Zimbabwe warming up for Bangladesh

[TheWatcher]

Zimbabwe sure doing everything possible to get in tune for Bangladesh-

THE Zimbabwe cricket squad has left for South Africa, to play in four warm-up matches ahead of the incoming tour by Bangladesh.

The squad comprises captain Prosper Utseya, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Trevor Garwe, Ryan Higgins, Friday Kasteni, Blessing Mahwire, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tafadzwa Mufambisi, Tawanda Mupariwa, Piet Rinke, Vusumuzi Sibanda and Brendan Taylor.

The officials are coach Kevin Curran, his assistant Walter Chawaguta, analyst Mluleki Nkala, fitness trainer Dean Woodford and physiotherapist Amato Machikicho.

The Zimbabwe side will be based at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, where they will play four one-day matches.

The first is on Friday against the South Africa Academy, the second on Sunday against Lions, the third on Monday against the Academy and the final on Wednesday against Lions.

All Africa

Well, their players were playing club cricket in England for the last two months, now they are getting chances to play warm up matches in SA. We should expect them to be in good shape.

On a side note, since the Zim national team won't be back in their country before the 26th, I guess the Zim-A team, that playing in the practice match against us, will be a [] one.

[Miraz]

Where is Terry Duffin, the captain for WI tour?

[TheWatcher]

Originally Posted by Miraz
Where is Terry Duffin, the captain for WI tour?

Good question. They are also missing their one promising pacer- Edward Rainsford.

[israr]

whatever they do, we should be able to win the series quite convincingly

[SS]

That's how opponent prepares for themselves.
And how we got prepared nobody played in any leagues. We just complained no more matches and sit our a** and before leaving made a bold statement.
BCB could not made any arrangements for the prep of this tour.

[Fazal]

Warming up too soon in hot African Weather may not be a good strategy. I think we will be fine.

[MartinW]

Originally Posted by TheWatcher
Good question. They are also missing their one promising pacer- Edward Rainsford.

Duffin has club commitments in England and will only arrive after this weekend's matches, so he may feature in the A team.

I am assured that Rainsford will not be joining the side as he plans staying in the UK until December, but that is as yet unconfirmed. If so, then Zimbabwe have lost their best bowler.

[Miraz]

Thanks Martin for the information. Do you have any idea about Kevin Curren's recent England tour to approach senior players and convince them to play for Zimbabwe again??

[Omio]

hope they will have some good practise to compete us,

[kalpurush]

I wish if we could arranged some more practice matches just only for the new members of the national team!

[cricket_pagol]

The biggest weakness of this zimbo team is their lack of experience. If bangladesh does not win all the matches then it will be disappointing for me.

[chinaman]

I wish they had their stronger arms in Streak, Tatenda and other experienced folks. Would have been a mouth watering prospect. I miss those guys. Last time we visited there, rain played a huge part and this time, well, I don't know exactly what it is.

Someone wrote Parreira had solutions but he was afraid to use them. I guess Bangladeshi and Zimbabwean fans were not considered when someone somewhere remains afraid

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Fazal
Warming up too soon in hot African Weather may not be a good strategy. I think we will be fine.

It is winter in that part of Africa

[Sam]

Originally Posted by kalpurush
I wish if we could arranged some more practice matches just only for the new members of the national team!

If you consider Mushfiqur Rahim, Farhad and Sakib as "the new members", they already have month-long practice with the strongest Zim A team, which contain many from the announced National Zim Team.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by israr
whatever they do, we should be able to win the series quite convincingly

Probably you echoed the upbeat sentiment of DW:
"We are leaving as a favorite ... anybody can predict 5-0 series victory in favor of Bangladesh, Actually it's a good opportunity for Bangladesh".
AP/Foxsports

[Andy-Flower]

Zim bowling attack is weak and BD should exploit it..Mahwire is very expensive, Chibhabha & Rinke are more of part time bowlers...We might be forced to bring Antony Ireland who is arguable the fastest bowler in Zim, he is struggling for form at the moment.If BD attack Mpariwa up front then you will be well poised for a BIG total, you will have to contend with Higgins{young leg spinner} and Utseya who will definetly give you problems coz not even Australia could play him well when they came here. He has a good economy rate and very consistent, the only weakness he has is that he doesnt take many wickets.

