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Brendan Taylor has confirmed to the Melbourne Leader that, while he's keen to continue playing international cricket for Zimbabwe, he won't be doing so while the current ZC board is in place, citing a lack of any development opportunities and falling standard caused by the board's mismanagement:

"There’s too many of the wrong people running cricket in Zimbabwe ... it’s very frustrating because for the last four years there has been no development at all. There’s no first-class or league structure. We’ve got a very talented, up-and-coming side, but it will take at least five years before there’s any improvement, because there is no development taking place. I guess I’m in a fortunate situation in that I am still young and there isn’t a lot to choose from at the moment, so if we do get back, hopefully I get an opportunity again."

Taylor is currently playing for North Melbourne in the Victorian Premiere League.
Melbourne Leader - Keen, but out of Africa

Walter Chawaguta has spoken to The Herald about his side's performances in Canada and Kenya, and while taking some positives from the tours - particularly the thrashings delivered to Ireland and Canada - he also pins the side's failure against Kenya on failing to following the gameplan and subsequently panicking.

The win against Ireland was particularly sweet, as Zimbabwe see Ireland's ODI ranking - currently above Zimbabwe in 10th - as their own and wanted to teach them a lesson:

"There’s been a lot of hype about Ireland wanting to be in the ODI top 10, they want to take our place and that’s probably where there are at the moment. They’ve been putting a lot of work into their preparations, they’ve been playing a lot of cricket lately.

"We felt it was an opportunity to put them in their place and stake our claim to be in the Top 10 where we belong although we are not there at the moment due to lack of games. That was the motivation behind the big win against Ireland and it was unfortunate that we didn’t get to play them for the second time."

He hands appropriate praise to the side's bowlers and criticism to the batmen, who he hold responsible for the losses to Kenya and Pakistan:

"I believe we have the guys who can do very well in the middle, batsmen who can implement our plan of keeping the ball on the ground while running hard between the wickets in the middle of the innings. We have the likes of Tatenda Taibu, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Elton Chigumbura and Keith Dabengwa who are really quick, always on the lookout to convert singles into twos.

"But at the moment the problem is that we haven’t been consistent. We’ve got a game plan, whether we are chasing or setting but unfortunately against Pakistan and Kenya it was a case of guys putting themselves under a lot of pressure and then panicking. In the end, they went against the game plan of keeping the ball on the ground and running very hard without giving away wickets."

Surely these guys are experienced enough now that they shouldn't be buckling under pressure? It also can't be argued that the batting has been a serious problem for a while now - the problems the guys showed during this tour aren't new. We've been through the Zimbabwe Collapse™ any number of times now, and it's becoming tiresome. While the bowling was better, it also wasn't blameless, as the side's failure to take regular wickets against Kenya was also a major factor in Zimbabwe's defeat - so while Chawaguta does have some cause for optimism, he's also missing the point in some areas, and that doesn't give me much cause for hope that he'll be able to solve the team's problems.
The Herald - Chawaguta on Ireland rout

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik seems to have learnt a lesson from last year's World Twenty20, and claim he and his side will not be underestimating either Canada or Zimbabwe going into next month's Canada Cup competition.

"I don't think they are weak teams. Any team can deliver on any given day in this version of the game. We saw that happen in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last year."

That would be a reference to Zimbabwe's defeat of Australia, no doubt. Of course, there are serious doubts as to whether Zim's match-winner for that game, Brendan Taylor, will be available for this tourney.
Cricket365 - Malik Wary Of Zimbabwe And Canada

The series was always intended as a developmental exercise, so I'm not going to be too critical of the Zimbabwe Board XI's failure to score a win in their recent series - and their coach, Steven Mangongo, is being equally pragmatic. In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent, Mangongo points to the good that can be taken from the series, while admitting that the side did have its weaknesses, particularly in the batting department:

"In the second game, we scored 300 runs plus in two innings after being bowled for less than 200 in the first. In fact, we saw quite a few 50s from guys like Bonaparte (Mujuru) Timycen (Maruma), Regis (Chakabva) and Friday (Kasteni). So you definitely can see on the graph that the boys are learning the demands of Test cricket."

Twice in the second four-dayer and once in the second one-dayer the Board XI got into winning positions but ended up losing both matches, a factor Mangongo attributed to inexperience:

"It shows the boys are not experienced. When you get into strong positions like that you need guys that are experienced to kill off the game. When you bowl to tail-enders it must be full and straight. This can only be done by experienced players. Most of the Pakistan Academy players have played an average of 50 first-class matches. It was virtually the Pakistan A side minus just a few players, so they know how to kill a game. Our guys don’t play enough longer-version games. The remedy here is to play more international four-day games. You must have consistency. If you only get to play again after six months it’s like you are starting afresh. We must be careful not to kill the momentum."

