Zimbabwe humilated

[cantplaycantalk]

Originally Posted by high_on_linseed

Yes, yes, yes! Hick should go and break the world redord! After all the ****, the guys had to take. He should go and break the world record - irony of ironies!

Aus get to tour first, I can see Lara dropping out of the top ten if it is a 5 match tour...

[Kirsty Harris]

high on linseed

That would be great to watch...unfortunatly it would lead to further stupid comments about Hick being a flat track bully, who can only do well against poor sides' and so on...

[cantplaycantalk]

Originally Posted by Kirsty Harris

high on linseed

That would be great to watch...unfortunatly it would lead to further stupid comments about Hick being a flat track bully, who can only do well against poor sides' and so on...

Well judging by Lara's performance in the last series vs England, he could be clasified the same way. I would still want Lara in my side...

Hick was found like a lot of players to have one weakness in his technique. He struggled against really high quality hostile pace attacks. Unfortunately this was at a time when both WI and Aus had exactly that. I suspect his average these days would be quite impressive. (Or is it just a sign of my age that I think the fast bowlers were much better in my youth?)

[Kirsty Harris]

Cantplaycantalk

Sure, Hick did have a weakness in this area, but he should have been given more support by the Englans management and team, not left hung out to dry...

Besides which, as you yourself pointed out, many other players had the same weakness.Although I'm no good with stats, I THINK Hicks average in tests was as good, if not better, than some of his peers. The expectations placed on Hick were unreasonable. Mind you, I wouldn't dream of comparing Hick to Lara...

Hick's far less egotistical and selfish in hisstyle of play!!

[butchering lee]

Originally Posted by high_on_linseed

Ok, why dont we (England) go to Zimbabwe, but do a Man utd in the "whatever-its-called-this-year-cup", and send a team of second string youngsters. Add in John Crawley and Ed Smith just to make doubly certain we smash them to smithereens ( ;, and come home with a bunch of boosted averages and young players feeling good about themselves. Imagine Scott Newman smashing 250 off 200 balls, or Sajid Mahmood, taking 8-15! Maybe Rikki Clarke could move towards 100 wickets faster than Botham! Treat it as a training session, as make Mugabe and the Zimbabwean board look like the muppets they are.

you´re all basically agreeing with this or sending a strong team to "wipe the floor" with this zim team. they are mainly political pawns who in all honesty will be the ones who suffer most personally. what choice do they have but to play. their humiliation seenms the last thing to be desired.

i´m not offering a better alternative but they´ve suffered one humiliation already and the fact thatSL have left out 5 players is a humiliation in itself - now imagine what another heavy defeat would to to the probably shatterd morale of these young, hopeful cricketers.

we don´t like mugabe - sure but to humiliate his "stooges" (some who it´been said have been bullied into playing) is not a dish i´m salivating over.

here endeth the lesson

[Scott-Wozniak]

Originally Posted by butchering lee

we don´t like mugabe - sure but to humiliate his "stooges" (some who it´been said have been bullied into playing) is not a dish i´m salivating over.:

Butchering lee

You make an interesting and relevant point, but as you indicate, there really is no easy answer to this one, it really is a no-win situation.

It is a shame that the Zimbabwe Cricketers are currently being 'humiliated' by sides significantly stronger than themselves, and you're right to an extent - the players have little choice but to play - but whats the alternative? The ECB have clearly indicated they do not want to tour Zimbabwe, it's the ZCU that are insisting that England fulfill their obligations - it seems they actually want overseas sides to come over and 'humiliate' their side, which unfortunately is politically motivated.

The only real way out of this one is if the ICC Step in and remove Zimbabwe's International Cricket Status, and I suspect that may well happen if the first Test Match against Zimbabwe goes as poorly as some of the ODI results have indicated it will. This will be the best way out for England to not have to tour, and in a way will be the best thing that could happen to Zimbabwe Cricket right now - it's almost like a boxing referee stepping in to stop the fight before weaker party gets seriously injured.

Scott

[James M]

I hope the rebels see sense (easy for me to say) and come back into the side before it's too late. These guys have probably never played more than a few games for their provinces. They all look baby faced and some play like that. They're overawed, who can blame them. I would be against the tour now on a cricketing basis.

[butchering lee]

i agree scott - i was somewhat disappointed by the "excitement" on the board at the prospect of pummeling zim to make a point.

i do kind of get it - it would be a f u to "e ba gum" . but he is both an extremely inept (sometimes cruel) politician and a very shrewd survivor - i wonder where this is going

[Scott-Wozniak]

Originally Posted by James M

I hope the rebels see sense (easy for me to say) and come back into the side before it's too late. These guys have probably never played more than a few games for their provinces. They all look baby faced and some play like that. They're overawed, who can blame them. I would be against the tour now on a cricketing basis.

James

Hmmmmmmmmmm. Sense as you see it, or sense as they see it?

I can't see it happening to be honest. The ZCU and the rebels really do seem to have irreconcilable diffferences, with neither party willing to compromise. Heath Streak and the rebels refuse to play on the basis that the selection process is politically motivated and that there are people on the selection panel that are not qualified to be there or make selections based on merit. The ZCU merely quote 'breach of contract' at the rebel cricketers, and don't seem to be making any or very few concessions to bring the rebels back into the fold.

From what I can tell, both parties are no closer to reaching an agreement now than they were when it first started.

Scott

[James M]

Scott,

I did say 'easy for me to say'! There are quite a few cricketers in Zim who would stengthen the side. Gavin Rennie, Brian Strang, Dirk Viljoen. Not sure if these players are available and whether they would boycott as well, but it would be worth a try. I just feel so sorry for the Zim cricket fans let alone the Zim people.