daniel chigunwe
Brandon Moyo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
AFTER playing the one-off Test match without the services of their three most experienced players, the Zimbabwe Chevrons’ One Day International (ODI) squad has been bolstered by the return of Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza.
The Chevrons are scheduled to host Ireland in a three-match ODI series with the opener starting tomorrow at Harare Sports Club.
Ervine left Bulawayo on the morning of day one of the Test match to attend to personal issues, as his wife is said to have gone into labour.
He was replaced by Wessly Madhevere.
Raza, on the other hand, had opted out of the Test match as he had already committed to franchise cricket before the tour schedule was confirmed. Williams has not fully recovered from his injury.
In a major boost to the team ahead of the one-day series, Ervine and Raza have rejoined the rest of the team, which began their preparations in the nets ahead of tomorrow’s opener.
They started practice on Tuesday.
Raza comes back to the national team fresh from helping his Dubai Capitals team win their maiden International League T20 (ILT20) title.
Raza produced a strong batting performance late on in the innings to help Dubai Capitals lift their maiden ILT20 title on Sunday in the United Arab Emirates.
The 38-year-old was the star of the show as Dubai Capitals completed an improbable chase of 38 off 19 balls.
With vast experience in the T20 circuit under his belt and walking in as a finisher when his team needed him, Raza smacked five fours and a six to win it for his team with four balls remaining.
The right-handed batter kept his cool and found gaps at will to cut the deficit, and in the final over, smashed one to the point off Khuzaima Tanveer to complete the chase and win the title for his team.
Raza struck a feisty 34 from 12 balls, with five boundaries and a six.
He had an astonishing strike rate of 283.33. Raza also took a wicket and grabbed a catch.
Earlier, Dubai Capitals had won the toss and elected to bowl first, restricting their opponents, Desert Vipers, to 189/5 in 20 overs.
In their chase, Raza came in with his team needing 38 runs to win from 19 balls.
Of the 38 runs needed to win, he hit 34 off 12 balls, including hitting the winning runs to help his team clinch their maiden ILT20 title.
With the experience of Raza and Ervine, Zimbabwe will be banking on that to help the team make amends for their Test defeat.
Zimbabwe and Ireland have met 22 times in ODIs, with the latter winning 10 matches compared to the Chevrons’ eight.
One match was tied, and three yielded no results. In 15 T20Is, Ireland have registered eight wins compared to Zimbabwe’s seven.
After last Friday’s opener, the other two ODIs are scheduled for Sunday and Tuesday.
The three T20Is are pencilled for February 22, 23, and 25.
ZIMBABWE ODI SQUAD:
Craig Ervine (Captain), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Nyasha Mayavo, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams.
IRELAND ODI SQUAD:
Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gavin Hoey, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Morgan Topping, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.
Online Reporter