...meaning there's a need for more of these matches to be arranged, but as yet there are none on the calendar. Here's hoping ZC get their act together and get them arranged.
Zimbabwe Independent - Zim Board XI Coach Sees Positive Side

The Zimbabwe Independent has a short Q&A with Jackie du Preez, who played Test cricket for South Africa in 1967 (when Rhodesian players where eligible for SA selection) and who is now a member of ZC's selection panel. Nothing controversial, but worth a look. You can find the interview here.

The Zimbabwe Independent carries a lengthy interview with new Zimbabwe coach Walter Chawaguta today, which also details the new boss's path to the post. While also talking about his hopes for the side, Chawaguta is clear about one thing: the current squad of players needs to be kept intact:

The investment which has been put on the players cannot be quantified, so we can’t afford to lose any more players. I want to have players who play for the team and for each other; players who demand the highest standards of themselves. What that translates into is a team which is not happy to win one match in a series, but the series itself.

Hopefully his superiors at ZC are listening, especially with regards to the Brendan Taylor situation. He also seems determined to maintain the hard-work ethic that predecessor Robin Brown also believed in:

"I am a firm believer in hard-work. I believe if you spend time in training, quality training, things become easier in a match situation and you are able to handle the pressure situations easier."

There's plenty more in the full interview, linked below:
Zimbabwe Independent - New Zim Cricket Coach Speaks Out

In an interview with the Sunday News, Tatenda Taibu has spoken of his time with the Kolkata Knight Riders, and seems to have enjoyed the experience, despite only getting limited match time:

"It was great sharing the changing room with other international stars from all over the world. I definitely learnt a lot and will be sharing with the guys here in the country so that we improve."

"I was picked as a batsman and not as a wicketkeeper batsman, so it was all to do with how I performed with the bat. Besides Wriddhiman Saha kept it (wicket) really well and it would have been silly to change that ... It was always going to be tough for me to play all the games considering the fact that they only allowed four overseas players in a team."

Full article at the Sunday News site for the rest of the week.
Sunday News - Taibu relishes IPL experience

The Zimbabwe Independent have a feature on upcoming player Prosper Tsvanhu, who interestingly first got hooked on the match while a pupil at one of my old schools, Marondera High - although it was only on transferring to Ellis Robins High in Harare that he really took up the game & was quickly picked up by Millennium Sports Club.

There's a lot in the piece, so I'm not going to repeat it here - but it's well worth a read.
Zimbabwe Independent - The Way To 'Prosper'

After laying into ZC's financial woes, the Sunday Mail has another piece, this time looking at what ZC are doing to help the national side on their way back to Test cricket. Supported by quotes from coach Robin Brown, their line seems to be that it's not time yet (although it seems ZC forgot to tell them that the India tour has been cancelled). Asked on if he thought the current side was ready, Brown was quite clear:

“I don't think we're anywhere near there yet. I think the more of these four-day games we play the better we'll get. There has been an improvement. The concentration levels are rising; the bowlers are bowling better lines. But I don't think you become a Test player over 12 games. County players are playing that in a season and will have played quite a few more before they reach Test level.

""I think [repeated heavy defeats] knocks the confidence. I really do. I think you've got to get guys in the top six making hundreds on a regular basis before thrusting them into Test cricket and we haven't been doing that.

"I don't think our local league helps us. The talent is spread too wide with 14 first league sides which is too many given that we don't have 150 to 160 first-class players. When you haven't got anyone aged 25 to 30 playing for you (aside from Gary Brent and Ray Price), there's a missed generation there. Those are the guys that should be playing league. Your Stuart Carlisles and Trevor Grippers and teaching the guys as they go along. But suddenly you take all of that experience out of the way and expect these guys to fill the breach with no playing experience. It makes it hard. It’s unfair to expect them to fill that gap straight away."

Nice to see that the coach is honest and not completely towing the party line. The plan still seems to be for Zim to return to Test cricket against Sri Lanka later in the year, but with no cricket currently scheduled between the end of May and the Sri Lanka tour, that's surely still too soon.
Sunday News - Is Zim ready for Test status?

The Sydney Morning Herald has an 'interview' with Peter Chingoka (or more accurately, the author's thoughts on an interview with him) in which the ZC chairman fights his corner over the recent KPMG audit - and it has to be said, his arguments aren't all that convincing:

"Your company does its books, and sometimes money gets sent to the wrong places. We have adopted a new accounting protocol. We have taken immediate measures and asked Cricket South Africa to send one or two of its people to us and display their methods for keeping their accounts in order."

The difference is, in any other organisation, if several million US dollar (the amount alleged to be missing in some quarters) ended up in the "wrong place", there'd be heads rolling. The aricle is worth a read, although don't expect it to reveal to much you didn't already know.
Sydney Morning Herald - Players, money, credibility all gone but the Grinch who stole cricket lives on