Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo
IT’S Zimbabwe versus the champs, experience versus experiments, and Queens Sports Club is the battlefield. Test cricket is officially back in Bulawayo and the stage is set for a mouth-watering winter showdown as the Chevrons take on South Africa’s baby-faced Proteas.
After nearly a decade of ducking each other in the red-ball arena, Zimbabwe and South Africa finally lock horns again. The last time these two sides met in a Test was a blink-and-you-miss-it two-day disaster in Port Elizabeth in 2017. And it’s been 11 long years since they clashed on Zimbabwean soil.
This time around, the Proteas are bringing the World Test Championship crown — and what looks like a high school XI. Captain Keshav Maharaj has gone full youth academy, fielding three debutants in Lhuan-dre Pretorious, Codi Yusuf and Dewald Brevis. Add in Mathew Breetzke, Corbin Bosch and Kwena Maphaka with one cap each, and you’ve got a team that might still need permission slips to travel.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, are banking on a mix of grit and grey hairs. Takudzwanashe Kaitano steps in for the injured Ben Curran to open with Brian Bennett. Nick Welch slots in at number three, while the old guard of Craig Ervine and Sean Williams hold the middle.
Wessly Madhevere, wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga, and a bowling attack featuring Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga, Wellington Masakadza and Vincent Masekesa round off the team.
At the toss, Maharaj chose to bat first and flashed his badge of Test royalty. “It’s a privilege to have the tag of world champions,” he said, while boasting about his four seamers and lone spinner setup.
Ervine, not bothered, said Zimbabwe were happy to bowl. “We’re hoping to use the early moisture. The boys have been prepping well and we’re ready to bring the heat.”
Zimbabwe may never have beaten South Africa in a Test, with eight losses and a draw to show for their efforts — but records are made to be broken, and this green Proteas lineup might just be ripe for the picking.
Let the Test begin. And may the boldest team win.
Zimbabwe XI: Brian Bennett, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Nick Welch, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Wessly Madhevere, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga.
South Africa XI: Mathew Breetzke, Tony De Zorzi, Wiaan Mulder, David Beddingham, Lhuan-dre Pretorious, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj (c), Codi Yusuf, Kwena Maphaka.
