Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THERE was a different mood inside the Zimbabwe Under 19 camp last night, the kind you only see when a dressing room starts believing it can touch something big.
The boys were back at Takashinga Sports Club putting the final touches to their plans for today’s Group B clash against England, a match that has suddenly turned into a real measuring stick for the hosts.
But the first enemy isn’t England. It’s the sky.
Harare’s weather remains a problem, with more rain forecast and the real possibility that Zimbabwe could reach the end of their group stage without bowling a single ball.
After their opener against Scotland was abandoned without a delivery, the tournament has become a waiting game, and the home side can only hope the clouds finally give them a break.
“It really isn’t within our control,” said captain Simbarashe Mudzengerere. “All we can do is just prepare for whatever outcome comes our way.
“If it rains, most probably we will play reduced overs, which means we will need to adjust a little bit on our game and tactics. What we want is just to play cricket.”
What lifted Zimbabwe’s spirits wasn’t anything they did. It was what England did.
On Friday at Takashinga, England ripped up the expected tournament script by beating Pakistan by 37 runs, one of the biggest shocks of this ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup so far.
Pakistan came into the tournament as favourites, the reigning Asia Cup Under 19 champions, and the kind of side most teams would rather avoid early.
England didn’t blink.
Defending a modest 210, the Europeans produced a disciplined bowling performance that strangled Pakistan to 173, and suddenly every team in Group B started looking at England differently.
Not as a name, but as a side that can actually hurt you. Pakistan had asked England to bat first and made early inroads, leaving them wobbling at 90 for four in the 19th over.
That’s where Caleb Falconer and Ralphie Albert dragged England back into the contest with an 80 run partnership that gave their innings a heartbeat.
Pakistan tightened again after breaking that stand and bowled England out for 210, with Ahmed Hussain taking three wickets while Ali Raza, Abdul Subhan and Momin Qamar grabbed two each.
England’s total looked gettable, even light, until the ball started talking.
England hit Pakistan’s top order hard and fast, reducing the 2006 champions to 28 for three, and forcing them into a chase that never settled.
Captain Farhan Yousaf fought with 65, but he kept watching partners disappear at the other end as England refused to release the pressure.
Pakistan’s biggest problem wasn’t wickets alone. It was silence.
Dot balls stacked up, panic crept in, and the big shots came too early, too often. England stayed tight, applied the choke, and finished the job.
That result pushed England to the top of Group B, helped by the abandoned Zimbabwe-Scotland match, and it also planted something dangerous inside the Zimbabwe camp, the belief that reputations don’t win games in Harare.
“I think England were the more consistent side, especially on the bowling side, and that was a pretty good thing that led them to a victory,” said Mudzengerere.
“There were a lot of lessons for us to take from that game, especially the way Pakistan mostly struggled and put themselves under pressure due to the accumulating number of dot balls. They ended up trying to go for the big shots and that is where they lost the plot.
“The result also proved that nothing is written is stone and that any side can be beaten. I also watched the game between South Africa and Afghanistan. Anything is possible in this tournament and those results were a great confidence booster. Talking to the boys, I tried to use them as proof that no team is unbeatable and was a great motivator.”
Zimbabwe aren’t the only ones who saw the warning signs.
On the same day, Afghanistan stunned South Africa by 28 runs, another reminder that this World Cup is already chewing up the big names and spitting them out.
Inside the Zimbabwe set up, though, there’s also a clear attempt to keep excitement from turning into noise.
Bowling coach Donald Tiripano has been calm and firm with the message – strip it back, stick to basics, don’t get carried away.
“I think we are still very much optimistic and confidence is high,” said Tiripano. “I feel the boys are ready. First of all, we have to trust the process, make sure we do our best and the results will take care of themselves.”
Zimbabwe were desperate to face Scotland and felt they had a real shot there, but the rain took that away.
Tiripano said the players have accepted it and moved on, because in tournaments like this, you don’t get time to mourn what you didn’t get.
His view is simple, strip away the accents, the flags and the history, and it still comes down to bat and ball, execution under pressure and who makes fewer mistakes when the game tightens.
“We just have to focus on the process, make sure we take care of our own space and keep to the game plans,” he said.
Peter Tanyanyiwa