Andrew
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
IT is funny to think that Aaron Finch and Regis Chakabva were still in their late teens when Zimbabwe last toured Australia for a cricket series in 2004.
It was during the VB Series, a triangular series featuring Zimbabwe, India and hosts Australia.
And Chakabva was seven months shy of his 17th birthday and still four years off his international debut.
Finch, on the other hand, was looking forward to his 18th birthday and still seven years away from bursting onto the international scene.
Since then both men have gone on to carve careers so distinctive that they now hardly need a comparison.
Finch built a reputation for himself as a white-ball cricketer and one of the top Twenty-20 players of his generation.
Now 35, he is approaching the twilight of his international career, having played 140 ODIs and scored 5 375 runs and 17 centuries.
Chakabva has only played a modest 58 ODIs, with his maiden century arriving last month.
Under normal circumstances, no comparison should be made between the duo.
But, for some reason, here we are
Today marks the beginning of the long-awaited three-match ODI series between the two nations, a match-up slated for August 28-September 4 and one that has serious Super League and 2023 Cricket World Cup ramifications for at least one of them.
Australia and Zimbabwe find themselves at opposite ends of the Super League log standings, much like their respective captains, who find themselves at different ends of the spectrum.
The hosts are in eighth position with 70 points from 12 games and still have a realistic chance of sealing one of the eight available automatic slots for next year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.
Zimbabwe are 12th with 35 points from 18 matches and their hopes have been fading with each ODI encounter.
It’s one of many sub-plots of the Chevrons’ first visit to Australia in nearly 20 years.
Among the more glaring stories is the batting frailties of the teams’ captains Chakabva and Finch.
This has also been a major talking point in Australia. While Finch fields questions about it with respect, he insists he is not bothered about what has been written or said.
“What other people think of me personally or how I’m playing, it’s actually irrelevant to me,’’ he was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au
Finch’s form has remained an issue of interest. In four of his last seven ODI innings, he has fallen for a duck (two of the other innings have been 44 and 62) and there is probably enough evidence to suggest he is past his prime.
However, it would take a big change now for him not to be captain in India next year, a tournament that could define his international swansong.
Unless something drastic happens in the next few months, questions about his form and place in the team are set to persist until the World Cup.
Still, with Travis Head – who is missing the Zimbabwe and New Zealand series on paternity leave – making a strong case for a permanent spot, it would be timely for Finch to put a couple of big scores on the board. Chakabva’s batting numbers are also complicated
His century against Bangladesh has gone some way to waylay some of the concerns over his place in the team, and captaincy to some extent.
However, the team’s batting performances, particularly as it pertains to the top-order, remain the Chevrons’ Achilles Heel.
“It’s not a secret that we have struggled a bit lately with getting good starts, and it is something that we have been constantly talking about and constantly working on.
“At the end of the day, cricket is still a team sport, and the batters know that they are responsible for putting runs on the board.
“The only thing we can do at the moment is to continue to back the guys to work out a plan to do that and put the team in a good starting position.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle, we are not running away from that, but it’s important to note that the guys are constantly working on that and trying to come up with answers,” Chakabva said.
To put into perspective Chakabva’s argument, one would need to look at the just-ended three-match ODI series against India.
In that series the Chevrons opened the batting with Takudzwa Kaitano, Innocent Kaia and Tadiwanashe Murumani and none of them managed to make so much as a dent on the scoreboard as they finished with a total of 54 runs collectively.
In fact, much of Zimbabwe’s runs came from the trio of middle-order batters Sikandar Raza (143), Sean Williams (88), and, surprisingly, lower-order batter Brad Evans (70).
This is juxtaposed to India’s top order, and in particular, openers Shikhar Dhawan (154) and Shubman Gill (245) doing much of the donkey work for their team.
The two even featured in an opening stand of 192 off 185 balls that saw India race to a 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first match.
Given Chakabva’s assertion that cricket is a team sport, captains will have plenty of match-winners, both old and new, to pick from.
Finch is set to welcome leg spinner Adam Zampa, fresh off paternity leave, for both the back-to-back ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
Zampa missed Australia’s Sri Lanka tour due to the birth of his first child and returns to bolster Australia’s spin ranks, while Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott and Marcus Stoinis come back into the team.
Apart from having the usual match winners like Raza and Sean Williams to pick from, Chakabva is set to welcome back seamer Blessing Muzarabani, who seems to have recovered from a thigh muscle tear.
“Blessing’s return is a massive confidence booster for us as he is a world-class bowler and what he brings to the team is very important.
“We have no doubt that he will be a very important part of what we hope to be a good tour.
“We are very much excited about his return,” he said.
Chakabva underscored the importance of the Australia tour, which will be a first for many of the young players.
“It’s the first time (touring and visiting Australia) for a lot of the guys, and there is an excitement within the team.
“For any person visiting Australia for the first time, there is the issue of adjusting to the time difference, the conditions on the pitch and we have had a couple of sessions as a team in the lead up to the first ODI.
“Playing Australia and on their home soil is not an easy feat, so we have spoken as a team about the pressure and tried to calm the youngsters down.
“They (Australia) have a lot of big name players, guys who have played at the highest level for a very long time, and so the trick will be stick to our game plan and not play names.
“Keep it basic and stay confident has been the instruction,” Ckakabva said.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu