Zimbabwe return with a fighting captain
There is a great deal of pride in leading one’s country onto the cricket field, but being captain of Zimbabwe must be like wearing a crown of thorns. And yet, the young Brendan Taylor can take some pride in the way his team has performed of late. He was appointed captain after the World Cup earlier this year and has led them in three home series against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand.
He did not have the greatest of times in the World Cup, having scored 170 runs in six matches, but since then he has made three centuries and three fifties in 11 ODI games. That is impressive enough for even the best batsmen in the world and Taylor seems to stand out in a Zimbabwe side that still needs to be strong enough to compete with the best.
| Brendan Taylor | Runs | Innings | Average | Strike rate |
| Career ODIs | 3,985 | 128 | 34.65 | 71.87 |
| Career Tests | 780 | 26 | 31.20 | 51.86 |
| Career T20Is | 295 | 13 | 29.50 | 114.78 |
Bangladesh tour
| ODIs | 123 | 5 | 24.60 | 64.73 |
| Test | 176 | 2 | 176.00 | 52.07 |
Pakistan tour
| ODIs | 140 | 3 | 46.67 | 72.53 |
| Test | 15 | 2 | 7.50 | 57.69 |
| T20Is | 20 | 2 | 10.00 | 111.11 |
New Zealand tour
| ODIs | 310 | 3 | 310.00 | 106.89 |
| Test | 167 | 2 | 83.50 | 51.79 |
| T20Is | 51 | 2 | 51.00 | 100.00 |
He had mixed series against Bangladesh and Pakistan, but his performances against New Zealand were near faultless. He struggled in the ODIs against Bangladesh, although he did score a century in the fourth match, an innings that rescued his average somewhat in a series where his other scores were 10, 3, 4 and a duck.
But in the Test match that preceded the ODI series he registered his first century in the ultimate form of that game, with a 105 not out, which he bettered later against New Zealand.
The Pakistanis gave him the most trouble; he barely got off the mark in the Test match or the two T20Is, but did manage a half-century in the ODIs. This series was probably the most disappointing for him, as he was unable to score runs and his team lost every single encounter with the visitors.
Playing against fellow seconds team Bangladesh does not have the same ring as playing against an Australia or India, but Zimbabwe’s performances against that side were encouraging to anyone following their progress. A Test win in their comeback to the 5-day game and a 3-2 ODI series victory were laudable achievements.
And although they only won one one-day match against the Kiwis when they came on tour, they were not completely outplayed. Taylor scored two unbeaten centuries in the first two ODIs and then a dashing 75 in the third to help his team to a record win. He was clearly the Man-of-the-Series and was also the best batsman by Batting Momentum on the Castrol Index, having scored more than a hundred runs more than the next best batsman. The Test match was one of the more exciting ones we have seen this year and Zimbabwe have earned admiration for their gung-ho effort in trying to win the match instead of playing out for a draw. They lost by only 34 runs and it was because of a century from Taylor that they got anywhere close to the target. If that is a different mindset brought about by the new captain, then that is something to celebrate.
These three series were all at home and Taylor’s big test will come when Zimbabwe travel to New Zealand for a return tour in January. What can we expect? It is impossible to say, but we hope to see some more fight from Zimbabwe and their new captain.
