Letters

A FEW TESTS FOR ZIMBABWE

Congratulations on having a very good service, with lots of information and interest. Zimbabwe are currently taking part in the one-day competition here and are doing quite well. However it is only limited to the one-day arena and they are not playing any Test matches against Australia. This is a pity, as I'm sure that they would give the Aussies a real run for their money. I did read that they were going to play in one or two Test matches while they were here. Why was this not the case? The ACB should realize that they should support and encourage them by playing a few Tests with them whenever they can. Zimbabwe have got a very good team and have the potential to be every bit as good as the West Indies were in their prime. Is there a planned series coming up soon? If not there should be. For starters how about a couple of Tests before or after the next Aussie tour of South Africa.

F. Cotton [Australia]

Reply: The initiative for Test matches between Australia and Zimbabwe rests with the Australian administrators; Zimbabwe are more than willing. I'm sure the real reason why Zimbabwe are not playing Test cricket in Australia are financial; they would not expect Zimbabwe to bring in the crowds that West Indies have done. As far as future tours between the two countries are concerned, Zimbabwe are awaiting the outcome of the ICC plan which requires countries to play each other home and away within every five-year period. Australia would have to accommodate us then!

ZIMBABWE IN AUSTRALIA

Cricket is played and discussed with the same zest and zeal everywhere in the world. It hardly matters that the team losing is that of West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan or Zimbabwe for the fans sitting back home share the same emotions. I read comment under the heading of "Thoughts on Zimbabwe in Australia" in your website edition dated Jan 26, 2001, regarding Zimbabwe's defeat at the hands of Australia. It's not that the white farmers are not playing at their best. What matters most is the team against which they are playing. Australians play 'Total Cricket' in which every field is worked out in such a manner that hardly any room is left for error-making. One cannot see Steve talking so much, the bowlers bowl according to the field placing, the fielders do their job according to the plan while the batsmen are always set to challenge any total which means all business. In Australia the press and the spectators are as much involved in the game as the players are, which automatically puts any side under considerable pressure so under these circumstances if a side like Zimbabwe or West Indies loses hardly make any point for cricket is gone hi-tech and professional. What countries like Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and West Indies need now is to strengthen their domestic base for it is seen that one of the reasons why Australia or South Africa are so good at cricket is that the standard of domestic cricket there is even better than international cricket of some of the Test-playing nations.

Asim Nazir (Hon. Secretary, Sarhad Sports Writers Association (SSWA) NWFP, Pakistan)

Reply: True, but Zimbabwe have been showing the same faults against the West Indies as against Australia. Also, regardless of the pressure, we should expect our players to bowl line and length, field cleanly and hold their catches, which Zimbabwe have not been doing consistently enough against either team.

AUSTRALIAN TOUR

I agree with your comments about the Australian tour. I can't understand why Heath Streak bats below Dirk Viljoen in the batting order. Viljoen is struggling with his timing and doesn't appear to be a genuine all-rounder on current form. He's a good bowler, though, and probably should be the first spinner picked in this team. I believe they should have played Angus Mackay instead of Brian Murphy in Brisbane and possibly Adelaide. Murphy needs to develop more variety in his bowling to play well on pitches that don't turn a lot. From what you say about Mackay, he would have strengthened the batting. I like the way Gavin Rennie picks up runs easily late in the order. He seems comfortable on the back foot, which is something Ian Chappell has identified as a problem with most of the Zimbabweans. I'd like to see Rennie open the batting instead of Guy Whittall, or possibly swap with Stuart Carlisle in the batting order. It will probably come down to the match in Perth against West Indies to decide who makes the finals. Luckily the Zimbabweans have Carl Rackemann to coach them in pitching the ball up on that wicket when the temptation is to bowl short. I went to the game at Melbourne and agree with you that Zimbabwe should have scored at least 250 after the solid start. I was disappointed with Ricky Ponting's behaviour, as were most people in the crowd who were sober at the time! There was a press report here last week that Murray Goodwin would like to play again for Zimbabwe; indeed that he was prepared to play in this series. Apparently he's just waiting for the ZCU to call and the ZCU wants to hear from him first. Surely some mediation could sort this one out in the interests of Zimbabwean cricket! Peter Roebuck has talked on radio about a promising young bowler from Zimbabwe who has been selected in the Queensland Under-19 team. Do you know who this is and whether he's a prospect to play for Zimbabwe? The game in Sydney is about to start. Australia is due to stumble, so it will be interesting to see if Zimbabwe can produce the goods.

Michael Gorey (Australia)

Reply: No, I don't know exactly who Peter Roebuck is talking about, although in our Watershed School report in Issue 5 Chris Nyazika mentioned Andrew McGuire, a promising all-rounder who has emigrated to Australia. There are probably others.

MEETING THE ZIMBABWEANS

Well, I finally met them! My family and I travelled to Adelaide on the Wednesday morning, and got there about 2:30. I then had to race around to Adelaide Oval for their 3:00 pm practice. I arrived at the Oval just as the team bus pulled up. I then just casually walked into the ground with the players. I was living a dream. For the next three and a half hours I was able to mingle and talk to and get autographs off all of the players and coach. There was a smallish but enthusiastic crowd there for the training. I actually had people coming up to me and asking ME questions about some of the players, like who was this player and which player this was. I had my Zimbabwe World Cup shirt on which probably helped my cause. I was able to sit and talk with Viljoen and B. Strang and was lucky enough to get a photo of myself with these two players. I introduced myself to A. Flower and reminded him that I had rung him once before but it was around 5 am your time and I woke him. He was very pleasant and polite and wished me well and hoped I enjoyed my time at the game the next day. Madondo and Nkala both seemed very quiet and almost shy around even the smallest of audiences, though I was still able to get both of their autographs. Campbell, to me, seems as if he's out to impress anyone who is watching, or at least tries to get people's attention. When he was batting in the nets he was smashing every ball from Mackay out of the nets, whether it was a good shot or not. This of course was not amusing Gus very much at all. Whittall seemed very intense as he hasn't been scoring a lot of runs or taking many wickets, which for him isn't that common, although by the end of the evening he seemed a bit happier. He also seems to have very friendly eyes (not that I stare into too many blokes' eyes - just an observation). Viljoen was saying during our conversation that he had hurt his hamstring on the tour to India, which explains why he only played in two one-day internationals. At the game on Thursday there was a group of three or four people in the crowd with the current ODI shirts on. I found out that they actually travel the world watching the team play, and in fact it wasn't until I got back home that I found out it was Eddo Brandes and a couple of friends. What a missed chance!!!

Leon Bain (Australia)

OLD HARARIANS

Thank you for the article about OH. It made interesting reading. Thank you for keeping us so well informed with cricket in Zimbabwe. At least the reports from Clive Ruffell turn up, even if others let you down. I hope Trevor Penney brings back his seemingly excellent form to Warwickshire this season. It would be good to see him get another 1000-run season.

Beverly Treml (England)