da apostebet： Even with the return of Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe are struggling to compete at ODI level
Tawanda Jonas 23-Aug-2007
Zimbabwe lost the first ODI against South Africa by five wickets © AFP
If only Heath Streak, the reliable and dependable allrounder, wasaround. If only Andy Blignaut, the medium-pacer with a knack fortaking priceless wickets, was around. Then Wednesday’s showdown betweenZimbabwe and South Africa would have illuminated Harare Sports Club asthe one-day series gathers momentum.But gone are the days when fans used to gleefully watch real menpulling fours and sixes off venerated pace bowlers and offspinners.Zimbabwe’s national cricket team has been reduced to a bunch ofamateurish school-boy cricketers and suddenly all the interest andzeal which accompanies the visit of a powerhouse such as South Africahas died down.Cries for Kevin Curran’s dismissal as national coach have developedinto howls. His critics maintain he has been ineffective since takingover from Phil Simmons as he has presided over Zimbabwe’s continueddescent into the abyss of international cricket.Curran knows, by now, that the nation’s confidence in him has hit rockbottom; that it is time to salvage his battered pride by snatching arespectable result out of the series against South Africa.He knows that the nation is now fed up of his perennial excuse thatthe team is still on a learning curve. Curran said this when losinghis first Test in charge against India in August 2005. He repeatedhimself after another comprehensive Test loss to New Zealand thefollowing month. And when drawing 2-2 against lowly Kenya, Curran hadalready proved himself as the devil rather than the messiah forZimbabwe cricket.Only last week Curran, the former Zimbabwe international, was stillsinging from the same hymn sheet. “The encouraging thing is that wehave managed to come through and in the last four days of the matches,and in the shorter version of the game, the idea is to bat through ourovers… and hope to translate the 100s into 200s and then maybe 300runs.”There were some positives that came through against India A and theSouth Africans in that Tatenda Taibu, played admirably well on hisreturn to international cricket after a two-year absence. We hope tocontinue improving- and who knows, we could pull a surprise or two inSouth Africa when we go there for the Twenty20 tournament,” Curransaid following another comprehensive defeat by a visiting South AfricaA side.His view of the national game, although sounding like that of anamateur coach, has become a reflection of how the once-reveredinternational has lost confidence in himself as national team coachand in the team he leads. Charles Mhlauri’s stubbornness would havedone better to drum up the fans’ support and faith in the team.Yet, with all odds staked against Zimbabwe, the team might just beinspired to do well against the Proteas in the remaining two, if onlyto boost morale and confidence ahead of next month’s Twenty20championships.Curran’s batting line-up seems better coordinated since the return ofVusimuzi Sibanda from Australia and the maturity that has beenexhibited by Christopher Mpofu over the past few years. But Zimbabwe’s prospects of upstaging South Africa are far-fetched despite Taibu’s satisfactory performances against South Africa A.Taibu is a bit subdued and his response is measured. “Anything canhappen in a cricket match,” he said. “Hopefully, my being around againfor Zimbabwe can add value to the team.”