Zimpapers Logo

for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Super Eight places, despite the 10-wicket mauling they received at the hands of New Zealand in Ahmedabad last week.
Taibu and his men have won just one, and lost two, of their Group A matches at the halfway stage of their World Cup campaign and, as they enter the final phase beginning with tomorrow’s tough tie against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, neutrals don’t fancy their chances of surviving beyond the last three games.
A committed fielding show against Australia was followed by a poor performance with the bat, as they chased a reasonable score, and while they were brilliant against Canada, the Zimbabweans were awful against New Zealand in a shocking performance described by skipper Elton Chigumbura as one of their worst in ODIs.
But Taibu, the diminutive wicket-keeper who also carries the weight of his team to bat very well, believes all hope is not lost as they take on Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Kenya to complete their Group A assignments.
The bubbly wicket-keeper, a competitive character widely recognised, and respected, across the entire global cricket family, rallied behind his men to get their game right, now that it matters most, and win their place in the Super Eight.
Zimbabwe have now settled in Kandy and will play both Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the Pallekele before flying back to India for a Kolkata date with Kenya at the Eden Gardens.
“We are definitely still not down or out,” said Taibu. “Just looking at the faces of the guys you can see that we are not down at all.
“If we had been outclassed in the matches that we lost, while playing our best possible cricket, then I think the faces of the boys would be down.
“I was surprised with our performance against New Zealand. We should have played far better than we did. The injury to Sean Williams, on the morning of the match, didn’t help us either. We all know what Sean can do for the team down the order.
“We believe that in the last three games, we can get something out of it and we have to win at least two of the games to give ourselves a chance. We have got to go out there and try and do our best.”
Taibu said his team never targeted New Zealand as the weakest of the established sides in Group A, against whom they had a better chance of winning.
“Anyone who had believed that it would be easy against New Zealand, that they were an easy target in this World Cup, had been misled,” said Taibu.
“In a World Cup tournament you look at every team, you know they would be picking their best players, as opposed to a tournament where teams can try out some players to see how they perform.
“At the World Cup, every team that you meet, you are supposed to take them seriously and you need the same approach for Sri Lanka and Canada because there are no easy games at the World Cup.”
Given what has happened in the last three games, where is Taibu drawing his confidence that his team can turn it around?
“The bowlers are very confident because they have been able to restrict the opponents to reasonable scores,” said Taibu.
“As for the batsmen, I think we are gelling at the moment.
“It’s not an issue of technique or strategy but it’s just a mental thing, you know, which comes with such a competition like the World Cup.
“While a bowler can afford to make a mistake in one over and come back and correct in the next over, as a batsman you know that if you make a mistake, you are going straight to the changing rooms.
“So there is a bit of pressure that we seem to be applying to ourselves.
“We have taken some time to look at that.”
The former Zimbabwe skipper said his team might have taken longer to adjust to the new things they introduced coming into this World Cup.
“We did not come with our normal battling line-up. You know we usually open with Hamilton (Masakadza) and Brendan (Taylor) with Chamu (Chibhabha) coming in at three and Vusi (Sibanda) at four,” said Taibu.
“We have brought in a new strategy with Charles Coventry opening. It’s a position he needs time to adjust to. We knew that he would not just wake up and score a hundred but he is one of those players who can win you a game single-handedly.
“Obviously we have played enough cricket to be able to adjust to playing different roles but what we have so far failed to do is to adjust to pressure and we have made some silly mistakes here and there.
“It’s not a big issue really but we just need to fine-tune some areas and we will be fine.”
Taibu said he was fully behind Coventry, who has so far struggled in this tournament, and was not comfortable discussing whether or not the batsman should be dropped.
“It’s a call for the selectors to make and, personally, I don’t like discussing other players,” said Taibu.
“I would rather concentrate on my game and, my own game is not where I want it to be and I’m working to try and get it there.”
Zimbabwe will still need to win, at least, two of their remaining three matches and while a victory against Kenya looks possible, it’s getting one against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that is a problem.
Taibu believes all they need to do is to believe in themselves, knowing that if they play their best game, they could be a match to any team.
Little Canada gave Zimbabwe hope with the way they played Pakistan and it’s that kind of mentality, where they go into their next three games knowing that they can win, which Taibu wants from his teammates.
“At this stage, it’s all or nothing,” he said.
With all the Group A teams still with a number of matches to play, and a the possibility of teams cancelling out each other remaining high, it’s not yet Mission Impossible for Taibu and his men on the frontline.
But, before they think about what others can do, they need to sort out what they can do for themselves to put points on the board and that is why a victory over either Sri Lanka or Pakistan, in the Sri Lanka leg of their tour, is important.