Online Reporter
THE senior national cricket team, popularly known as the Chevrons, will today host New Zealand for the start of a second and final Test match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
Statistics ahead of the match make New Zealand overwhelming favourites to win the match with focus being on the number of days they will take to achieve a result.
According to the statistics, New Zealand have never lost to Zimbabwe in a Test match, and have beaten them 12 times in 18 meetings. They have won the last seven Tests between these two sides, four of them by an innings.
Since Zimbabwe last won a Test in Bulawayo in 2001, India, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Ireland and South Africa have all had victories at Queens Sports Club.
On a positive note, Blessing Muzarabani is currently fifth on Zimbabwe’s all-time Test wicket-takers’ list, with 60 from 16 Tests and needs 10 more wickets to move up to joint-third and 20 more to move into joint-second place.
Zimbabwe have been so poor with the bat that they have been forced to forgive former captain Brendan Taylor and fasttrack him into the team immediately after a lengthy ban for using drugs.
So, as Zimbabwe prepares to face New Zealand in the second Test, focus for the hosts is not necessarily on winning — but on competing.
After a heavy defeat in the first Test, fans and observers alike are calling for one thing above all else: fight. Not necessarily a miracle result, but effort, resilience, and the kind of performance that leaves Zimbabweans proud of their team.
This is because New Zealand are ranked among the top Test nations in the world and were always overwhelming favourites as they boast a deep and experienced squad, which can withstand any injury withdrawals from the squad.
Experts always say that Test cricket is as much a mental battle as it is a technical one and it is important that the Zimbabwe batsmen realise that they are not in a hurry to anywhere and there is no need for T20 shots.
The top order needs to shoulder responsibility. Playing loose shots within the first 10 overs of an innings, especially against a quality attack like New Zealand’s, is a recipe for disaster.
Discipline must be the cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s batting approach.
While the bowling has been decent, the bowlers must consistently ask questions of the New Zealand batsmen as opposed to being one-dimensional.
The Chevrons need to bring back the fans to the cricket grounds and the only way to do that is through being competitive against any opposition.
In the latest challenge, the Chevrons must fight to take the game into the fifth and final day.
If they achieve that, no one will worry about the result.
