CRICKET BLOG FOR THE FANS, BY THE FANS

Zimbabwe hadn’t beaten Australia in a One Day International dating back to 1983. 31 years. Fast forward to 31st August 2014 and Zimbabwe have finally done it. And what an awesome performance it was, too! From the opening moments of the Australian innings, you just thought that the impossible could be possible with the intensity and appetite for wickets that Zimbabwe showed, exposing Australia’s continuous weakness against spin. Phillip Hughes looked uncomfortable again and George Bailey inexplicably left all three stumps exposed to Sean Williams bowling around the wicket to him. On a difficult pitch, don’t make the bowler’s task easier. Zimbabwe were good enough to expose Australia’s flaws this fact is all the more impressive considering Australia thrashed the same opponent by 198 runs just last week.

Seeing the near capacity Harare crowd signing, dancing and cheering every run was refreshing to see despite being disappointed with the result as an Australian supporter. Sure, these aren’t the sort of conditions that teams will encounter at the World Cup in 6 months time but to be a great team, you need to be able to counter all conditions and still come out on top. Zimbabwe assessed the conditions better, picked the right team and choked the Australians with their spinners. Australia on the other hand, left out the promising Steven Smith which surprised me considering he’s a good player of spin bowling (uses his feet very well) and he’s a very handy legspinner who would’ve spun the ball miles on the driest surface I’ve seen in a long time. To make things worse, the Aussies picked an unfit Michael Clarke. Why take the risk with a hamstring injury? That too of Australia’s most prized batting asset right now and this while leaving out Smith. Questions were asked of the selections and Darren Lehmann and co. paid the price.

Take nothing away from Zimbabwe. They were awesome despite putting down numerous chances in the field. What a response from them after their first up thrashing by the Aussies. After that match, you would’ve been forgiven for not following this triangular tournament until the final where South Africa and Australia were bound to contest it. Now all of a sudden, Zimbabwe are in with a shot of a shock final appearance if they upset South Africa and Australia lose to the Proteas. You would’ve also been forgiven for thinking that Zimbabwe were gone at 156/7. But Elton Chigumbura showed that his ODI batting average of 24.72 after 163 matches does no justice to his talent. I’ve seen him play some fine knocks such as his 90 recently vs South Africa when his side was rolled for 165. However, this was an innings in a pressure situation – his team, so low on confidence and without a win in ODIs since leading 2-0 against Afghanistan a couple months back, had a chance of being no. 1 ranked Australia. And boy, did he deliver, smoking Nathan Lyon (Zimbabwe’s nemesis taking 4-44) down the ground for two fours in the first three balls he faced. From there, I sensed he needed a partner to dig deep and support him. Who else but Prosper Utseya.

Prosper Utseya isn’t one of the most talented cricketers going around but he has a lot of heart. I’ve considered him one to watch in many Zimbabwe games because of his wonderful control and economy rate with the ball. He’s super consistent and he also always fights hard with the bat. I remember a time in January 2009 where Zimbabwe were on the brink of an ODI defeat away to Bangladesh but he stepped up and fought it out in the middle. This was an innings on a whole other level, showing he has what it takes in a pressure situations against the Aussies, a different proposition altogether. He showed his fighting qualities with a super 30 not out, including a six to win the game off Mitchell Starc. In my opinion, he wouldn’t be out of place in the some of the stronger ODI sides in the world, including Australia’s.

For Australia, it’s back to the drawing board. As an ardent follower of the side, I don’t want to see a quality allrounder for these conditions (Smith) left out and wishing he was available during the match. I don’t want to see a lack of slower balls. I was surprised to see James Faulkner rarely use that great slower ball he has out of the back of his hand. That would’ve been very effective on the tired Harare track. South Africa’s up next and Michael Clarke is going back home. The Aussies made it clear about their desire to win this piece of silverware ahead of the World Cup. They better step it up a notch or two if they are going to do that.

Half way through this tournament and the competition is poised in favour of Australia and South Africa, as expected. Australian captain Michael Clarke returns after injuring his hamstring before the tournament opener. Australia will look to bounce back after a defeat to South Africa in a high scoring game, while Zimbabwe will look to build on their improved showing last match against the South Africans despite being bowled out for their 2nd score of below 200 in as many games.

Australia have finally understood that spin and pace off the ball will give you the best chance of restricting the scoring in what has been a tournament underlined by free-flowing scoring until South Africa collapsed from 0/142 against Zimbabwe. In that match, Prosper Utseya and John Nyumbu caused the damage, taking 8 wickets between them and ripping through the Proteas’ lineup. This means that Nathan Lyon will play and will have an important role when coming on to bowl.

