zimbabwe

Stephen Mangongo: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Stephen Mangongo is warily hunting the Bengal tigers on their home turf.

What he said:

“They are called the tigers, which is a tough animal; you mess around with a tiger, it kills you. We have to respect tigers, especially in their own forest.”

It is the battle of the minnows of Test cricket; Zimbabwe tour Bangladesh playing three Tests and five ODIs.

Although the South African nation has a winning record against the South East Asian country, their coach Stephen Mangongo is unwilling to underestimate their capabilities.

The Zimbabwean side are visiting abroad for only the third time since their return to Test cricket three years ago.

What he really meant:

 “I don’t care what the Bangladeshis are elsewhere; at home, they are a handful. Tigers at home are dangerous indeed.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“The Zimbabwean cricket squad wholeheartedly supports the WWF campaign: ‘Save Tigers Now.'”

Gavin Larsen: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Gavin Larsen

What he said:

“What we did was in the first game of the tournament, we were playing the Yellow Team. We just called them the Yellow Team. We played Zimbabwe at Napier, we called them the Red Team. Pakistan was the Green Team. That made us focus on what we needed to do as a team to beat that Yellow Team. That took away some of the emotion.”

Former New Zealand seam-up bowler, Gavin Larsen, reveals the psychological mindset behind the extraordinary performance of the Kiwis team at the ’92 World Cup.

He said:

“We had some good experience in the team. A lot of guys had played a lot of cricket domestically and for New Zealand. It wasn’t a young, raw, immature team. First and foremost, there was some mental strength across the individuals in the team. The other thing that I do remember is how Martin Crowe insisted that we depersonalised each of the teams. New Zealand has played Australia in the past and you can get caught in the Trans-Tasman hype – playing the old enemy from across the ditch.”

Russell and Martin Crowe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What he really meant:

 “We, of course, were the All-Blacks. It wasn’t that hard a stretch to color code our opponents. And we certainly made them eat Crowe.”

What he definitely didn’t:

 “How’s that for Emotional Intelligence?”

Dale Steyn: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

AB De Villiers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dale Steyn at a training session at the Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dale Steyn at a training session at the Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dale Steyn

What he said:

“We’re definitely not predictable. You bowled two overs the other day.”

Dale Steyn contradicts himself without seemingly realizing it. The lanky pace bowler commented on his teammate A B De Villiers bowling for only the second time ever in ODIs. South Africa were playing Zimbabwe in Harare.

AB De Villiers recently came out strongly against Australian sledging terming it “personal.”

De Villiers said:

“There was lots of personal stuff and certain guys take it in a different way. I see that it’s part of the game… but they can’t expect us to be mates with them off the field then, if they get very personal.”

The South African skipper was referring to comments made during the third Test in Cape Town.

David Warner, meanwhile, apologized for accusing De Villiers of ball-tampering during the series.

Warner said:

“Obviously with myself coming out and saying the comment about AB de Villiers probably wasn’t the smartest thing, and I regret saying that.We set a standard where we want to go out there and play aggressive and hard cricket and not cross the line.

There are some times you do nudge that line a fair bit and the odd occasion you might step over that, but you do have to realize that we’re out there to win.

We do like to be aggressive and sledging is a form of the game when we’re out there.”

What Steyn really meant:

“Wasn’t that a pleasant surprise? …AB bowling two overs. I certainly didn’t expect that.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Outliers… by Malcolm Gladwell—yeah, that’s my favorite read.”

Rodney Hogg: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Rodney Hogg

What he said:

At least when Zimbabwe beat us in '83 we were drinking cans the night before. And lots of them.

— Rodney Hogg (@RMHogg) September 1, 2014

The former Australian fast bowler was reacting to Australia’s first defeat to Zimbabwe in 31 years in an ODI game.

What he really meant:

“We were canned then and we were caned now.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Red Bull,anyone?”

Alan Butcher: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

"Now I know what it means when they say you smell like a brewery."

Alan Butcher does not mind reeking of liquor when it happens in a good cause (and celebration). Zimbabwe won their one-off Test at home against Bangladesh on Aug 8,2011, their first five day game in six years.

What he really meant:

“It’s the sweet, heady taste of victory. Can’t you scent it?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I wish they would produce perfumed alcohol. Maybe a fruity brew next time. They do use alcohol in perfumes, don’t they? Why not vice versa?”

Tatenda Taibu: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

“Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has just painted a house that’s about to fall.”

Zimbabwean cricketer, Tatenda Taibu, slammed the country’s cricket administration claiming that the return to Test cricket is mere eyewash and that the very edifice is crumbling. “”When you walk around and you see a house that’s painted well, you will think that house is really standing strong but if does not have a strong foundation, it will fall down one day or another.” said the wicketkeeper batsman. Zimbabwe take on Bangladesh at Harare on the 4th of August, 2011 followed by four ODIs.

What he really meant:

“Painting a creaky building just makes it a prettier ruin. It’s merely papering over the cracks—to use a better metaphor.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I have no history or issues with the Zimbabwean cricketing setup.”

Team selection for the Asian Games at Guangzhou: BCCI miss their cue

Image via Wikipedia

The BCCI have been roundly criticised for their decision to abstain from the 16th Asian Games at Guangzhou. India are the only major Asian cricketing superpower to not send a team. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have squads representing their respective countries.

The BCCI bailed out claiming that they did not want to send a second string team since the Games clashed with the India – New Zealand Test and ODI series. The Ranji trophy is also scheduled around the same time—sending a team would rob the tournament of it’s sheen.