dyton mupawaenda
SOME sweet news filtered in for Zimbabwe’s cricket enthusiasts and the country’s sporting family at large on Thursday.
This came after Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) secured confirmation from the International Cricket Council that neighbours South Africa will be ending their long hiatus from touring this nation for a Test series and will be at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo for a two-Test Series in June and July.
Similarly, the Chevrons have also had a rare Test Series against New Zealand’s Black Caps being lined up for the end of July into early August at Harare Sports Club.
And this is no April Fools’ Day prank.
The Test Series against some of the game’s heavyweights will also be spiced by the Twenty 20 International tri-series matches against both the Proteas and the Black Caps also scheduled for Harare Sports Club.
ZC managing director Givemore Makoni aptly captured the feeling that greeted the confirmation of the two teams’ tour when he said: “This is the biggest international home season we have had in years and it is an incredible opportunity for our players to test themselves against two of the world’s cricketing powerhouses”.
It is the coming back of the Proteas to this country in particular that has both the Chevrons and their growing legion of fans already savouring the moment and generating a lot of excitement.
Despite South Africa being neighbours and the closest geographically that Zimbabwe have among all the world’s Test Nations, matches between the Chevrons and the Proteas have been few and far between.
To put into context, the Proteas were last in this country 11 years ago and Harare Sports Club was the site of that Test match in which the South Africans powered to a nine-wicket victory.
A lot has no doubt changed between then and now.
We, however, urge Makoni, his management team, the ZC board and the Chevrons to seize the moment and make the most of the upcoming tours.
To their eternal credit, ZC have ensured that cricket has been among the leading sporting disciplines in the country and the fact that with each outing either at Queens Sports Club or Harare Sports have attracted more and more fans.
Images of drum-beating Zimbabwean fans clad in orange or red overalls have captured global attention in the cricket arena.
On the business side, the more the Chevrons host Test matches, the more they contribute to sport tourism coffers.
Seeing their international idols in action right on their doorsteps will no doubt inspire budding cricketers to pursue the sport at a professional level.
Every young athlete needs a level to aspire for and nothing beats competing on the global stage, thus paying their way at Queens or Harare Sports Clubs, to watch from the front row as the likes of Temba Bavuma, Lungi Ngidi, Lizaad Williams, Quinto de Kock compete.
It also a huge inspiration for the fans and the players to see their very own Sikandar Raza, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Wessly Madhevere, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Brian Bennett, and Johnathan Campbell shine on home soil against those global superstars.
Refreshingly it is not lost on ZC that hosting South Africa and New Zealand for both Test cricket and an exciting T20I tri-series is a fantastic development for the growth of the game in Zimbabwe.
South Africa and Zimbabwe have faced each other in nine Test matches but we believe that building on the 2025 tour that statistic can be boosted and built into more frequent meetings.
The Chevrons would, however, have to also play their art and become a consistent performer on the Test Arena.
They have done it before and Craig Ervine’s generation owe it to all those who have believed and are believing in Zimbabwe.
And in the upcoming Test, Zimbabwe could make it their maiden win against the South Africans who have won eight of the previous nine meetings while the other ended in a draw.
Test cricket continues to define the fabled gentleman’s game and while the Chevrons have often held their own in One Day internationals and the T20 assignments, it is in the long format that they need to reassert themselves.
At least in the ODIs the two sides have met on 41 occasions with South Africa winning 38 matches of those meetings.
Zimbabwe won two matches with a single match ending in a no result.
In the short version of white ball cricket, the two countries have met a total of six times, with South Africa winning five matches while the other failed to produce a result.
The Chevrons can atone for that in the coming tri-series which will also involve the Black Caps.
With Zimbabwe and South Africa being the only two ICC full member states in Africa much is expected between the two sides in steering the development of the sport on the continent
The acceptance by South Africa to play Zimbabwe at home is a sign of cordial relationship which is needed between the countries as the continent looks upon them to lead the way.
And with South Africa attracting some international players to their domestic league, the tour will play a part for South African franchises owners to have a closer look at Zimbabwe players which could benefit our local players to get opportunities to play in their Premier League and get the much-required exposure.
Online Reporter