For Zimbabwe, they would want to improve their batting as their batsmen let a glorious chance slip against South Africa. Looking at their target of 232, you would have given them a chance considering they had all the momentum following South Africa’s collapse. I certainly gave them a chance and despite declaring they were going to be more competitive than they were in their 1st match against the Aussies, I expected better from their players including Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor. For Australia, they’ll know how vulnerable their opponents are and will look to be as ruthless as possible in an attempt to get back to winning ways.

Zimbabwe’s batting must improve and this means their best batsman, Brendan Taylor, needs to get back into the runs. Dropped for the 3rd ODI against South Africa in the ODI series preceding this triangular tournament, he is yet to prove the selectors wrong, scoring 10 and 0 so far. He has plenty of class about him and needs to step up.

For Australia, it will be interesting to see how fit Michael Clarke is. He will certainly be itching to get a good score under his belt and hit form as the business end of the competition looms. Zimbabwe will look to spin as a means of taking wickets and restricting the Aussies, playing right into Clarke’s hands as we all know how good he is when playing spin bowling.

Prediction: Zimbabwe at home is never an easy proposition as results over the last few years indicating, but predicting a solid Australian win as they possess more quality and will look to bounce back from a last start defeat.

After South Africa’s clash with Zimbabwe yesterday, do you genuinely feel South Africa can win the World Cup? With players like Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers, Faf Du Plessis, Jean Paul Duminy, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and co, you’d think they’re a great chance but there’s always a worry when watching South Africa play limited overs games in tournaments.

Yesterday’s match was part of the preparation for the World Cup just six months away. It was touted as a low key clash where South Africa could work on their skills and get more confidence under their belt. Instead, it has raised more questions in my mind (and surely in the minds of many other cricketing fans) as to whether they can go all the way in Australia & New Zealand. They collapsed from 0/142 to 9/195, showing how brittle they can be when placed even under a little pressure. If this happens in a supposedly low key clash against a struggling Zimbabwe, what can happen at the World Cup against stronger opposition?

Not taking anything away from Zimbabwe, they fought hard and played pretty well – Prosper Utseya was fantastic. It takes courage to keep fighting with your opponents 0/142 with players such as Du Plessis and JP Duminy following up. In the end, their brittle batting gave way and were unable to chase 231. I felt Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor were the two vital players that needed to make substantial contributions to cause an upset but it wasn’t to be, both bowled through the gate by left arm spinner Aaron Phangiso for 25 and 0 respectively.

As expected, South Africa won pretty comfortably in the end but more questions will be asked rather than answered. Some might say that getting into a position where you need to defend 231 rather than 300+ might be beneficial but the way they collapsed here doesn’t bode to well for the future in my opinion, especially when they’ve had a history of “choking” at the global events.

Hashim Amla, the stand in captain with De Villiers rested due to slight illness was pleased with the way the South Africans fought and made the most of what seemed a very gettable total. However, he pointed that the batting blowout must be put behind them so it doesn’t cause them problems in the future and the near future has plenty in store for all cricket fans. South Africa must improve in the ODI format by improving their mental strength in pressure situations because you might not pay the price for a 6/21 collapse against Zimbabwe, but you will against the likes of Australia and India at the World Cup.

Pretenders or contenders? We’ll have to wait and see.

If the first matches of these two teams in the Tri-series were anything to go by, Zimbabwe are in for another tough outing. A tough time for Zimbabwe up against South Africa and Australia in a triangular series was always going to be on the cards, but it’s important that they show some fight, competitiveness and progress after being thrashed by 198 runs at the hands of Australia in their opening match. South Africa, on the other hand, proved my prediction wrong against Australia and chased 327 with ease. In addition, they are fresh off a 3-0 ODI series sweep against the Zimbabweans.

With conditions difficult for the bowlers, backing South Africa for another good outing with the bat is wise. This is even more appropriate considering Zimbabwe have stood down arguably their most economical seamer Tinashe Panyangara, on disciplinary terms. Therefore, South Africa will be keen to stamp their authority and make life even more difficult for Zimbabwe. This seems likely as South Africa are coming off 5 straight ODI wins. Zimbabwe are coming off 6 straight defeats.

