However, the technical approach to batting by some of the batsmen has improved. This can be seen by the frequency and the number of hundreds that have been scored by top order batsmen in the past two seasons.
It is generally accepted that a batsmen will begin to hit form at the age of 26 and barring any injuries he will continue to do so up to the age of 32. A scan of the average of the Zimbabwean top order batsmen indicates that most if not all should be coming into good form.
Batsmen benefiting
It would be correct to attribute the technical improvement and the increase in the number of centuries being scored, to the two-year-old domestic league.
Hamilton Masakadza and Brendon Taylor are two players that have benefited from the new format. They are at the moment the solution to what has been a major problem for the national cricket team. Simply put, they are the best opening pair the country has at the moment.
Leaving out Masakadza was suicidal
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Unlike in 2007, the decision not to include Masakadza in the 2011 World Cup was incorrect, more so when one considers his performance in the 2009-2010 season. His technical approach to the shorter version of the game four years ago could be best described as amateurish. Today he has converted the potential he had 11 years ago into reality.
As wrong as it was not to include him in the World Cup squad, the player must shoulder some of the blame. The contrasting performances of Masakadza in the past two seasons reveal that when “Mudhara Hami” is in form, he is in serious form and when he is out of form, well, the record “quacks” for itself.
His performances against South Africa and Bangladesh were the deciding factors. He was aware of these tours before the off season. He should have been prepared. Why he does not spend the off season playing cricket in England is a mystery, it would do him and his cricket a world of good.
A batsman has been appointed as captain, but one asks if the right batsman has been chosen. Brendon Taylor never strikes you as a captain material. One hopes that the captain’s armband will not become a monkey on his back. As a batsman, Taylor has always been a class act.
