Zim faces batting challenges

ZIMBABWE’S brief stay in Dubai proved to be a successful one as they dispatched both Ireland and Holland with seemingly very little trouble.
However, if we look beyond the six-wicket win over Ireland and the 114-run win over Holland, there are a few areas that need to be worked on.
The most noticeable one would be that Brendan Taylor has been the only batsman to pass 50 on both occasions.
Even though the likes of Craig Ervine, Charles Coventry and Tatenda Taibu have all got starts, nobody has gone to score runs of substance and had it not been for Graeme Cremer, who made an unbeaten 42 against Holland, Zimbabwe would have been bowled out for under 200, a worrying factor when your group opener is against defending champions Australia.
The national team will be engaging South Africa in another warm-up match today which can, and will be used, as a yardstick to see where there strengths and weaknesses.
Meanwhile bad luck continues to follow Tino Mawoyo like a pack of hyenas following a wounded animal as it was revealed that the unfortunate opening batsman will be returning home after sustaining an injury in practice.
So once again the selectors will be left scratching their heads as to who will be sharing the opening slot with Brendan Taylor.
Even though Charles Coventry has threatened to take the game away in both warm up matches, he has failed to capitalise on good starts.
Zimbabwe’s opening encounter against Australia on 21 February will most definitely be a great test more from a mental point of view more than anything else as the likes of Sean Tait and Brett Lee will undoubtedly give the top order a good examination of their skills both mentally and technically with both capable of bowling at 150 plus km per hour.
The bowlers will have to show nerves of steal when bowling to an aggressive Shame Watson and a fully fit Ricky Ponting.
Many cricket followers around the world have fallen into the trap of complacency by ruling Australia out because of the dip of form they have recently experienced. The truth is that they have been reduced from the once brilliant side to a very good side after many of their players retired in a short space of time.
They are still a very good side with a few match winners in Watson, David Hussey and their pace attack who, even on the unresponsive pitches of the sub-continent, are more than capable of causing havoc.
Dean du Plessis, a cricket commentator, writes exclusively for the Saturday Herald, the newspaper with the biggest sports coverage in the country. He can be contacted at [email protected].