adminTakudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
HARARE Sports Club grounds foreman Sam Matambanadzo says they are happy with the current state of the pitch which will host 2018 Cricket World Cup qualifiers starting from Sunday.
The pitch has been undergoing serious conditioning for the past month.
“We are happy with the preparations we have made so far and on our part we are home and dry.
“The games can go ahead but it is always a challenge as cricket rules do not encourage sub-standard pitch and have the game go on after the rains.
“We worked hard and we are happy that the grounds got approval from the International Cricket Council to host an event of such a magnitude.
‘‘We have been working on this pitch for the past month and each passing week brought positive changes.”
Speaking on the issue of rains, Matambanadzo referred all the questions to Zimbabwe Cricket.
“What we can talk of is the condition of the pitch only as it is under our jurisdiction but as for the issue of rains, I cannot say much.
“I think we all know that cricket pitches will not be playable once there are rains and they call for the cancellation of matches,” he added.
The West Windies, Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and United Arab Emirates make up Group A, while Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Nepal form Group B.
Each side will play the other teams in their group once with the top three from the groups progressing to the Super Six stage.
The teams each play three Super Six matches against the sides they did not meet in the group stage.
All points won in the groups will be carried over to the Super Six stage apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group.
The finalists will both progress to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Online Reporter