D'Arcy Waldegrave: The Zimbabwe series isn't helping anyone

4 thousand for 3.   

Okay, that’s a little over the top, but it represents the chasm between Zimbabwe’s test cricket team and the rest.  

Overnight the Black Caps turned the screws on the hopelessly out classed Africans, piling on the runs at Bulawayo, at stumps NZ had extended their lead to 476, amassing 603 for the loss of 3. Centuries for Conway, Nicholls, and Ravindra, with the latter two still at the crease, represents a sound flogging after only two days of cricket.   

If this was softball, the mercy law would’ve sent them all home.  

The oft used phrase in circumstances such as this is ‘you can only play who’s been put in front of you’, which is accurate but wholly depressing when this game has been given faux test status. This should never have been the case. This should have been part of a New Zealand A tour, which it essentially is when the lineup is taken into account. The Black Caps are without a number of their go to first XI yet are still poleaxing the opposition.  

The match is not part of the World Test Championship which further erodes any import the game thought it had.  

We all understand that Zimbabwe cricket needs to be nursed along, but is this exchange benefitting them or merely serving as a reminder of how poor Zimbabwe cricket is?   

This series isn’t helping anyone. The fresh Black Caps aren’t being exposed to any clear and present threats, the older and returning players inflating their averages, essentially masking the efficacy of their input. It may pump up their tires but with little test cricket on the horizon, is there a point to it?   

This series should never have been afforded test status.   

Still, it’s cricket in whites, so I’ll watch it. Tragic.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Wildgrave from News Talk S'B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Here's some more numbers for you. Four thousand for three. Okay,
that's a little over the top, but it does represent
the chasm between Zimbabwe's Test cricket team and the rest.
Overnight the Black Caps, they turn the screws on the
hopelessly outclassed Africans part on the runs at Bolawayo. At Starms,
New Zealand had extended their lead to four hundred and

(00:35):
seventy six amassed six hundred and three for the loss
of three, so not quite four thousand, but close centuries
for Conway and Nichols and Ravendra, with the latter two
still at the crease. That represents a sound flogging after
only six sessions of Test cricket. If this was simple,
the mercy law would have sent them all home. The

(00:56):
off used phrase and circumstances such as this, you can
only play who's been put in front of you. It's true,
it's accurate, but it's wholly depressing when this game has
been given faux Test status. This should never have been
the case. This should have been part of a New
Zealand a too, which sense that it is when the
lineup is taken into account. The black Caps are without

(01:19):
a number of their go to first eleven, but they're
still pole acts in the opposition. This match also is
not part of the World Test Championship, which further erodes
any input the game thought it had. We all understand
that Zimbabwe cricket needs to be nursed along, but is
this exchange benefiting them or merely serving as a reminder

(01:41):
of how poor they actually are. The series isn't helping anyone.
The fresh black Caps aren't being exposed to any clear
and present threats. The older and returning players are meerely
inflating their averages, essentially masking the masking excuse me, the

(02:01):
the quality of their input because they're not playing quality
opposition may pump up their tires, But with little Test
cricket on the horizon, is there actually a point to
any of this? This series should never have been afforded
Test status. Still, it's cricket and white, so I'll watch

(02:21):
it tragic and that'll do.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
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