There has been a lot of action this week around the world of cricket, with domestic seasons in the Southern hemisphere now in full swing and the international calendar on its relentless march to nowhere in particular continuing to serve up a number of matches.
The Australians won the first Test match against their Trans-Tasman rivals in another of those infuriatingly short two match series. Another Aussie debutant, James Pattinson, brother of English international Darren, took a five-for to completely rout the Kiwis in the morning session of the fourth day’s play, leaving a target of 19 runs to go ahead 1-0. He is the third Aussie to pick up a five-for on debut this year, and the fifth in about 6 weeks of cricketing action and the fourth in the same time period to go home with a man of the match trophy. This continues what has been a fine season for greenhorn bowlers around the world.
Pakistan and India continue to pile up the wins in their respective series against opponents who are looking more outclassed by the match. Ravi Rampaul’s record rear guard action notwithstanding, the West Indies looked completely at sea against a stronger opposition at home. One can only hope they can bring some life back into this series starting with a win in tomorrow’s encounter.
The greatest news of this week, however, is the conclusion of the Stanbic Bank 20 series, Zimbabwe’s domestic T20 competition. Having come back into the test fold this year, Zimbabwe have turned up with some good performances with certain individuals appealing for worldwide attention. Brendan Taylor, leading from the front, has shown he has the ability to score in any situation and at any pace required by the team. Tino Maoyowo and Hamilton Masakadza have proved to be a tough opening partnership to get rid off while bowlers such as Brian Vitori have shown there is much depth in the current setup.
The domestic competition has given the Zimbabwean youngsters a way to learn from world-class professionals such as Ryan Ten Doeschate, Chris Harris and of course no T20 competition can be complete without Chris Gayle. Being deprived of such communication previously due to political instability, it is a good tonic for these youngsters to find out how the professionals go about their business. For the Mountaineers, who won the tournament final against the Mashonaland Eagles, the Zimbabwean squad players will have hopefully picked up many tricks of the trade and hopefully Zimbabwe cricket can look towards a growth curve to match that of South Africa after readmission.
The greatest thrill of this competition for me was one that has been predicted since the birth of T20. As cricketers have to give way to younger players on the national levels, it is good to see someone such as Chris Harris, man of the match in the finals, with all of his 42 years, still out there enjoying cricket and winning trophies. Harris, as some may remember was a New Zealand international who was part of an XI of bits and pieces cricketers that occupied the team sheet around the turn of the millennium.Who knows, with a batting average of 70.66 and a bowling average of 23.11, he might fancy his chances for an IPL contract. Seeing him out there for the Mountaineers gives hope that years from now, we’ll still be able to see cricketers who we have grown up watching still plying their trade and us loving them for it.
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