The Sunday Mail
CRICKET pundits and observers are divided in their analysis of Zimbabwe’s performance at the on-going World Cup.
The Chevrons ended their campaign with a six-wicket defeat to holders India yesterday and some analysts have been scathing in their perusal of the outcome. However, a handful argue that it’s time to point at the positives rather than dwell on the many low points.
Among the talking points to come out are questions over selection, team politics, leadership issues and the team’s failure to achieve the set goal of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the quadrennial competition.
Renowned cricket analyst and commentator Dean Du Plesis believes a thorough review of the team’s overall performance presents a catch-22 situation in that while they were positives to take out of the performances, the negatives far outweigh the positives.
“My review of the team’s performance presents a catch-22 situation in that we did well to be competitive in most of the games we played. However, it was very disappointing that we only managed to win a single game (against UAE),” said Du Plessis.
“I think the dismal showing all boils down to the fact that our team seems to have forgotten how to win games.
“In most games that we played we found ourselves in dominant positions but more often than not we dropped the ball and were found wanting in the killer instinct. For every positive there are more negatives like while some batsmen, Sean Williams and Brendan Taylor in particular, raised their hands up to be counted, our bowling was dismal and as such we failed to kill off games.
“You will note that too much pressure was put on the middle order while the top was virtually non-existent,” he said.
Another analyst, who preferred anonymity, was less complimentary in his assessment of the team’s performance putting all the blame squarely in the hands of Zimbabwe Cricket administrators.
“Not to be too harsh or anything, but I think the team’s performance was a reflection of selection woes and team politics. Case in point: Sean Williams and Tawanda Mupariwa, who have had their fair share of problems with ZC, turned out to be among the team’s brightest prospects.
“It boggles the mind why Prosper Utseya even went to World Cup as his bowling action debacle with ICC minimised his effectiveness in the team.
“If you analyse the team, you are likely to notice that there was no balance whatsoever and it showed when the team struggled. There was virtually no one to turn to on the bench,” he said.
On the leadership crisis, the analysts seemed to direct a portion of the blame towards bowling coach Douglas Hondo and skipper Elton Chigumbura.
“I have always believed ZC failed when they stripped Brendan Taylor of the captaincy. Elton Chigumbura is a very talented cricketer but he is no leader.
Former Zimbabwe international Dirk Vijoen was a bit kinder in his assessment preferring to concentrate on the positives rather than dwell on the negatives.
“Coach Dave Whatmore has been a revelation to the team instilling a bit more self belief in the team and it showed in the manner the players went about their business, appearing to be a bit more competitive.
“As for Dougie (Hondo), I know him personally and believe he has a very steady head on him. When analysing leadership, there are two types namely the tactician and the man manager.
“Hondo is the latter. I believe our bowlers should do more to improve their skill set, whether be it more time in the nets, practise bowling Yorkers or simply exercising more control,” he said. While they seem to have differed in their opinion on the team’s performance, the analysts seemed to believe that Taylor made the right choice by moving on to County cricket.
