Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Sports Editor
ENGLISH county cricket teams, Glamorgan and Durham are touring Zimbabwe at the beginning of next month in preparation for their 2023 season.
On Friday, Glamorgan announced their 2023 pre-season schedule which will see the squad tour Zimbabwe from March 1-17. Glamorgan stated that the players and coaches will arrive in Harare on Wednesday, March 1.
In Zimbabwe, Glamorgan will train and play pre-season matches against local teams as well as Durham in a mixture of white-ball and multi-day cricket.
Glamorgan’s director of cricket Mark Wallace, said: “We are going to get away for pre-season, which will see us go to Zimbabwe.
“The squad hasn’t been abroad for pre-season for quite a few years now so we cannot wait for the experience. Zimbabwe offers a great chance for us to hone our outdoor skills before the beginning of the season, and the group is really looking forward to going away.”
Glamorgan are looking forward to arriving in Zimbabwe where they are expecting to play some good cricket ahead of their season opener which sees them square off with Gloucestershire.
Zimbabwe-born Eddie Byrom, a player national team coach Dave Houghton is trying to convince to represent the country of his birth is on the books of Glamorgan.
“We have heard great things from Kiran Carlson and Eddie Byrom, who have been playing domestic cricket out there all winter, and we can’t wait to join up with them and play some competitive cricket before our opening Championship fixture against Gloucestershire,” Wallace said.
Glamorgan’s last visit to Zimbabwe was in 1995 with the county having also toured the Southern African country in 1991.
In March 2020, English county cricket sides Derbyshire and Durham abandoned their tour of Zimbabwe due to uncertainty around potential travel interruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Derbyshire played one Twenty20 match against Zimbabwe Select at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo before a decision was made for them to return home at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Durham had just arrived in Harare and never played any match before they headed back to the UK.
With Covid-19 no longer causing travel disruptions, Zimbabwe should benefit immensely from the visit of the two county teams. With the Chevrons due to take on Netherlands in three One Day Internationals next month, the tour by the two English teams will certainly help the national team prepare for those matches. – @Mdawini_29
Online Reporter