BY TINO MOMBESHORA
HARARE – Afghanistan arrived in Zimbabwe for their all-format tour at the end of 2024 with the intention of proving a point and in all honesty, they proved several points without too much trouble.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, find themselves in huge amounts of trouble, and some may feel that the chickens are coming home to roost after almost 21 years of mismanagement, nepotism and an alarming amount of favouritism.
The recently concluded series against Afghanistan yet again exposed Zimbabwe’s countless flaws in terms of selection, pitch preparation and a general understanding of the game itself.
When Zimbabwe scored 586 in the first innings of the first Test match, the majority of fans were sent into delirious states of euphoria.
Puffing out their chests, and proclaiming that Zimbabwe had turned the corner after all, and that there was a campaign by a certain sector of people to smear the untarnished name of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC).
And while there were tired bodies, and aching muscles, Afghanistan never at any point looked dejected or beaten, for the simple reason that they knew that they had quality top-order batters who would make batting look ridiculously easy on a pitch that resembled a dual carriageway.
The think-tank of Zimbabwe took the safe, or possibly even coward’s route, by preparing a pitch utterly devoid of any movement in order to nullify the threat of Afghanistan’s spinners, and they would undoubtedly thank and bless their lucky stars that Rashid Khan was unavailable.
Even if Zimbabwe had prepared a pitch with pace, bounce and movement for the seamers, the hot Bulawayo sun would have dried the pitch out within three-and-a half-days, even with the rain about, and Zimbabwe would have been under the pump.
The second Test pitch most certainly did have something for the seamers, and captain Craig Ervine’s decision to bowl after winning the toss was briefly vindicated, as Zimbabwe dismissed the tourists for 157, and then established a more than useful first innings lead, thanks mainly to the three senior statesmen – Ervine himself, Sikandar Raza, and Sean Williams.
Zimbabwe were in complete control for two-and-a half-days of the Test, but by tea on day three, Afghanistan had begun to reverse the roles, as their combination of skill and match awareness transferred pressure back onto the home side.
In the end, a more than likely win for Zimbabwe turned into a comfortable cakewalk win for Afghanistan.
Numerous analysts and former players have often spoken about the mental aptitude of the Zimbabwe players, which seems to be sadly lacking, as has been so for many a year, leaving fans feeling bereft and dejected.
It is more than just the mental aptitude that leaves Zimbabwe continuously snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, it is also a very apparent and worrying lack of technique by the majority of the top-order batters.
We see top-order batters churning out decent runs at domestic level, season after season, and on most occasions, they are rewarded with their efforts by being selected for the national side.
And that is where one of the many problems begin.
It is abundantly clear that the void between domestic cricket in Zimbabwe and international cricket is growing by the day, and that the current management and selectors are doing nothing to address the problems.
Why for example would you pick Joylord Gumbie to open the batting and keep wicket, when you have Nyasha Mayavo who has been waiting in the wings since 2017?
Or if you wanted a genuine middle-order free-flowing wicket-keeper batter, surely Matthew Welch could have come into the reckoning.
Gumbie has been out of sorts with the bat for some considerable time now, and you would have thought that the convener of selectors, David Mutendera, would have brought this into consideration when picking the side?
Matthew Welch is probably the best wicket-keeper batter since Tatenda Taibu in terms of his glove work and batting.
Picking a Test team needs serious thought and clearly very little thought was given when the side was picked for the first match. It appeared to be picked on hope and safety and not with any intention of trying to win the Test.
Why would you pick one experienced fast bowler in Blessing Muzarabani, and not have another experienced opening bowler?
Richard Ngarava looks desperately tired, and resting him was perfectly understandable. But surely you would replace one experienced pace bowler with another?
Where was Tendai Chatara, or Victor Nyauchi?
Another worrying factor is that Zimbabwe do not have a quality spinner.
You would have to go back to Graeme Cremer if you were looking to pick a match-changing attacking spinner.
Although Dave Houghton may have passed his sell by date in terms of coaching the national side, it would surely benefit all the upcoming batters to still be tutored by him, both technically and mentally, as it doesn’t seem that any of the younger players are making positive strides under the current coaching staff.
But do the current administrators, board members and selectors consider or understand this?
We have known that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been dictated to by the (Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a number of years.
The BCCI has the majority of the say, and despite the ICC being cricket’s international body, they are puppets who dance to the tune of the puppet master.
A similar situation could be said in Zimbabwe’s situation, where Takashinga Cricket Club control the game with an iron fist. Behaving very similarly to generals in the Nazi camps, during World War II, spearheaded by convener of selectors David Mutendera, and his cut-throat gang who run Zimbabwean cricket like their own entity, using his considerable physique and narcissistic bullying tactics to ensure that the law and order is upheld.
Until such time that the entire board with their selectors are dismantled, the future of Zimbabwean cricket will continue to decline, and fans who pay money, and support the team will continue to witness teams being picked on any other agenda other than merit.
*Tino Mombeshora is a writer, graphic artist and sports fan.
