I'd actually like more context here because I just looked up his stats and "yikes!"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 cricketIt's actually more surprising how much he under-achieved with the bat tbh.
To expand even though I'm not sure why this thread was created,
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.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
Prince EWS bait if ever I've seen it. What next, praising Mathew Sinclair?Vusi Sibanda is one. If he was English or Australian he would have scored thousands of international runs.
Both Prince and I have immense respect for Vusi's talents.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.
Friend was actually alright with the bat in international cricket.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
Yeah I remember watching him with the willow looked a high 20's low 30's type int bat based on natural talent.It's actually more surprising how much he under-achieved with the bat tbh.
Sean Ervine could have had a very good careerThere were so many careers that got derailed at that time. Wish Pommie Mbangwa had more tests, and Andy Blignaut as well...