I was wondering....

[imaginarydiva]

So true Paoli!Very fine comments.I always thought Zimbabawe had a bunch of pretty talented guys.And Ervine had really started to pick some mometum but the whole racist crisis spoilt the whole thing.Just a few weeks before the whole thing happened i was watching Streaky's interview on TV and he was talking abt how the team was slowly recovering from the loss of their key players.*sigh*He was so right,politics should really be kept out of sports!

[Paoli]

Zimbabwe 2003 World Cup Squad:

Streak, Whittall, Marillier, Wishart, Vermuelen, A. Flower, G. Flower, Taibu, Olonga, Hondo, Ervine. Friend, Blignaut, Murphy, Ebrahim....Later Campbell and Matsikenyeri replaced injured Vermuelen and Murphy

Now that's a bunch of talented guys. Streak, A. Flower, G. Flower, Whitall are all of the top notch...Ervine and Blignaut were working their way into form...Murphy was a fine leg spinner...Olonga was, along with Blignaut, the only genuine match winner...Now, only 5 of 17 remain.

Andy could've played until 2007 World Cup, so could've Grant and Heath Streak...Guy Whittall was a great batsman...Murphy was the only decent spinner, and i think that is reflective of the talent they had. Carlisle and Price were still in the fold at that stage and not selected, and count the losses of Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson, and Zimbabwe could've pulled off upsets just the way they used to...

[imaginarydiva]

Right!And add to that extraordinary fielding and a great coach-Geoff Marsh...Boy!They really were on track!Also,since u made a mention of individual players i'd like to add that Hondo was also a good bowler with a pretty dceent economy rate which doesnt happen too often with minnows considering that most of the biggies like thrashing them.

[Paoli]

Exactly right.

A former ZCU insider told me that Murphy was never injured during the world cup, it was just after Bvute threatened to sack Flower from the squad that all the players said they'd strike if their star batsman wasn't included. Murphy was extremely vocal and has since disappeared. After the World Cup, 27 year old Gavin Rennie was selected to play in a Sharjah Quadrangular tournament, and after that he came back to be told by Chingoka that he was "too old" for the national squad. Too old at 27....Will they be sacking Brendan Taylor soon for having too much hair??

[imaginarydiva]

Haha!That was too funny for words.But seriously tell me,is it really true that the ZCU is remote controlled by the Mugabe govt.?

[Paoli]

Yep. The mostly-black squad is supposed to symbolise racial empowerment

[imaginarydiva]

hey!Whatever happened to Gary Brent?

[Paoli]

Big Gazza was part of the strike

[imaginarydiva]

Yeah i knew that,but what im asking is has he signed up for other teams ala Andy,Sean,Friend.etc?

[Paoli]

Nah he isnt good enough to tell you the truth. May get a look in with Zim's new squad albeit in the ODI's