ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

Yes,  what a series , what nail biting test cricket and for those who watched the series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, although the scoreline read 1-1 in the end, it was clear that Zimbabwe won 8.5 out of 10 intensely fought days of cricket. I was looking forward to bring out the ratings of the Zimbabwean players for this series, since most players would be getting good ratings for a change   . Here are the score cards: Match 1 Match 2 So, here are my analysis and ratings - out of 10: Tino Mawoyo: 5 Coming back from a long injury lay-off, there were question marks on his form and fitness, but Pakistan is a team he should not mind playing even if he is woken up at the stroke of midnight, what with the 163 not out and all that. He did struggle in the first test, and got a rough decision in the first innings of the second one to make matters worse, but boy what a knock in the second dig and what a partnership with Hamilton Masakadza. That was t...

Arnoldous Mauritius Blignaut, the superstar all-round genius, has returned to the Zimbabwe national cricket team after a gap of almost 5 years, and looks in great shape. If he can reproduce the brutal blitzkrieg he brought out a couple of months ago in the Zimbabwean national T20 league for Tuskers against the Mountaineers, then international teams beware! Here's what he did that day: Andy Blignaut turns it on for Tuskers from hmvprasanna on Vimeo . Hoping for a couple of such sterling performances from him in the upcoming World T20 Championships in the West Indies...

Here are the links to all 8 parts of the alphabetical review of Zimbabwean Cricket in the year 2009: A - Alistair and Co. Back in Business B - Business as Usual for "Boom Boom" Chigumbura C - Charles Coventry's Coveted Innings Part 1 (A, B, C) D - Dylon's Dream Domestic Debut E - England's Ashes Win has Zimbabwean Flavour, Again F - Franchise Cricket Brightens Future Part 2 (D, E, F) G - Graeme Cremer creams Kenya H - Hamilton's Merry I - Injury woes of Utseya and Co. Part 3 (G, H, I) J - Jarvis Junior Jumps in from Nowhere! K - Kenya Marauded - Not Once, But Twice L- Lock Locked Out Part 4 (J, K, L) M - Maruma Stakes Claim N - No Sight, but Great Vision - du Plessis Continues to Impress and Inspire O - Ozias Bvute becomes the Face of ZC Part 5 (M, N, O) P - Priceless Price Scales New Heights Q - Queens Sports Club Roars Back to Life R - Ripped Apart in Chittagong Part 6 (P, Q, R) S - Sibanda's Bradmanesque First Class Season T - Tatenda Taibu's Troubl...

V - Vermeulen is Back With a history of unbelievable run ins against the establishment, including the burning down of the National Cricket Academy of Zimbabwe in 2006, former test cricketer Mark Vermeulen was all set for 25 years of imprisonment with hard labour. But in a curious turn of events, he was acqutted on the basis of the fact that he was suffering from a medical condition known as Partial Complex Epilepsy, which had led to the sudden surge of erratic behavior. Given a chance against all odds to mend himself, Vermeulen showed that he had not lost any of his cricketing class, by piling up huge scores one after another in the 2008-09 first class season in Zimbabwe, and staked claim for a national team call up. One of the most unlikely comebacks of sport history was complete when Vermeulen scored a magnificient 92 in his comback to international arena, representing Zimbabwe against Bangladesh on 9th august, 2009 . He did participate in many useful opening partnerships after that ...

S - Sibanda's Bradmanesque First Class Season Opening Batsman Vusimuzi Sibanda had ended 2008 in a dismal fashion, looking clueless against the Srilankan attack, and the year 2009 too began on the same lines. Apart from a half century against Kenya in the away series, he did nothing much with the bat, which led to him getting dropped from the national team soon after. With a lot of yesteryear players making a comeback to the Zimbabwean cricketing arena, for a batsman of Sibanda's class and calibre, the situation looked very bleak at that point. Another set of failures at domestic level, and he could very well have disappeared into obscurity at the end of the 2009/10 season. But the fighter in Sibanda wanted to prove his worth, and proving himself is what he did for the rest of the season, in a spectacular fashion. The inclusion of a Zimbabwe XI in the ICC Intercontinental Cup meant that Sibanda got a chance to lead the XI against Kenya, and that was when fun started, with Siban...

P - Priceless Price Scales New Heights Price is a famous surname in Zimbabwe, what with legendary golfer Nick Price scaling enviable heights in his preferred sport. But nobody would have expected his nephew, a certain Raymond William Price, who was lucky to survive meningitis caught as a baby that resulted in partial deafness and severe coordination problems that took years to return to normalcy, to reach anywhere near his uncle's reputation. But Ray Price himself had other ideas - by the time he walked out of the Zimbabwean Cricket team with other rebels in 2004, he had already established himself as one of the leading spinners in the world, a wicket taking marvel in tests and run containing bowling machine in ODIs. Ever since his comeback in late 2007 to Zimbabwe fold, Price has played the role of "cheif mentor" for the young and developing Zimbabwe national squad to perfection, and in 2009, he not only continued his stingy run containing habits in ODIs, but took wicket...

M - Maruma Stakes Claim There are just too many quality spinners in Zimbabwe at the moment, and the national team fields a three-pronged spin attack of skipper Utseya, Ray Price and Graeme Cremer very often in ODIs these days. Lack of quality seam bowling options could be one reason for this strategy, but inability to leave out one of these three, since none of them deserve to sit out, could well be another. But add to this mix another set of spinning options in Timycen Maruma, John Nyumbu and up and coming Dylon Higgins, and you have luxury. Maruma has sensed the need to step up a gear and be at his best every time he takes the field in domestic competitions, and as a result has done exceedingly well with both bat and ball, thus pushing the selectors to sit up and take notice. Maruma has played for Zimbabwe before, but due to the spin luxury of the national team, has found it difficult to make the cut for now. He has scored big and quick runs with the bat in the 2009/10 domestic seaso...

J - Jarvis Junior Jumps in from Nowhere! Kyle Jarvis, son of former Zimbabwe player Malcolm Jarvis, was picked out of nowhere to represent Zimbabwe in their home series against Kenya. In what is believed to be a masterstroke by the newly appointed bowling coach, the legendary all-rounder Heath Streak, Jarvis was first made to play the 4-day intercontinental cup match for Zimbabwe XI agianst the Kenyans, and was straightaway pushed into the playing eleven for the first ODI. He neither had First Class experience before playing in the Intercontinental Cup match, nor the List A experience before playing in the ODI against Kenya, but did admirably well in his first outing, getting 3/36 in his 7 overs. Jarvis has since played a total of 9 ODIs including those against the mighty South Africans, and has taken 10 wickets so far. He is seen as the future of the Zimbabwe pace battery, and probably that drove the board to fast track him on to the national scene, to avoid losing him to South Africa...

G - Graeme Cremer creams Kenya This was the breakthrough year for the affable leg spinner Alexander Graeme Cremer. He made his much awaited ODI debut in January 2009, four years after making his Test debut against Bangladesh, and created history straightaway. Cremer, who had taken a wicket with his first ball on his T20 International debut against Canada in 2008, took a wicket on the sixth ball of his first over on his ODI debut against Kenya, thus becoming the only bowler in the history of the game to pick up a wicket in his first over in two out of three international forms of the game. Cremer's year continued to be a bright one, and the icing on the cake came in the second home ODI against the Kenyans at Harare , where he weaved magic to pick 6/46 in his quota of 10 overs, eclipsing the performances of the legendary Ray Price and a more established Prosper Utseya on that day. His all round abilities were on display earlier in the match, as he had scored a breezy 31 of 19 balls t...

D - Dylon's Dream Domestic Debut Dylon Higgins, younger brother of former Zimbabwe leg spinner Ryan, is an up and coming leggie and a middle order batsman himself, hailing from the prestigious St. Georges. He will be leading the Zimbabwean Under 19 team in the U-19 world cup early next year in New Zealand, and he probably sealed the captaincy when he made his first class debut for his franchise Midwest Rhinos at the end of October. He had been one of the most consistent performers with the ball with admirable control for a leggie in his U-19 outings this year, which would have convinced the Rhinos to sign him up for their squad. What he achieved on his first class debut, though, was something even the Rhinos management would not have dreamt of. With most of the Rhinos squad away with national duty or sidelined due to injury, their bowling looked horribly weak without Cremer and Rainsford. Higgins took the field as the lead spinner for the match, and by the end of it, his overall bo...

This series aims to provide a review of the year that was for Zimbabwe Cricket in 2009. Here is the first part... A - Alistair and Co. Back in Business Alistair Campbell, David Houghton, Heath Streak, David Mutendera, Dirk Viljoen, John Rennie: All yesteryear stars, came back to the ZC fold by taking up high profile roles, with one intention - to bring back Zimbabwean Cricket to its glory days. In line with the recommendations made by the ICC and quite possibly to position themselves better in view of the new unity government in Zimbabwe, the ZC officials took many steps in right direction this year, and the legends of the past responded by burying the past and came together to rebuild the game in the country. While Campbell joined in as the chairman of selectors, Viljoen, Mutendera and Rennie joined him in the panel. Houghton agreed to be the technical advisor and director of national coaching, with Andrew Waller assisting him. Heath Streak too returned as the national bowling coach a...