Despite all signs pointing to a one-sided hammering,  my interest in this match relies on how much fight Zimbabwe can show in front of their home fans. At home in recent times, Zimbabwe have been a tougher nut to crack than some people expected. In 2013, they beat (at that time) high flying Bangladesh 2-1 & won the first ODI of the series against Pakistan (and even won a Test against Pakistan on the same tour). Unfortunately for them, they don’t play very often and haven’t been to build on their good wins as a result. However, here’s a chance to lay a platform for their future with a better showing than what they’ve dished up so far in the last few weeks

South Africa’s only main threat in this match is complacency but there are players in this side who’d want to prove their worth:
South African batsman to watch: Quinton De Kock burst onto the scene with plenty of runs against India last year and had a good series against Zimbabwe recently scoring 63, 38 and 84 in the 3 matches. After scoring just 19 against Australia, he’d want to get back into the runs here.
South African bowler to watch: Imran Tahir averages 17.16 in the 50 over format, compared to a Test average of over 47. His consistency has always come under scrutiny but here’s a chance for Imran to back up his excellent showing against Australia and show some consistency in his performances.

Zimbabwe are seeking improvement and would want to push South Africa as much as they possibly can:
Zimbabwean batsmen to watch: I’ve picked two players from the Zimbabwean team who need to perform. Brendan Taylor needs to remind selectors of his class after being dropped for the 3rd ODI against South Africa recently and Hamilton Masakadza will want to build on his impressive effort against the Australians where he scored 70 out of his team’s 152. These two players have played a combined 289 ODIs and need to step up here if they are to have any hope of causing an upset.
Zimbabwean bowler to watch: Prosper Utseya faces testing on his action but he needs to put that behind him for now. 157 ODIs with an economy rate of 4.34 runs per over is impressive and will need to be economical here to restrict the South Africans.

Prediction: I expect Zimbabwe to put on more of a fight in this game, but the gulf in class between the two sides is too great. South Africa to make it 2 out of 2 wins in this triangular series.

Yes, another contest between two teams I don’t like. England and India fans, understand that I’m Australian and that’s just normal. Nonetheless, this is a chance to see how England and India are going ahead of the World Cup in about 6 months time (after the 1st ODI was washed out, in England, how surprising) in conditions where the bowlers are bound to get some assistance just as you expect they would in Australia & New Zealand.

I’m interested to see how these two sides go. For India, I’m looking forward to see how they fare in the limited overs stuff after playing England into form with horrible performances in the last 3 games of the Test series. After all, they are the current World champions and winners of the Champions Trophy in England. A side with players as good as Virat Kohli, despite his well documented run of poor form, will always be a danger in this format. For England, how will they respond to comments from Graeme Swann and Michael Vaughan regarding their World Cup credentials and their style of play in the ODI format? Personally, I agree that their style is a little old fashioned and they do use Test form to select players in the Test team. For example, Steven Finn has been super for England in ODI cricket – in fact, he was the shining light for England when thrashed 5-0 in India in 2011 and yet has lost his ODI place on the back of poor performances in Tests. Players like Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan need to be nurtured and supported to make sure they play their best as natural strokemakers in the side.

In ODIs between these two sides in England, the home side has the edge, winning the 5 match series 3-0 in 2011, that too after thumping India 4-0 in the Tests. An interesting clash awaits here as to see how much England’s confidence has improved since the home series against Sri Lanka and how India will fare in an overseas away series after they found things difficult in New Zealand earlier in the year.

Player to watch from England: Alex Hales – Immense potential and great strokemaker. If he’s out early, then it’s up to Cook and Bell to rebuild and that might mean the run rate stalls for a little while early in the innings. Hales’ contribution is vital.

Player to watch from India: Virat Kohli – Who else? Finally got some runs under his belt in the tour game vs Middlesex and will be looking to put a horror Test series behind him. He’s back in the format where he has scored 19 centuries at 52.16 in 134 games.

Prediction: India seem to have the stronger team on paper and enjoy the ODI format more than they do Tests. However, what I saw from them in New Zealand as well as their disappointing Asia Cup campaign creates doubts not only in my mind but surely those of Indian supporters. I pick England to win in a tight game as they are more accustomed to the conditions and seem more stable than the Indians at the moment.

A match up which doesn’t involve the hosts yet promises the most. Two of the ODI heavyweights and contenders for next year’s World Cup take each other on in a match up that promises to be a beauty after both sides have been loving life against Zimbabwe.

Both sides possess strong bowling attacks, strong batting line-ups and simply awesome fielders such as Glenn Maxwell of Australia and AB De Villiers of South Africa. Australia’s tour of South Africa earlier this year consisted of no ODIs but the Test series was enthralling viewing. Also, South Africa have won three of the last four ODI series against Australia, adding to the rivarly between the two sides which makes for an exciting contest in Harare.

