NATIONAL cricket team Test captain Brendan Taylor has revealed how he was initially “frustrated” at being relieved of the captaincy duties in limited-overs cricket after Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC)’s decision to split the captaincy of the national side across formats last month.
DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER
The move which was recommended by ZC’s cricket committee saw Taylor being retained as Test captain with Elton Chigumbura being appointed the limited-overs skipper.
With Zimbabwe not playing as much Test cricket as most of the countries who have adopted split captaincy, Taylor said he initially found the move “frustrating”.
“To be honest with you in the beginning it was a bit frustrating. We don’t play a lot of cricket compared to the other teams that have split captaincy,” Taylor said while commenting on the issue for the first time in an interview with our sister paper NewsDay Sport yesterday.
The 28-year-old right-handed batsman said he had now adapted well because of the cordial relationship he has with Chigumbura and was looking forward to working with him.
“In saying that, I have adapted nicely. I’ve always got along nicely with Elton. He’s obviously been there and done it before and we have a great relationship, so we will work closely together and make sure that we put the team first,” he said.
Taylor said he was excited with the competition for places in the national training squad after the selectors called up six uncapped players ahead of the lone Test and three one-day international against South Africa starting on Saturday.
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“It’s been exciting to see players who were not considered for national selection in the past putting their hands up and scoring some runs during the practice matches.
“It always leads to a healthy environment as it pushes the other players and in the end we get the best out of everyone in the side. The guys have put in some serious work in the last six to eight weeks leading up to this big day on Saturday.”
With South Africa recently promising a serious contest by naming a full strength side for the one-off Test in Harare, Taylor said they were looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s really special to have the best side in the world coming to play you in your home turf. There’s no better opportunity to gauge yourself as a cricketer than against the best side in the world,” he said.
“That’s an opportunity we are all relishing and hopefully we can see some players showcasing their skills and talents because we’ve got some really good players.”
