Online Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S cricketing landscape has endured a challenging past few months marred by a string of poor results in red-ball cricket that have laid bare long-standing struggles and challenges.
Poor results and mediocre performances have been the order of the day. The Chevrons’ Test team has become, probably, the weakest side in red-ball cricket at the moment, with things getting so bad that they even lost a Test match against Ireland at home, a country that does not have a First-Class system.
The Chevrons have had a poor run in the longest version of the game, only winning once in the nine Tests that they have played so far this year. Batting collapses have been the order of the day, the bowling has been ineffective and the team has been stuck in a rut that continues to test the players’ resilience and the cricket faithful’s patience.
Fans cannot take it anymore, as evidenced by the petition that was sent to the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) last week. For them, enough is enough; Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) must get its house in order, rightfully so.
Test cricket has been unkind to Zimbabwe; pride has been lost.
The team cannot compete across five days; evidently, against New Zealand, they lost both matches in two-and-a-half days. The Chevrons have been bad ambassadors for red-ball cricket.
The gap between the Chevrons and other sides is huge; it was laid bare against a weakened South African side missing seven of their regular first team players and most recently, against New Zealand.
However, amid the gloom, the forthcoming One-Day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka arrives not only as a change of format but also as a much-needed opportunity for Zimbabwe to regain some lost pride and inject positivity back into the team.
Zimbabwe last played 50-over cricket in February when they beat Ireland 2-1 and since then, they have been playing Tests and have had a few T20Is.
The series is scheduled to get underway on August 29. Head coach Justin Sammons admitted that the forthcoming series is a relief, an opportunity to inject some fresh blood into the team and get renewed energy.
This series, to some extent, offers Zimbabwe a chance at redemption. The demands are different and this format could help put the past struggles behind them.
Facing Sri Lanka is no easy task, they will come hard. But, Zimbabwe should look at this series as a realistic opportunity to not just fulfil a fixture like they have been doing but to play some smart cricket and possibly, get a result, one that would put back the smiles on the cricket faithful in the country.
This ODI series and the three T20Is that will follow allows Zimbabwe to reset mentally. It’s a chance to enjoy the game again, rebuild the lost morale and confidence and reignite public interest.
Zimbabwe must use this series as a way of sending a statement to its stakeholders, that they have continuously let down, that they are not content with mediocrity.
There is no guarantee of victory against Sri Lanka, who enjoy an upper hand over Zimbabwe in all the formats of the game but this offers a temporary escape from the doom and gloom of their Test form.