I recently picked up on a tweet about this match up which sums this contest up perfectly by @R_4rishabh
Johnson v Steyn, Maxwell v Miller, Bailey v AB, Starc v Morkel. There promises to be wonderful battles between the two side’s batsmen and bowlers:

Batsmen to watch:
Despite Phillip Hughes’ amazing form in List A cricket recently, Glenn Maxwell is a player who simply does not care who he is facing. Zimbabwe were helpless against him, as he smashed a 46 ball 93 on the way to helping Australia post 350-6. Pakistan, West Indies, India, England and Zimbabwe have been on the end of Maxwell’s onslaughts. Are South Africa next?

For South Africa, AB De Villiers has had a substandard tour so far, dating back to the Test match South Africa played in Harare against Zimbabwe. His disappointment was compounded by an embarrassing dismissal in the 2nd ODI against Zimbabwe and hasn’t really got going. However, I consider him to be the best all-round batsman in the world and expect him to come good soon. As an Australian, I hope it’s not in this game.

Bowlers to watch:
Simple. Dale Steyn v Mitchell Johnson. Two of the most feared bowlers in world cricket looking to make an impact on ODI cricket like they have in Test cricket ahead of the 2015 world cup. Makes for a wonderful contest.

Prediction: Should be a close game with two evenly matched sides coming together with so many great individual contests to look out for. However, I feel Australia has the better ODI side and back them to win a tight one to continue their push for silverware ahead of the World Cup.

As a huge Bangladesh fan, 2014 has been a terrible year. 14 ODIs, 13 defeats with one no result and a poor World T20 campaign at home. You know it’s been a bad year when the highlight is beating Afghanistan and Nepal in the World T20 qualifying stage to just about seal passage through to the main stage despite a humiliating defeat to Hong Kong. The West Indies, on the other hand will be looking to build on their 3-0 ODI triumph as well as their semi final appearance in the World T20.

Ahead of this one off T20 International, it pains me to say that all the signs are pointing towards a comfortable West Indies win. They have the power with the likes of Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard, the bowlers who have done well in this format such as Sunil Narine and most importantly, the confidence and T20 know-how. Bangladesh, on the other hand have struggled in T20 internationals for quite some time, even when they were performing really well in ODIs in 2012 and 2013. This match can hurt Bangladesh’s confidence even more if they aren’t on their game.

From a batting point of view, the West Indies have the ability to send chills down any bowling lineup’s spine. Just ask the Australian team about what they went through in the World T20 against a fired up Windies side. Below is a summary comparing career averages and strike rates of the batsmen I consider most important in each side: West Indies – Chris Gayle: Avg 32.60, SR 135.55; Kieron Pollard: Avg 22.14 SR 146.56, Darren Sammy: Avg 16.65 SR 151.88 Bangladesh – Tamim Iqbal: Avg 20.93 SR 105.98, Nasir Hossain: Avg 23.13 SR 116.44, Mushfiqur Rahim: Avg 19.34 SR 117.24 It’s easy to see why the West Indies have had T20I success over the last few years with the strike rates that these players have. Chris Gayle can provide a blistering start, Pollard can continue that in the middle overs and Sammy has proven to be a wonderful finisher. This, against a moderate bowling attack that has generally struggled to keep the runs down in T20Is, along with the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, the St. Kitts crowd could be in for something special.

Bangladesh lack the power that the West Indies possess but if they are to have any chance, they have to reduce the number of dot balls they play. In ODIs this year, they’ve struggled to rotate the strike and this creeps into their T20 games. It’s not good enough to score a 4 or 6 and have 3 or 4 dot balls afterwards – you don’t make use of your boundaries well enough. This is why I suggest Bangladesh put Nasir Hossain at 3 or 4, he’s excellent at accumulating runs and scoring quickly without taking too many risks and he can be key in the middle overs especially against Sunil Narine who has tormented the Bangladeshi batsmen so far. Tamim Iqbal is also one to watch, he has the ability to score quickly and cause headaches for bowling attacks in the absence of Shakib and for Bangladesh’s sake, they’d be hoping he does that in St Kitts. In addition, if captain Mushfiqur Rahim spends time in the middle, he’s in for a fine score as he’s good at rotating the strike and striking big in the final overs.

Big Picture: The West Indies are rightly hot favourites to take out this lone T20 International. They are playing with more confidence than their opponents and have a number of batsmen and bowlers than can turn the match in their team’s favour. For Bangladesh, they have to be near perfect – take early wickets, bowl well at the death and keep the runs ticking with the bat if they are any chance to challenge the West Indies here. If Bangladesh are off their game (which looks likely considering their last two ODI performances), the West Indies will canter to an easy win.

My Prediction: Despite being a massive Bangladesh fan, I fear the worst here. If the West Indies bat first, expect a win by 35+ runs. If they bat second, expect a win with time to spare.