Return of Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis might bolster Zimbabwe’s revival
Jul 19, 2017 at 5:15 PM
African minnows Zimbabwe might be bolstered by the return of at least one of their former star players Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis with the talks between the duo and the Zimbabwe Cricket Board at an advanced stage. Zimbabwe’s impressive performance in both the Test and ODI series against much higher ranked Sri Lanka very recently could help the team make more strides in international cricket when ICC chairman Shashank Manohar visits the country next month.
Manohar is scheduled to meet the Zimbabwe officials from the government to seek their assurance of hosting the ICC 2019 World Cup Qualifiers in the country next year. The ICC had conditionally awarded the tournament to Zimbabwe ahead of UAE and a joint bidding from Ireland and Scotland. Hosting the Qualifiers will definitely help Zimbabwe qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
Zimbabwe’s hopes will be heavily reliant on the future of Taylor and Jarvis and their return will surely make the team a stronger unit. They have already shown what they are capable of and the inclusion of those two stars might just be what the doctor had ordered Zimbabwe. While Jarvis who has played 8 Tests and 24 ODI’s joined Lancashire on a Kolpak deal in 2013, Brendan Taylor followed the same path and signed with Nottinghamshire following the 2015 World Cup.
Both players were unhappy with the way the game was administered in the country when they left but the system has improved under the governance of chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani. The appointment of Heath Streak and Tatenda Taibu to vital positions have brought the much-needed stability in the group.
Both players have requested for multi year contracts despite the fact that ZC generally awards yearly contracts to its players but they might change their mind keeping in mind the future development of Zimbabwe cricket. Jarvis (28) and Taylor (31) are relatively younger and once they terminate their Kolpak deal they won’t be able to regain it.
It is apprehended that the cash flow is still very tight in Zimbabwe and they might not afford two players all of a sudden but there is a genuine belief that Taylor might make a return to the national squad in the upcoming two match Test series against the Windies scheduled to be played in November.