Zimbabwe Senior National Discussion

[TopManager]

Today marks my last game as Zimbabwe manager. Unfortunately, we were not able to make it to the semi-finals, unfortunately, some lower-end batting partnerships proved costly in a couple of games.

I may comment on the state of the Zimbabwean squad in greater detail if the election is hotly contested. I would encourage any credible candidate to run in the upcoming election in order to avoid a repeat of the calamity of Season 45. Managing Zimbabwe in the next two seasons will be challenging, but there is definitely enough skill in order to be competitive.

Thanks and good luck to the next Zimbabwe manager!

[epcguy]

Well done with your commitment pal....its tough at the bottom

Think Bof should step up...

[epcguy]

The right man for the job

[Collywobbles]

Thank you for those who voted and installed me as the new manager. Topmanager is an absolute gent and has agreed to be my assistant. I’m after at least one more assistant if anyone would like to throw their hat in the ring.
Chris

[Collywobbles]

Thank you to everyone who voted in the election.
We have a management team in place and thanks to both of my assistants, TopManager & Verdi for helping me out.
We are aiming for a younger squad with players under the age of 29 ideally with a view to building a Zimbabwe unit that can climb up the rankings in a couple of seasons. As it stands, we're bottom of t20 and bottom of 50 over!

Ideally, players will be considered for national selection if their primaries are at least exceptional, exceptional. We're looking for at least spectacular fielding and there is a focus on players with talents (opener, seam specialist, boundary hitter, swing, old ball bowler etc). This should help us punch above our weight.

Thank you to everyone with Zimbabwe players who is helping us with training schedules. I've dropped a number of messages about current and future players and the support has been great.

If any manager has a Zimbabwe eligible player and you think they've been missed, give me a shout. I may have missed them or they may have something missing.

[Collywobbles]

A creditable performance in Nat one day 2, finishing third in our group.
Our bowlers performed brilliantly; mvovo leading the way with 7 wickets but all contributing. On the batting front, only Khumalo and Mayes had a series to be proud of, with the rest of the batsmen averaging 20s or lower, though conditions were tough. In our final games, 2 batting collapses batting 2nd cost us after we’d bowled the opposition out cheaply.
On to the t20s in a couple of weeks after friendlies.

[Collywobbles]

With a top score of 43 and the best batting average only 28, it’s tough to win matches. Only 3 of our batsmen/keepers averaged over 20 for the tournament and 2 of our most senior batsmen failed to average double figures.
Our scores were 104, 97, 135, 99 and 114. We tried batting both first and second and it made no difference.
It’s fair to say that we’re bottom of the t20 rankings for a reason. No excuses- that was a bitterly disappointing tournament.

[Collywobbles]

Following a win in our first game against Canada, the odi league saw our familiar batting woes continue, even on flat pitches.
Fidock, in what is likely to be his last tour, averaged 54 after a brilliant 120, Maragwede on his first tour also averaged over 50 at only 27 years of age.
Behind them, our season batting averages just haven’t been good enough with 4 senior, quality players who have played 7/8 games for the season averaging under 20, despite favourable batting conditions.
Whilst these players are the best we have on paper, they’re now in their 30s and I don’t see the point in continuing with older players who simply haven’t performed.

In the bowling dept, I’m excited about the quality in the pace bowling department, not just now, but for several seasons in the future. This should help in the right conditions.

Next season will see a changing of the guard and it might be a tough season, but I need to give players experience who will help Zimbabwe in the next 2-3 years.

We sit 12th in odi and 18th in t20, an improvement on when I took over when we were bottom of both.

[epcguy]

Keep going pal, doing a great job. Seems to be a recurring theme in Zimbabwe. The Youth setup is getting better so in seasons to come if the players are in the right places we should see a lot of improvement in the Senior setup going forward.

[Collywobbles]

Congrats on your election, epcguy

Give me a shout with any promising youngsters coming through. I’m hoping to have a few players ready for you in a season or so from my two setups

[Collywobbles]

Champions!

A youthful Zimbabwe side won 4 out 5 matches and finished top of the division 3 table to secure promotion back to div 2.
Some stunning individual performances in games with Matthew Frank leading the way with a brilliant all round performance - 111 runs at 55 with the bat and 8 wickets at 14.12 with the ball while also taking 2 catches for good measure! Frank is 28.
A brilliant century on debut from Chamu Ngidhi was a highlight, while our senior keeper, Wian Drinnen, scored 150 runs in 3 games at an average of 50 batting at 6. The 27 year old pair Marc Hirsch and Cabous Maddox both made a 50 in their first senior tournament at the top of the order.
In the bowling dept, the 27 year old wristy Collis Jansen topped the charts with 9 wickets in 4 games at 19.67 with an er of only 4.42. 28 year old quick Shinagyi Mazema took 8 at only 11.62 with an er of 3.77, while 28 year old Keyran Glynn's first tournament saw him pick up 6 at 19 with an er of only 3.8.

With so many relative youngsters performing well, the risk of getting rid of longer serving players worked and gives the team a core of players for the next 3-4 seasons.

[epcguy]

Congratulations pal

[Collywobbles]

Thank you my friend
Need to improve in t20 now