admin
Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
THEIR sporting disciplines may be different but they have both excelled.
And, Zimbabwe football great Moses Chunga yesterday waded into the cricket arena when he granted The Saturday Herald an unsolicited interview to applaud the performances of the national cricket team, led by legendary cricketer Dave Houghton, at the ICC T20 World Cup currently underway in Australia.
Chunga admitted he was blown away by Houghton’s influence in the team’s dressing room following a good run of results that culminated in Thursday’s historic Super 12 win over giants Pakistan.
“These are indeed exciting times for Zimbabwean sport. Cricket is making us proud to be Zimbabweans at the moment and we have to give credit where it is due,” said Chunga.
Houghton was appointed in June and inherited a team low in morale after Zimbabwe had become punching bags even for second-tier teams like Namibia.
But the turnaround has been phenomenal in a short space of time, with Zimbabwe winning 10 of their last 12 completed T20I games in the last four months.
The latest one-run triumph over T20I powerhouses Pakistan has left the whole world spellbound. Chunga said Houghton, a former Zimbabwe captain and a cricket icon, has been magical with his approach.
“Dave Houghton has brought something special to this team. Suddenly, the way they are competing; everything has changed. It shows Houghton and his team have put in loads of hard work in the last few months.
“As a result of that, the team has been playing positive cricket. The results are there to show. They should keep up the good work and as Zimbabwe we have to support the Chevrons so that we can all realise our dream. Cricket is the main sport we have at the moment and Houghton is the man,” said Chunga.
The Chevrons were in the Intensive Care Unit when Houghton was appointed coach in June following the shock defeat to Associate nation, Namibia, in a home T20I series played in Bulawayo.
They had also suffered a humiliating tour whitewash to visiting Afghanistan. But ZC made a key decision with the appointment of Houghton, who went on to lead Zimbabwe through a successful ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier at home before winning against Bangladesh. Houghton hopes to take back the hand of time to Zimbabwe’s golden era of cricket, which he was part of in the late 1990s. During that golden period, Zimbabwe could beat almost all the Test-playing nations, except Australia, in ODIs.
He was in charge of Zimbabwe during their memorable run to the Super Six stage of the 1999 World Cricket Cup in England, following impressive group-stage wins over India and South Africa.
He is back for another World Cup dance and so far the campaign looks promising in a tough Group 2 that also has Bangladesh, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa and India.
The Chevrons reached the Super 12 stage for the first time in history last week when they finished top in a first round group that also included Ireland, Scotland and two-time champions West Indies.
Houghton is a legend of Zimbabwean cricket and his influence in the dressing room cannot be underestimated.
Chunga, who is considered to be one of Zimbabwe’s greatest footballers, was also mesmerised by the performance of Bradley Evans.
The fast bowler, who was recently handed his debut by Houghton, defended 10 runs in the decisive over against Pakistan despite his considerable lack of experience.
“Of course the talent is there and we have spoken about these things even in football – players ought to be picked on merit. When I look at that team, I think we have quite a balanced side in terms of experience and the exuberance that we want in youthful players.
“Imagine this is a guy (Evans) who has just broken into the senior team; still young and is playing his first game at the World Cup; and yet someone shows confidence in him taking the decisive over. He did extremely well and I am sure the young man will only grow from there,” said Chunga.
Zimbabwe are set to play Bangladesh in their third match of the tournament tomorrow at the Brisbane Cricket Ground. They will then face Netherlands on Wednesday before rounding off against India next Sunday.
The Chevrons have three points – two from the win against Pakistan and another point from the first game against South Africa that was washed out by rain. Two teams from this group will progress to the semi-finals.
“We stand a good chance to do even better. I was surprised some people didn’t want to give the team full credit for winning against Pakistan. How can we call that win an upset when we all saw the work put in by those boys? It was incredible. Zimbabwe deserved the win, it wasn’t by luck,” said Chunga.
Online Reporter