Online Reporter
THE Chevrons have concluded their summer assignments with a T20I series win over Ireland after rain affected the third match at Harare Sports Club.
Zimbabwe had completed their innings in the match which was reduced to 18 overs but the Irish did not get an opportunity to try and chase the target of 143 runs for victory.
The first game was abandoned without a ball being played because of the rains which have been pounding Harare in the past few weeks.
It means Zimbabwe won the ODI and T20I series while Ireland won the one-off Test match.
The Chevrons will be disappointed that they lost that Test match when they had put themselves in a good position after the first innings.
However, we agree with Sikandar Raza that there were a lot of positives for Zimbabwe during this battle against the Irish.
Ben Curran showed that he has added value to the team and his innings, as he scored a century in the deciding third ODI, showed his true qualities.
Brian Bennett looks like a real prospect for our team and the young man could be its next big star.
We were also happy to see Tony Munyonga rising to the occasion, especially wne the team needed a hero, and he will come out of the Irish test walking with a spring in his step.
It’s a big year for Zimbabwe cricket.The Chevrons will travel to England in May for a four-day Test.
This will mark the first Test match between the sides since June 2003.
Twenty two years have passed since the two nations battled it out in a Test match.
The game will be played from May 28 to 31. There have only been six Tests between Zimbabwe and England in 1996, in 2000 and 2003.
The two teams have not played a bilateral series against each other in any format since 2004.
England forfeited points in the 2003 World Cup after refusing to travel to from their base in Cape Town amid a lot of interference from some politicians.
The ECB then suspended bilateral agreements with Zimbabwe in 2005.
However, there has been an improvement in relations between the two nations and this provided the foundation for the two cricket bodies to resume talks and made way for the Chevrons to tour England.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould said they were delighted to host Zimbabwe because this country has a proud cricket history and has produced world-class players and coaches.
He said the ECB was developing a closer relationship with Zimbabwe Cricket and the announcement of this Test against our England Men’s team was a step in that ambition.
The Chevrons will also become the first team in the modern era to be paid a “touring fee” by the host board in bilateral cricket.
All this requires the Chevrons to be competitive.
We are not at the level which we want but we took some steps forward in our matches against Ireland.
