admin
Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
FAST bowler Tendai Chatara has played up Zimbabwe’s chances of pulling through to the Super 12 stage at the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup which begins this weekend in Australia.
The Chevrons, who begin their campaign against Ireland on Monday, have never gone past the first round since the inception of the tournament in 2007.
But there is a renewed sense of belief in the squad and expectations are high back home as the team has been playing positive cricket in the last few months following the arrival of coach Dave Houghton.
The team was further boosted, ahead of the start of the tournament, by the return of four key players, including Chatara, from injury.
This is probably the first time this year all the players are available for selection following the recoveries of Blessing Muzarabani, Milton Shumba and skipper Craig Ervine.
The Chevrons face Ireland, Scotland and the West Indies in Group B.
“I am very confident. We have a very good bunch of players, and anyone can raise their hands at any given time. We missed a couple of players in the past series.
“The captain was injured, Blessing, myself and Shumba but the guys were still up to the task. Everyone is up for it; everyone is just waiting to get that chance and it’s always good to see.
“Now that all the guys are now fit and back, I think we now have a strong squad. So, I am really confident that we can win and go through to the main round,” said Chatara.
Zimbabwe are returning to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after missing last year’s event in the UAE and Oman. They are expecting a change of fortunes by going past the first round after trying without success in five previous editions.
Houghton has brought fresh inspiration on his second stint as Zimbabwe coach and morale is high in the camp. The Chevrons have won seven of their last eight T20I games in the last three months under Houghton.
They won five of the games during the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier held in Bulawayo in July and they went on to record a 2-1 series win over bogey side Bangladesh in Harare.
Unfortunately, Chatara suffered a collarbone fracture during the qualifying tournament that saw Zimbabwe book one of the last two spots for the T20 World Cup.
The 31-year-old spent two months on the sidelines because of the injury. He missed the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh at home and the visit by India for the three ICC Super League games. Chatara was also out recovering when Zimbabwe toured Australia and for three ODIs last month.
The fast bowler has a history of injuries, having fractured his left leg in 2015, then suffering an ankle injury in 2016, and hurting his quadriceps muscle more recently in 2018.
But his role in the team cannot be underestimated. He is Zimbabwe’s second highest wicket-taker in T20Is, with 47 strikes at an average of 22.97 and an economy rate of 7.34. Luke Jongwe, who is also part of the squad in Australia, has the most wickets with 48 scalps.
Together, they are expected to play the leading role with the ball along with Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans.
The Chevrons were expected to wind up their preparations yesterday with a warm-up game against Namibia at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.
However, the game was called off without a ball being bowled due to rains.
Zimbabwe, who lost to Sri-Lanka by 33 runs in their first official warm-up game on Tuesday, ended up having an indoor practice session as part of their preparations for the upcoming event.
The squad is set to shift base to Horbat, Tasmania, where they get their T20 World Cup campaign underway against Ireland in Group B on Monday.
They will take on the West Indies two days later and then round off their first-round action against Scotland next week Friday.
The top two teams from Group B will join the Super 12 stage, along with the top two teams from Group A which features Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Namibia.
Eight teams have a bye in the first round, and these include hosts and defending champions Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
Online Reporter