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Brendan Taylor raises his bat - Source: Photosport -
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The clearest indication of the problems in Zimbabwe cricket didn't come in any of their six straight defeats to New Zealand across the three formats of the game this summer.
Strangely enough, it came during a tri-series match in Perth between India and Sri Lanka last week. At one stage, the commentators revealed that the two sides had played each other more often in ODIs since 2000 than any other - 68 times in fact. The next most frequent rivalry? Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, with 52 matches.
As much as anything, that statistic sums up why the gulf between the tourists and the Black Caps is so wide. With all due respect to the ever-improving Bangladeshis, you can't ever expect to compete with the best if you're not playing against the best.
That's why you won't find this writer queuing up behind the so-called experts in churlishly sticking the boot into Zimbabwe. Quite the opposite actually, because their tour has been beneficial to both sides.
Beneficial to the New Zealanders because Zimbabwe's obliging medium-pacers and leaden-footed batsmen have provided an ideal warm-up for the summer's main course: a three-Test series against South Africa.
Take Martin Guptill for example. By the end of the Australian tour he couldn't buy a run; now he's in the form of his life. We also have Zimbabwe to thank for the resurgence of Chris Martin and the emergence of the likes of Rob Nicol and Andrew Ellis.
The cricketing public too should be grateful for providing the hosts the opportunity not only to entertain, but to improve on their recent lamentable record in all three forms of the game. Heck, if England rugby fans can trumpet two mediocre come-from-behind wins against Scotland and Italy as the dawning of a new era, why can't we celebrate our cricketers beating up on minnows too?
Most importantly, the tour will be of great benefit to Zimbabwe, for the reason mentioned at the outset. Ask the likes of Brendan Taylor how many of those 52 ODIs against Bangladesh he can remember and he probably wouldn't manage more than a handful.
The Zimbabweans will remember this tour, for sure. They won't be happy memories, but to borrow another awful sporting cliche, you learn a lot more from defeats than from victories. The Black Caps are hardly cricketing deities themselves but they'll still have imparted a few lessons on their weaker counterparts.
Don't forget this was Zimbabwe's first Test tour abroad in more than a decade - they may as well have landed on Mars and been expected to front up against a local Cydonia XI with only one warm up game under their belt.
And don't doubt for a second that they'd rather be touring here than playing Bangladesh every 15 minutes. It's the same reason a non-league football team would rather play Manchester United than a fellow no-name club in the FA Cup. Every player wants a chance to shine on the biggest stage, and every fan wants to see them shine.
The bottom line is that Zimbabwe will never improve unless they're playing quality opposition and even if 2012 was a bridge too far from them, who knows how much more competitive they'll be next time.
How ironic that many of those proclaiming them the worst touring team ever probably said the same about past Bangladeshi sides, only for the sub-continental minnows to hammer the Black Caps 4-0 in an ODI series in 2010.
Whether or not Zimbabwe were the worst team ever to tour here is academic. But the genuine cricket fans have appreciated some sparkling knocks from Brendan Taylor, the raw brutality of Hamilton Masakadza's strokeplay, Tatenda Taibu's slight of hand behind the stumps and the lion-hearted enthusiasm of paceman Kyle Jarvis.
There's one other thing that no one has thought to thank Zimbabwe for, and that's the excellent spirit in which this series was played. It's increasingly rare these days that a whole tour can go by without some sort of on-or-off-field controversy.
Captain Taylor should take much of the credit here. His demeanour might be suggestive of a man carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders, but he conducted himself superbly throughout; be it with with fans, media or the opposition.
Nor did his teammates complain about the workload, or turn their nose up at the greener-than-usual New Zealand pitches, or scrap with locals in bars. Even when their bowling and fielding was ragged to the point of farce, never did they give the impression that they were simply going through the motions. They were committed to their cricket and while they lacked in ability, they certainly did not lack in effort.
So instead of saying good riddance, we should be thanking Zimbabwe for coming, wishing them all the best in what will no doubt continue to be a rocky road back into the Test arena, and hoping they provide a genuine challenge when next they return to our shores.
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Post new commentsheps said on 2012-02-16 @ 08:04 NZDT: Report abusive post
yes absolutely,, it was great entertainment for me as a kiwi to see the blackcaps do so well,, it doesn't matter that Zimbabwe looked ordinary,, thats what strong opposition can do to teams.. It's very satisfying to see our boys completely dominate another team.. Of course it gets more interesting when the games are closer,, but who cares - we whipped their butt..
kelvynstevens said on 2012-02-15 @ 17:07 NZDT: Report abusive post
Well, I went to both games in Napier, the Test and the One Dayer and had a splendid time. Zimbabwe weren't really ever in the game, but just as when NZ get hammered by someone, I am sure they will strive to improve.