Zimbabwe Cricket Online: Letters

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FORM OR CLASS, MR SHAH?

Down the memory lane, victory may well have been Zim's in their first-ever tied ODI had not Ali Shah shown a typical Asian habit of throwing it away when in command. Zim's second highest scorer in that match, Shah took the fight to the Indian bowlers and promised Zim victory before thoughtlessly holing out to long leg.

Ali Shah did something similar in Zim's first-ever away Test at Kotla. When a draw seemed to be the only possibility after Flower's bloom, Shah ran himself out and, 14 short, Zimbabwe followed on.

Why I'm citing these two instances is just to emphasize that there is no substitute for experience. Ali Shah, a talented all-rounder, struggled in above two matches only because of inexperience. And the same gentleman now prefers Dion's inexperience over `Kamba's' experience in handling McGrath, Gillespie, Akram and Younis in as big an event as the World Cup.

I totally disagree. Form is temporary, class is permanant. He topped both averages and aggregate in the India series, scored a 50 in the last Kenya series and flopped against Pakistan only, perhaps the added pressure of captaincy taking its toll.

Anyhow, I just hope - `Always willing to learn' - Dion proves me wrong and may he regain his lost Man of the Series touch in the first game itself.

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WHERE IS CARLISLE?

I am an avid Zimbabwean cricket fan. I have been engrossed in our build-up to our World Cup 15. I have read many reports in our press and on the Internet.

One knows that Alistair Campbell has been left out of the squad due to lack of form but my biggest question now is: What on earth has happened to Stuart Carlisle?

According to Stats Guru (an international cricket statistical site on the internet), Carlisle has an extremely respectable record. He captained in 12 one-day internationals (ODIs), achieved six victories and personally averaged 37,5! He seemed to be one of very few Zimbabwean captains who has in fact performed extremely well under the captaincy pressures.

He has batted at No 3 in the batting order in over half of his 98 ODIs, and has averaged over 33! He has 2 centuries and 8 half-centuries. He is one of only two Zimbabwean players who have recently scored an ODI hundred against the current World Champions - Australia. Ironically, the other batsman is Alistair Campbell. Both have shown that class is permanent and form temporary. Indeed it is sad to me to see that both these players have been left out of the ultimate tournament that would certainly need big match temperament and past experience.

But Carlisle's case confuses me further. Unlike Campbell, Carlisle was completely overlooked during the Pakistan and Kenya series, specifically after the disastrous Pakistan episode. If lack of form is the given reason, then the entire national squad should have been replaced after that series, except for three or four players. There is no doubt that Carlisle has upset the authorities in one-way or another, otherwise what else could have happened?

One just has to look at the current 15-man squad for the World Cup. I could mention a few names, but one name that amazes me is that of Dion Ebrahim. According to Stats guru again, this young man has played in 36 ODIs. As an opening batsman he has an extremely poor average of 21,35 and has only scored one century and one half-century (both against Bangladesh!). Ebrahim, although he has done all right in Test matches, has been out of form since he began his ODI career!

Of course, it is not just Dion Ebrahim. How on earth did Brian Murphy get anywhere near this squad? Players such as Marillier, Ervine and Wishart have poor records. Currently, Henry Olonga has the highest bowling economy rate in world cricket today at 5,8 per over (stat on television during the Pakistan ODI series). People talk about players being match-winners, but how many of these players are serious match losers?

It is sad that our amateur selectors still cannot get it right!

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WHO SELECTS THE SELECTORS?

Is the cricketing public aware of the following interesting information?

There are five national selectors. Three of the five selectors have never played any respectable or competitive level of cricket in their entire lives. How on earth are these amateurs meant to know about factors such as big-match temperament or experience? The puzzle falls into place; Zimbabwe cricket via these amateurs has seen an amazing 35 different players used in the last year! The team changes so much, no wonder our national team has been performing so poorly recently, or at least inconsistently.

The selectors should be made solely responsible for the recent thrashing by Pakistan. Our team saw 20 different players in just five one-day internationals. One does allow for a few injuries but there was absolutely no excuse to begin experimenting just two months prior to the World Cup.

No other cricket nation in the world has used more than sixteen players over the last twelve months. Every other team also secures a series win first and then experiments with the rest of the series, as did Pakistan.

But no, Zimbabwe throws in four debutants in the first one-day international! Isn't it amazing how the cricketing public only ever blame the players? We, the public, do not know the real stories behind the scene. Experienced players being kicked out, young players - even schoolboys - being thrown in. But then again, why should one be surprised if three of our five selectors never even made their own first teams!

This leads me onto our two selected coaches in Mr. Marsh and Mr. Curran. They are clearly not doing a good enough job. In any other cricketing country, the entire selection panel, management and coaches, at separate times, would no doubt have been relieved of their duties by now.