Mlukei Nkala

[slippy888]

Why did he never progress as a bowler at international level

 

[Chubb]

Because he’s Zimbabwean bro.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Sloppy, what do you know about him?

 

[Prince EWS]

It's actually more surprising how much he under-achieved with the bat tbh.

 

[slippy888]

He is to be sharp and hurry the batsman

 

[Bahseph]

It's actually more surprising how much he under-achieved with the bat tbh.

I'd actually like more context here because I just looked up his stats and "yikes!"

 

[Chubb]

To expand even though I'm not sure why this thread was created, Nkala was one of the first generation of black players to come through the Zim system and he always had talent, he was never going to be a great player but he would have been a serviceable bowler who bats a bit. He was a perfectly decent overseas club pro. Like the rest of that generation he was screwed over by the political and economic collapse of Zimbabwe. His stats don't really give a fair impression since his career was so massively disrupted by that.

Apparently a very nice person with a good attitude and some had him marked down as a potential captain in the early days.

 

[TheJediBrah]

It's actually more surprising how much he under-achieved with the bat tbh.

From what I gathered from following Zimbabwe cricket in the early-00s was that their domestic comp was quite weak and as a result a lot of their bowlers looked like they should be all-rounders based on their domestic results but in reality they were standard tail-enders, eg, Nkala, Friend, Brent. Even Ray Price was an opening batsman in junior cricket

Or at least this was the justification I made as a kid trying to figure out why they weren't as good as I expected them to be

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

To expand even though I'm not sure why this thread was created,

Don’t underestimate the power of a Slippy thread

 

[TheJediBrah]

In Nkala's case you could say that he underachieved with the ball to about the same extent he under-achieved with the bat, coming to inevitable conclusion that he probably just wasn't very good

 

[Chubb]

From what I gathered from following Zimbabwe cricket in the early-00s was that their domestic comp was quite weak and as a result a lot of their bowlers looked like they should be all-rounders based on their domestic results but in reality they were standard tail-enders, eg, Nkala, Friend, Brent. Even Ray Price was an opening batsman in junior cricket

Or at least this was the justification I made as a kid trying to figure out why they weren't as good as I expected them to be

This is true. It's also why I believed Gavin Ewing would have the output of someone like Shakib. At one point he averaged 60 with the bat and 25 with the ball in Zimbabwean first-class cricket.

Again, he was not a terrible cricketer, he did okay in the few tests he played and he was a good overseas pro in high-level club cricket in the UK (he played in the Devon League and a few others). But he was not world class.

 

[Chubb]

There are exceptions though. Vusi Sibanda is one. If he was English or Australian he would have scored thousands of international runs. Chigumbura is another. If they'd been born in a first world country they would have made the most of their ability and talent.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Vusi Sibanda is one. If he was English or Australian he would have scored thousands of international runs.

Prince EWS bait if ever I've seen it. What next, praising Mathew Sinclair?

Scott Brant - what happened to him. I remember him playing for Essex and Queensland, picked up a few injuries and then disappeared. I noticed when looking up Mike Kasprowicz the other day (due to the Siddle vs. Kasprowicz thread) that Brant played in his [Kasper's] last FC appearance and that was Brant's final season.

 

[Chubb]

Prince EWS bait if ever I've seen it. What next, praising Mathew Sinclair?

Scott Brant - what happened to him. I remember him playing for Essex and Queensland, picked up a few injuries and then disappeared. I noticed when looking up Mike Kasprowicz the other day (due to the Siddle vs. Kasprowicz thread) that Brant played in his [Kasper's] last FC appearance and that was Brant's final season.

Both Prince and I have immense respect for Vusi's talents.

I don't know what happened to Brant, I do remember him at Essex.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Brant was a very good bowler, better than any that Zim put forward at international level other around that time than Streak IMO

I also wonder why he never played for them, possibly he was trying to qualify for England

 

[Prince EWS]

From what I gathered from following Zimbabwe cricket in the early-00s was that their domestic comp was quite weak and as a result a lot of their bowlers looked like they should be all-rounders based on their domestic results but in reality they were standard tail-enders, eg, Nkala, Friend, Brent. Even Ray Price was an opening batsman in junior cricket

Or at least this was the justification I made as a kid trying to figure out why they weren't as good as I expected them to be

Friend was actually alright with the bat in international cricket.

Nkala even underachieved domestically. He looked alright at the crease, just never made any runs. Brent was the opposite - scored big domestically but just looked absolutely ****. Probably a better example of what you're talking about.

 

[Xuhaib]

Quality

It's actually more surprising how much he under-achieved with the bat tbh.

Yeah I remember watching him with the willow looked a high 20's low 30's type int bat based on natural talent.

 

[GRAB]

There were so many careers that got derailed at that time. Wish Pommie Mbangwa had more tests, and Andy Blignaut as well...

 

[TheJediBrah]

There were so many careers that got derailed at that time. Wish Pommie Mbangwa had more tests, and Andy Blignaut as well...

Sean Ervine could have had a very good career