Series Discussion: Australia ODI Tour of Zimbabwe 2026 | 2026 Sep 15 - 2026 Sep 20

Quoted from Andy31 in post #46642

Williams does have some sort of franchise gig coming up.

I am for a Williams comeback but his got to be playing cricket first.

The Bligniught boys are not even 18 I think.
No need to rush them.

Campbell and Frost probably do have a case for the ODI’s

I like Nick Welch but he has seemed to disappeared from the face of the earth. Regarding playing cricket.

Tony Munyungo is someone I would have rather seen be gifted a run of ODI cricket then T20i.

They are really needing to blood newbies before the world cup.

I disagree look at the history of any world cup side who has won the thing, it's a blend of experience and youth, the other guys will have their chances, these guys, the seniors have had to put up with a lot of garbage. Taylor for what it's worth had no financial security, and regardless he was blackmailed, but he didn't do anything game changing he just failed to report it at an appropriate time. The drugs and booze I understand with, when you don't even know when your getting paid, or if you will be paid, coping mechanisms. Anyways let's live in the present.

Taylors issues are mental, he feels so much pressure when he's out on the field, but this was his 3rd ODI since his return now over a year ago. If we are to be fair, he gets a series of 2 to prove himself.

Quoted from zimbot in post #46661

Quoted from Mr Twig in post #46648

I think this series will sort out a few of our batsmen moving forward. For Taylor, Ervine and Raza, this is the time to step up against Australia otherwise they should not be selected moving forward.

My XI:
Bennett
Curran
Kaia
Taylor
Ervine
Raza
Marumani
Evans
Cremer
Nyamhuri
Muzarabani

Pray for a low and slow Harare pitch.

When was the last time we saw a slow and low wicket at HSC?

Last time was the Bangladesh series, scores of 141 & 247 were defended

Quoted from Zayn_36 in post #46536

Why was Ervine included for Bangladesh ODIS but not Taylor? Its been more than a year since Williams was dropped and with him no longer here, Taylor is your best shot experience wise and technique wise. Ervine simply doesnt perform, I agree Taylor is not suited to the high dynamics of T20i anymore but he can atleast do better than Ervine in ODIS, they should atleast include him up until Naqvi is eligible, Nick Welch was also banned for a couple of games so the real prospect everybody is looking at right now is Antum Naqvi. On that note, does anybody know when he will be eligible to play for Zimbabwe?

Also Zimbabwe definitely need a genuine leggie in their playing XI. If it isnt cremer, pick someone else but enough of this wellington show. He doesnt create an impact whatsoever. Chinaman bowlers might be rare in Zimbabwe but they have leggies roaming in domestic so why not play them if Cremer is done for?

Like I mentioned in a previous or later post 🤔 anyways I honestly think, let's see how this leam goes. I think it's only right to be realistic. Are ZC going to make a heap of changes to this squad, 12 months out from the world cup? No. A few here and there but nothing drastic. So what I stated in another post is the fact that all the teams who have won world cups are always a mixture of veterans and the rest, which could be youth, seasoned campaigners etc. Taylor performed well in the NPL, he just needs his confidence back. He looks so timid once he comes out, he just needs to remind himself of who he is, was, and always will be. Also to expect any cricketers to come in and just score heavy from here on until he hangs his boots up is not being real. BT has about a 1 in 4 chance of scoring a 50+ score if you go by his stats, as basically the highest run getter for Zimbabwe in Odis across 208 matches, he has the same average as Andy Flower in ODIs, give the guy a chance I say.. Note I'm not just replying to the above post but all of the suspected comments I'm sure will be coming after 1 game, his 3rd ODI since return.

I wonder why so many 40yo+ guys in the team

Quoted from zimbot in post #46800

Quoted from AusBiggestZimCricFan in post #46771

Quoted from zimbot in post #46661

Quoted from Mr Twig in post #46648

I think this series will sort out a few of our batsmen moving forward. For Taylor, Ervine and Raza, this is the time to step up against Australia otherwise they should not be selected moving forward.

My XI:
Bennett
Curran
Kaia
Taylor
Ervine
Raza
Marumani
Evans
Cremer
Nyamhuri
Muzarabani

Pray for a low and slow Harare pitch.

When was the last time we saw a slow and low wicket at HSC?

Last time was the Bangladesh series, scores of 141 & 247 were defended

From my understanding, "low and slow" wickets are characterised by:
- relatively little pace off the surface,
- lower bounce,
- often requiring batters to manufacture pace,
- may also grip and reward spin or cutters

That description does not fit the HSC pitches that were used for the games you referenced.

Those pitches had "pace and bounce". These are often characterised by:
- the ball retaining more energy after pitching and carrying higher and/or faster to the batter and keeper
- genuine pace, short bowling and seam movement being considerably more threatening.

The wickets in those 2 games fell to the faster bowlers. Spin was hardly utilised in the first game but played a lesser role in the second.

Unless if the definitions above are off, I believe the wickets in question were not low and slow.

Where did you get this analogy from. Maybe 🤔 our interpretations different. I have a Tony Greig VHS and he shows the variety of pitches how they statistically impact games etc. it is from the late 80's early 90's 🗝️ into the pitch style. Maybe things of changed. In my opinion, from the wicket used in the Bangladesh series and historically the winter pitches in Harare they fit perfectly to Tony Greigs assessment and they generally provide low to mid scores. Agree to disagree.