can't continue like this and we need to see steady improvement from him over the next year.
Zimbabwe won 2 international matches which must be a big boost for their confidence at the very least. But their strategies are severely flawed in most conditions and they have a lot to work on.
Positives:
- Cramer was outstanding, a proper leg spinner with all the tricks of the trade. He got some very good batsmen like Gayle and Barath out by genuinely defeating them in flight which says a lot for his capabilities.
- Chigumbura was solid as always, he was decent with both bat and ball and thoroughly deserves his chance with Northants.
- Taibu's keeping was mostly impressive and he still looks very decent with the bat.
- Lamb looked to be a much improved off spinner who was defeating the batsmen on both edges of the bat, which really surprised me as when I saw him play for Hampshire he was dreadful.
Negatives:
- Not one decent seamer at their disposal. Nobody who can even reach 85 mph or move the ball about sufficiently. This will prove to be their undoing on most occasions in the future and needs urgent attention.
- Their batting was woeful and all the batsman were beaten for pace most of the time when Roach bowled. Some of their play reeked of minnow status as they scratched around for 50 overs to get up to 150ish against a Windies attack missing Taylor, Edwards and Roach.
WindieWeathers
International Regular
Didn't Pollard's knock basically win us the game in the end?An entertaining innings by Pollard, but once again he fails to finish the job....
Why can't these youngsters concentrate on taking it home at the final furlong?
and furthermore Mike you talk about the youngsters not being able to cope "when Shiv's not there" but how many runs did Shiv get in the last ODI? was it 6 runs? 
and that was a game that we needed to win to clinch the series, so if you're gonna call out the youngsters then it's only fair to call out the seniors too, Darren Bravo was playing his first game, how anyone can judge him off of that is beyond me, Deonarine won us two games in a row but got out cheaply today, sh#t happens, Darren is certainly a massive talent and should stay in the squad imo.
shivfan
Banned
Look at the series stats, Windie....
The return of some players has strengthened the side, but even though the WI won 4-1, it was not an impressive performance, except in one ODI. Clearly, when Sarwan and Taylor are fit, they should be able to walk back into this side.
How did the guys do in this series?
With the bat, Gayle once again led the way with 273 runs at an average of 54, with Deonarine making 138 runs at an average of 46, while Shiv had 140 runs at an average of 35. All the other batsmen were inconsistent with the bat, given that this was little Zimbabwe they were playing....
The bowling looked better. Gayle was the most economical (one wicket at 2.5), and Rampaul did well (four wickets at an average of about three), while the leading wicket-takers were Sammy and Roach (eight each), while Big Bravo and Miller were not far behind (seven each). Benn's bowling was disappointing....
Pollard was not consistent enough with either bat or ball, averaging just 17 with the bat against mighty Zimbabwe, and only taking three wickets at an average of nearly five. Sarwan's impending return to the ODI side threatens Pollard's place most of all.
The return of some players has strengthened the side, but even though the WI won 4-1, it was not an impressive performance, except in one ODI. Clearly, when Sarwan and Taylor are fit, they should be able to walk back into this side.
How did the guys do in this series?
With the bat, Gayle once again led the way with 273 runs at an average of 54, with Deonarine making 138 runs at an average of 46, while Shiv had 140 runs at an average of 35. All the other batsmen were inconsistent with the bat, given that this was little Zimbabwe they were playing....
The bowling looked better. Gayle was the most economical (one wicket at 2.5), and Rampaul did well (four wickets at an average of about three), while the leading wicket-takers were Sammy and Roach (eight each), while Big Bravo and Miller were not far behind (seven each). Benn's bowling was disappointing....
Pollard was not consistent enough with either bat or ball, averaging just 17 with the bat against mighty Zimbabwe, and only taking three wickets at an average of nearly five. Sarwan's impending return to the ODI side threatens Pollard's place most of all.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Well put. On the point of Lamb he looks to be more of a bowling all-rounder. Should be nowhere near the top order given how useless he looked with the bat. Elton deserves a promotion to six and playing the likes of Sibanda because he dominates first class cricket isn't working. Get the likes of Williams in there i.e. cricketers who have shown some ODI competency.
Believe Zim next series is against India.
