Chevrons regroup for busy schedule

The CHEVRONS

Tinashe Kusema Zimpapers Sports Hub

THE 2027 Cricket World Cup count-down has affectively begun.

And tomorrow the Zimbabwe senior men’s cricket team will troop back into camp with head coach Justin Sammons looking to fine-tune his charges ahead of their packed programme against Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the United Arab Emirates later this month.

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will play hosts Afghanistan across all three formats with the entire programme slated for October 17 to November 17.

The three nations play One Day Internationals (ODI) tri-series, slated for October 17-23, while Zimbabwe and Afghanistan meet in a three-match T20 series scheduled for October 27 to November 1.

Afghanistan have a one-off Test against Bangladesh to open up proceedings from October 9-13.

Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will then wrap up the programme with two Test matches, scheduled for November 5-9 and November 13-17.

However, the Chevrons have been dealt an early blow to their preparations, as their Test and ODI skipper, Richard Ngarava, has been ruled out for the rest of the year as the 28-year-old continues to rehab his back.

It is a blow that has hit gaffer Justin Sammons hard, especially with Innocent Kaia also a doubt.

The Zimbabwe top-order batter recently returned to the fold, making some solid contributions during both the Namibia Tri-Series and Australia’s visit last month.

“From an injury point of view, obviously Innocent picked up the hamstring injury in the last game against Australia and he is going to be out for the initial part of that tour,” said Sammons.

“Wellington Masakadza has recovered from his muscle tear, so he will be with us when we resume camp.

“Richard is set to continue to do his rehab and won’t be available for the rest of the year,” he said.

Sammons has singled out Ngarava as an integral part of the team and believes that his skillset was sorely missed during the trip to Namibia for the T20 Tri-Series against South Africa and the hosts, and Australia’s visit last month.

Zimbabwe made it as far as the final before losing to South Africa by 48 runs.

The Chevrons were then thrashed 3-0 by the reigning ODI champions Australia during their three-match series at home last month.

“Yeah, Richie (Ngarava) was a huge miss for us,” said Sammons.

“I think people don’t understand how big a miss he is in all aspects, whether it be from his leadership on the field and the skillset that he brings.

“I think he would have been extremely useful in Namibia because he hits those correct lengths, as well as in this series against Australia.

“He’s someone who hits those lengths naturally that were required on those two wickets. And obviously, his ability to strike in the powerplay and then control the game through the middle.

“We could see against Australia, their powerplays were an area where they really bossed us.

“So that was a big, big miss for us and we hope to have him back as soon as possible,” he said.

Afghanistan will be the focal point of Zimbabwe’s trip to the UAE as the two nations help usher in the start of the Asian nation’s home season alongside Bangladesh.

The programme includes matches in all three formats, all of which will be played in the UAE, although the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has not yet announced the venues.

The season kicks off on October 9 with a one-off Test match against Bangladesh.

An ODI tri-series will follow from October 17 to 23, with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe facing each other once before the top two teams meet in the final.

Afghanistan will then take on Zimbabwe in a three-match T20I series from October 27 to November 1.

The two teams will then face off in two Test matches, the first from November 5 to 9 and the second from November 13 to 17.

“Yeah, we start our preparations on Monday and then we leave on October 14 for the UAE,” said Sammons.(tomorrow)

“We have got a week’s preparations, which will be nice.

“Obviously, it’s been a really busy couple of months and the guys have been at it the whole time.

“So they had a couple of weeks off from team training, but now it is time to get back to business.”

Given the fact that the trip to the UAE will encompass all three formats, Sammons has his work cut out for him.

“In the T20 format, we still need to continue working on our skill level to obviously match a certain style of play when we are on the smaller, more batting-friendly grounds,” he said.

“I think we saw against the Australians how we can definitely compete in one-day matches. It’s just when we are having sort of a bad phase, we get blown out of the water, and I think that applied

also to that Namibian Tri-Series.

“On the red-ball side of things, we really want to pay huge attention to it. I think if your basics are in place for the red-ball format, it helps in the other formats anyway. So it will be a big focus on that,” he said.

UAE Programme

One-off Test vs Bangladesh: October 9-13

ODI Tri-Series

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe – October 17

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe – October 19

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh – October 21

Final – October 23

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe T20I Series

1st T20I – October 27

2nd T20I – October 29

3rd T20I – November 1

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe Test Series