19 February 2011
Zimbabwe wicketkeeper tiny Tatenda Taibu says the World Cup minnows aren’t afraid of anyone, especially Australia.
And despite the prospect of having Shaun Tait send down 155 km/h thunderbolts at their batsmen on Monday, the Zimbabweans can justifiably point out they’ve face bigger threats to life and limb.
“What we’ve decided to do is not target of be afraid of any teams, just give the best we can on any day,” Taibu told reporters in Ahmedabad as his side prepared for their opening match against Ricky Ponting’s defending world champions.
Ranked No.11 in one-day internationals and excluded from Test cricket since 2005 because of political turmoil under President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe cricket has suffered enormous upheaval.
Things are certainly starting to look up, at least on the surface.
Taibu was named Test captain in 2004 following the resignation of Heath Streak. A year later, the wicketkeeper/batsman had quit Zimbabwe following a dispute between the players and the board.
Having received threats which he perceived to be from people linked with the board, he made noises in 2006 about trying to qualify to play for South Africa.
By 2007 he was back playing for Zimbabwe.
“If we’re really looking for (the improvement) of Zimbabwe cricket we have to all be in agreement,” Taibu says.
“I compare it to life in a family. You always have disagreements but if you can come back and sit at the table and discuss the way forward it’s the way to go.”
The imposing figure of Streak, whose father was imprisoned by Mugabe’s men in 2002 when he refused to surrender the family farm, has returned as bowling coach.
Grant Flower, whose career was cut short by internal politics, is back as batting coach.
Alistair Campbell, another former Zimbabwe skipper whose career ended prematurely, is chairman of selectors and recruited Streak back into the team structure.
Campbell had been approached in 2009 by unity government sports minister David Coltart. Campbell wanted a guarantee he’d be free to pick his teams on merit, not skin colour.
“I had to get the old guard back because there was no manpower left to coach the new generation,” Campbell said in The Australian newspaper on Saturday.
“So I had to make sure that they were coming back to the real deal.'”
Streak said he was initially sceptical, but ultimately it was about “keeping cricket alive in Zimbabwe”.
Flower wanted to know what was the role of Mugabe, the Zimbabwe cricket board patron.
He was told Mugabe had no involvement.
“I was OK by that. When I first asked my brother Andy (the England coach) about it, he told me to think about it and take my time, but the more he thought, the more he gave me his blessing,” Flower said.
Taibu, all 165cm of him, is confident Zimbabwe can have an impact in the World Cup and in Test cricket again.
He’s a livewire in the field and a crowd favourite.
“It’s something that you can’t really control, but wherever I go I seem to find favour with the crowds,” he says.
“I try to be bubbly and give the best that I can, but besides that I try to forget about myself and focus on encouraging the others guys whether we’re playing badly or playing well. “Because of that, I’ve always been seen as the Jack Russell type (after the retired England wicketkeeper), so to speak.
“I’ve always played well against the tougher opponents. The two (ODI) hundreds I’ve got were against South Africa, so I like tough opponents and quick bowling.
“I enjoy playing against Australia because they’re tough opponents and they won’t give you anything for free.
“It’s been hard staying away from Test cricket but we’re scheduled to start again this year so we’re really looking forward to that.
“I think we’re ready. If the first-class competition keeps developing the way it is the transition back into Test cricket won’t be as hard as we think it will be.”
Taibu, 27, says the players had a team meeting to establish a few rules regarding their World Cup campaign.
“We had a chat, just the players away from the coaching staff, and we asked ourselves ‘How bad do we really want it?’,” he said. “We’ve got some rules we said we’re going to abide by so that when we go back, be it that we haven’t qualified for the second round or that we’ve gone all the way to the semi-finals, we want to get back on the plane and know that we’ve left nothing to chance.”
Taibu says the influences of Streak, Flower and Campbell are significant.
“Where we faltered before is that we have guys that have really done well in international cricket and have gone away,” he said. “But to have the same guys coming back it helps a lot because they know the system back in Zimbabwe, know the players and have played plenty of international cricket.
“That information will really have an impact on the guys that are coming through.”