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Robson Sharuko
Senior Sports Editor
THIS time, 10 years ago, Zimbabwe’s Chevrons were wandering in the wilderness, and the darkness, having clocked six years of self-imposed exile from the Test cricket arena.
They were barely recognisable, as the free-spirited giant-killers, who used to charm the world.
These were challenging times and, the future, just like the immediate turbulent past, which had triggered the flight into exile, looked gloomy.
Six years earlier, the ZC leaders had been forced to shield the team, from the ruthlessness of Test cricket, after conceding they didn’t have the players to play at such a level.
The majority of the white players had rebelled against the establishment, amid the chaos which followed the sacking of then captain, Heath Streak, leaving the Chevrons with lightweight players, who struggled on the big stage.
The train, it appeared, had passed.
And, some critics had even started to write the epitaph, on their tombstone, amid fears the team would go down the drain like the Kenyans.
The East Africans who, somehow, disappeared from the scene, after reaching the 2003 World Cup semi-finals.
However, in August 2011, the Chevrons returned, to the elite league, with a one-off Test against Bangladesh, at Harare Sports Club.
And, to the amazement of many, they won by 130 runs.
Brendan Taylor scored 176 runs while Kyle Jarvis, Chris Mpofu and Brian Vitori shared 15 wickets, with each taking five, in this victory.
Zimbabwe also won the ODI series 3-2, with Vusi Sibanda scoring 242 runs, while Vitori took 11 wickets.
Fast forward, 10 years later, and the Chevrons find themselves basking in the glow of positive headlines, around the world, after their historic two-day demolition of Afghanistan, in Abu Dhabi, this week.
The more things change, it appears, the more they stay the same.
After all, it was a miserable defeat, by an innings and 294 runs, inside two days, at Harare Sports Club in August 2005, which brought into focus, the reality the Chevrons no longer had the standards, to play at this high level.
But, time is a healer and, watching the Chevrons explode, into a frenzy of joy, on Wednesday, after blasting their way into countless headlines, around the world, stunned by their demolition of Afghanistan, felt really good. For a change, their name was being spoken of, in positive light, after a Test match, which ended inside two days.
And, just as well, Blessing Muzarabani was one of the heroes of the Chevrons, with his pace and bounce, destroying Afghanistan, and playing a massive role, in his team’s victory.
Four years ago, Muzarabani was handed a baptism of fire, as he made his Test debut, in an historic pink ball four-day Boxing Day Test, which ended inside two days, in Port Elizabeth.
Ryan Burl, another member of the triumphant team in Abu Dhabi, also made his Test debut, in that match. However, the Chevrons were no match, for the hosts, who powered to an innings and 120-run win, in just four sessions, in the third shortest Test match, since World War II.
Aiden Markram’s 125, anchored the Proteas to 309/9 declared, with Muzarabani’s 13 overs, bearing no wickets, at the cost of 48 runs.
In reply, the Chevrons were bundled out for just 68, in 30.1 overs, with Jarvis their top-scorer, with 23 runs, while Burl contributed 16 runs.
Forced to follow on, the Zimbabweans were bundled out for 121, with Burl being dismissed for a duck, while Muzarabani scored four runs.
With only 907 balls, needed to get a result, this was the second shortest Test match, in terms of balls, in the past 55 years.
The South Africans needed to go back to 1889, for a Test match that needed fewer balls being bowled, on their home front, with the Cape Town Test having ended after just 796 balls.
At least, after their victory in Abu Dhabi, the Chevrons have been reading something positive, about their performance.
Burl’s animated celebrations, after taking a wicket, was a perfect illustration of the joy, which has now crept into this team.
It’s always good, to be on the right side of history and, that is why, the victory in Abu Dhabi really matters, for the Chevrons:
They have become part of the narrative, in the game, for the right reasons as their victory ensured that, for the first time, since 1889, two Test matches have been completed, inside just two days.
A week earlier, India had also hammered England, by 10 wickets, inside just two days, in Ahmedabad, with their spin bowlers, being the destroyers-in-chief.
Until India’s destruction of England, the last time a Test match had been completed, inside just two games, had been in 2017, with Zimbabwe on the receiving end, of that defeat at the hands of the Proteas.
The Chevrons were also hammered, within two days, by South Africa in Cape Town, in March, 2005, before they suffered the same fate, this time on home soil, at the hands of New Zealand, on August 7 and 8, at Harare Sports Club.
In the past 55 years, the England and India match was only the sixth Test, which had been completed, inside two days, and all those games have come, since 2000.
Interestingly, the Chevrons have featured in four of those matches, with their three defeats against the South Africans, and that comprehensive destruction, at the hands of New Zealand.
However, after their heroics in Abu Dhabi, the Chevrons know that their name will not only feature, when such short Tests are mention, on the losers’ side.
And, for a team, which just 10 years ago, was in the wilderness of Test cricket, this was a grand achievement.
It was yet another powerful signal that, bit by bit, the Chevrons are fighting to get back into the light.
“To win a Test match, in two days with a young side, is an extremely big feat for us as a team,” Williams said.
“And, for me, it’s huge.
“As I have got older, and taken on more responsibility as captain and a senior player, I started to understand more about my own game and leadership skills, and how important my performance is through tough times.
“As a leader, you can’t show weakness, you need to be strong.
“That’s a big thing for me. I’ve had it tough, I’ve had it rough and I’ve just kept on pushing. I feel like I didn’t come this far, to just go this far.”
Williams could also have been speaking about his team — the victory is a big thing, for them, they have had it tough, they have had it rough and they have just kept on pushing.
Online Reporter