West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

Top Contributors
C

cleazer

Guest
West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

The second match of the Champions Trophy gets underway in about 5 hours. West Indies will be looking to match Sri Lanka's win from yesterday. Failure against Zimbabwe would make it tough for them to qualify out of this stage. But as the Windies have shown all too often, they're more than capable of losing matches that they should win (most recently at the DLF Cup in Malaysia).

That said, the Windies are playing like one of the better ODI teams in the world this year. They swept Zimbabwe earlier this year, beat India 4-1, and then put up a number of good performances in the DLF Cup against India and Australia.

Zimbabwe have been having a rough few years. They finally managed to beat Bangladesh 3-2 in a closely contested series a few months ago, but then were soundly beaten on their quick tour to South Africa last month, probably losing any momentum they were trying to build.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

Pitiful performance so far from Zimbabwe. Taylor, Bradshaw and Smith have contained the Zimbabweans very well and have them 5/44 after 14 overs.

Just as I type this now, Smith has picked up the fifth wicket of the Zimbabweans, Matsikenyeri caught behind the wicket for 7.

Mufambisi was the only bastman to get a start, scratching his way to 18. Taylor has 2/19, Bradshaw in currently in his seventh over has has 1/18 and Smith has 1/6.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

Zimbabwe lose another wicket, Rinke is run-out by Hinds for 1, the second run-out of the innings.

Zimbabwe now 6/46, Chimgumbura is still there on 4, Utseya, the captain is the new man in and is now on 2.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

God damn they are so bad. Chigumbura pops a dolly down Taylor's throat at mid-on.

7/58
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

Another wicket lost, Smith strikes again as Chigumbura is softly dismissed after spooning a catch to Taylor at mid-off.

7/58 now after 19 overs. New man Ireland is off the mark immediately. He's on 1, Utseya 7.

They are now 7/60 after 19.2 overs.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

i thought this was a "Champions" Trophy?

Okay, i apologise, it is a Qualifier to the Champions Trophy

all out for 85

apparently the 8th time Zimbabwe have been bowled out for Under 100.

It happens occasionally to every team, but when it happens that many times to the one team something must be wrong.

Sorry ICC, but Zimbabwe show no signs of improving. They need to be put into the "second" division of cricket NOW, and placed behind Kenya too. :(
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

aussieman;104634 said:
Sorry ICC, but Zimbabwe show no signs of improving. They need to be put into the "second" division of cricket NOW, and placed behind Kenya too. :(
Click to expand...

I think it's amazing how some posters on here think that these minnows can compete with the big boys, Zimbabwe are just totally out of their depth at the moment. What will happen when the countries ranked lower than Zimbabwe play teams like Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and India? They'll get smashed and we're talking huge margins here, the field will resemble an abbatoir.

Anyway,

West Indies cruise to victory in the end, reaching 1/90 during the 15th over in reply to Zimbabwe's pathetic effort of 85 a/o.

What's even worse is that the game ended after Lara smashed Utseya for two 6's. Lara finishes on 24 with Chanderpaul crawling to 14 not out off 36 balls. Gayle was the only victim, getting out for 41.

Chigumbura took the only wicket for the Zimbabweans. On the other side of the ledger Chris Gayle had the remarkable figures of 3/3 off 3.1 overs. Smith picked up two wickets, as did Taylor while Bradshaw finished with one wicket.

Only three Zimbabwe players reached double figures, Utseya was the last man out for 27, Chigumbura made 10 and as mentioned earlier Mufambisi made 18. Sundries was equal 4th top score.

So, in the end a very easy victory for West Indies. They win by 9 wickets with 214 balls remaining.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

West Indies made 1/90 in their reply. It took 14.2 overs to eclipse the score. Gayle made 41 from 34, Lara made 24* from 20 and Chigumbura claimed the only Zimbabwean wicket (Gayle). Chanderpaul steadily made 14 off 36.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

That's a pretty shocking display from Zimbabwe. And to think they're a test nation...
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

Ljp86;104653 said:
I think it's amazing how some posters on here think that these minnows can compete with the big boys, Zimbabwe are just totally out of their depth at the moment. What will happen when the countries ranked lower than Zimbabwe play teams like Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and India? They'll get smashed and we're talking huge margins here....
Click to expand...

well we saw what happens last time they had this- USA got smashed by the likes of Australia and NZ. did they deserve to be in it? well its a valid agrument for both sides.

should minnows be in it- the yes side would be it region should send representitives t oa champions trophy as its only fair. plus, having these 'minnow' countries removes the elitist stigma that cricket has. also, how are these nations to develope if they don't get to play the top sides ever? having them compete against each other in the World League (jan/feb 07) is a great step in the right direction, but these emerging nations must get heaps of more games to compete.

the no side is easy- when a match has the score of this one is a perfect example of how it basically belittles the name of the tourny- champions trophy. i guess they get away with it by calling it a qualifier, but since they are having 'qualifiers' what was the harm in including a few more teams? instead of four teams, they could have made it 8, and done it single elimination. it would have been the same amount of games too (i think).
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

Just finished watching the match now. Wow, what a blow-out. I actually woke up this morning to watch the end of the match, and yet it mysteriously wasn't on, so I had a pretty good idea of how the match would go.

When Gayle and Lara started batting and swinging away, they were making it look easy, and seemed to want to give the crowd their money's worth. The West Indies bowling looked good, though it's tough to judge considering the competition.

Zimbabwe obviously has a lot of work to do. I wonder if Utseya will move himself up the order for their next match.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

With regard to whether or not lower-ranked teams should be allowed:

I believe they should, for the simple reason that it will enable them to improve. If a second-tier side never gets to play a match against top-flight opposition, they will never know exactly where they stand. Even if a side is blown out as badly as Zim was in this "contest", they gain valuable experience and information. Until you stand in against a bowler, you don't know how good they are. Similarly until you bowl to a powerful batsman, you don't know how hard they will hit you, and thus how much harder you need to work to get to that level.

To be honest, I was never sure why this is called the Champions Trophy. What exactly are the teams champions of? I think there should be representation from around the world. Bermuda, as Americas Champions, should be allowed to participate in the qualifying stage. So should the winners of the other regional WCL events. Play them off in a qualifier and then let the winners into the main tournament with the big dogs.

Just my (rather extensive) two cents.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

Ljp86;104653 said:
I think it's amazing how some posters on here think that these minnows can compete with the big boys, Zimbabwe are just totally out of their depth at the moment. What will happen when the countries ranked lower than Zimbabwe play teams like Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and India? They'll get smashed and we're talking huge margins here, the field will resemble an abbatoir.
Click to expand...
I've done more than my fair share of ripping on Zimbabwe, and I'm certainly no big fan of theirs, but lets be a little fair here. Let's keep in mind that THEY LOST MOST OF THEIR TEAM over the past year or three of internal strife. All of their players are new, and they were missing on of their brighter prospects, Sibanda. The oldest player on the team today was 24. More than half of their team is 19, 20, or 21. Quite simply, it's going to take them 3 or 4 years to get better. 19 and 20-year-olds aren't going to suddenly compete with Chris Gayle or Brett Lee overnight.
aussieman said:
Sorry ICC, but Zimbabwe show no signs of improving. They need to be put into the "second" division of cricket NOW, and placed behind Kenya too.
Click to expand...
And what of all the people shouting for Bangladesh to be booted out too? Was their 265 against Sri Lanka an embarrassment to international cricket? I should think not. And yet Bangladesh lost the recent series against Zimbabwe 3-2.

Obviously, Zimbabwe is going to be bad for a few years. As I was mentioning above, it really is going to take them a few years to simply grow older. (Though it would help if a few of their older players returned to the team.)

They're not going to be playing tests for at least another 12 months, so what's the harm of letting them continue to play ODI's? Even if they were relegated to the lower level, they'd still be able to play ODI's, so what's the difference?


As for them being placed behind Kenya, well, that's debatable. They split their series against each other 2-2 earlier this year, but the recent Bangladesh tours to both Kenya and Zimbabwe seemed to indicate that Kenya is still below Zimbabwe at the moment.

On the other hand, I think I'd place Ireland and maybe Scotland ahead of both Zimbabwe and Kenya at the moment. Beyond the top 8, this is how I'd rank them:

9. Bangladesh (No, they're not as good as New Zealand or England or Pakistan or whoever else, but I think they're far closer to the Test nations than they are to the Associate teams.)
10. Ireland
11. Scotland
12. Zimbabwe
13. Netherlands
14. Kenya
15. UAE
16. Canada
17. USA
18. Namibia
19. Bermuda
20. Nepal
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

And for one thing, this is supposedly the tournament that doesn't allow the minnows. The World Cup brings in 6 Associate teams, but this tournament is limited to only Test teams. Perhaps that should be reversed, perhaps not. I am glad that they're not both the same though.
Wilbix;104775 said:
To be honest, I was never sure why this is called the Champions Trophy. What exactly are the teams champions of? I think there should be representation from around the world. Bermuda, as Americas Champions, should be allowed to participate in the qualifying stage. So should the winners of the other regional WCL events. Play them off in a qualifier and then let the winners into the main tournament with the big dogs.
Click to expand...
Interesting format. Sounds fun. It would be Bermuda vs Ireland vs UAE vs PNG/Fiji vs the top nation from the upcoming African tournament.

You know what, after typing out those teams, it doesn't look so good anymore. I'm afraid that half of those games would turn out to be blowouts too. :rolleyes: Oh well.
 
Re: West Indies v Zimbabwe: Champions Trophy

aussieman;104634 said:
Sorry ICC, but Zimbabwe show no signs of improving. They need to be put into the "second" division of cricket NOW, and placed behind Kenya too. :(
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not so sure. I think the low point for Zimbabwe came when a Zimbabwe A team that was practically full-strength was whitewashed by Kenya A. The national team has improved quite a bit since then and will continue to improve as the players get more experience. Of course, there will be setbacks, such as this last game.

Infrastructure might be a different story. I'm not really sure what's happening there. Last I heard about it Zimbabwe had scrapped the Logan Cup and were replacing it with a completely different domestic first-class comp.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top