Kurran failed to convince the likes of Taibu and Panyangara to come back coz they still maintain their anti-Chingoka stance.

[ialbd]

Antony Ireland, how fast is he? Where does he play?
________
MERCEDES-BENZ W124 SPECIFICATIONS

[Andy-Flower]

some club in the UK...145km/hr consistently when he started

[BangladeshFan]

i think bd should use a all young team and see how it works. i guess it will be an under 24/25 team but just as strong as the national team. 2 nafis to open, keep aftab at 3(he may fail sometimes but keeping him there will increase his confidence), ash at 4 (if he cant perform against zimbo/kenya then why is he there), replace bashar with someone younger like sakib (bd got plenty coming up now), replace pilot with rahim(better batsman). only one whose replacement may truly hurt is rafiq.

p.s. these replacements should not be permanent, but it will show some intent, also will kick the old asses and let them know that none has their place permanent unless he performs.

[israr]

hey friends, don't pretend to take Zimbabwe that lightly as you're all are, this is going to be quite a significant series, in terms of our ranking and in terms of how much we've progessed as well as in terms of the gulf between the no.9 and no.10 side.

[TheWatcher]

Taylor believes UK making him a better player

Zimbabwe Independent

Report Excerpt:

ZIMBABWE cricketer Brendan Taylor believes he is gaining vital experience from playing club cricket in England.

Taylor, who joined Lancashire First Division club Sefton Park (actually, it is a premier division club in the Liverpool league) following a tour of the West Indies with Zimbabwe a few months ago, is with a Zimbabwe select side on an eight-day tour of South Africa.

The league in Lancashire is "very competitive", Taylor said, adding: "Everything is different there. The pitches are a lot different. The weather is different."

His footwork, which has been a talking point of his batting technique in his young career, has undergone improvement.

"My foot movement had to adjust a bit. The wickets are slow, so you have to wait a bit longer for the ball, and you have to judge well. The ball swings a bit. It made it harder for me, but I’m happy that it helped me to judge the pitch of the ball better."

His average of around 60, is the highest at the club, so far in the season. He has missed a century by a single run, being dismissed for 99 runs in one of his seven matches.

"My average is where I want it to be," he said. "But I want to get bigger scores, not getting in and getting out. I want to convert those scores into bigger ones."

He says of the Bangladesh matches: "It’s going to be an even contest. Bangladesh have shown to be a side improving all the time. They have kept their players, while we keep introducing youngsters. They do have a few players who stand out. It’s just that they are a different side away from home where conditions are different. That is where it could work in our favour."

The Zimbabwean side had nets practice soon after arriving here on Wednesday, and yesterday. They had a chance to use bowling machines at the HPC, a world-class facility incorporating almost all sporting disciplines. The SA Academy is based there.

[TheWatcher]

Zimbos lost the match against SA Academy by nine wickets, even though they won the match against Highveld Lions Academy by seven wickets. Well, this hardly makes them a top class team.

Cricinfo

[Rabz]

let the Zimbabweans warm up, when they'll play against us, we'll cool them down.
begin the hunting season, the TIGER is hungry.

[Andy-Flower]

Originally Posted by TheWatcher
Zimbos lost the match against SA Academy by nine wickets, even though they won the match against Highveld Lions Academy by seven wickets. Well, this hardly makes them a top class team.

Cricinfo

yea mayne^^^agree

[israr]

but still beware, they might turn out to be completely different against us in their own backyard, so no underestimating Zimbabwe.!!