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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe national men’s cricket team coach Dave Houghton says he expects his team to continue playing the positive brand of cricket as they host bogey opponents Bangladesh in Harare in a limited overs series starting this weekend.
The Chevrons had a good build-up to the series after winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier hosted in Bulawayo two weeks ago with some exciting all-round cricket on show.
Houghton, who was appointed head coach just before the series, believes the good run was the tonic the team needed after Zimbabwe had gone through one of their worst phases in international cricket.
The Chevrons had become the punching bag of many cricket nations, Associate Members included, and the battering had a far-reaching psychological impact.
Houghton had to start by helping the players regain their confidence and has been impressing upon them to continue playing positive cricket despite facing a more challenging calendar ahead with big guns Bangladesh, India and Australia next in line.
The Chevrons are set to clash with Bangladesh in three T20Is beginning this Saturday, and as many One Day Internationals afterwards.
“One of the things that I have talked about ever since I arrived is playing the brand of exciting cricket and fearless cricket, and I want us to continue to play that brand.
“It might be a little harder to play as the standard of position increases but I still want us to play that brand of cricket as much as possible. I am hoping that’s what we will see at the weekend,” said Houghton. The former Zimbabwe international began his second coaching stint with the Chevrons on a promising note after guiding the team to five wins, during the qualifying tournament, on their way to securing a T20 World Cup berth.
However, Zimbabwe played mostly the weaker ICC Associate Members during the Qualifier in Bulawayo. Bangladesh presents a different kind of opponent and preparations have been intensified.
“We had a week of exploits in Bulawayo and we gave the guys the much-needed rest before we regrouped on Monday. So we have had three good days of build-up so far and we will have more practice tomorrow (today) and on Friday. Everything is shaping up very well,” said Houghton. He said there is need for the Chevrons to maintain the winning spirit, with more international assignments coming up, leading to the T20 World Cup in October.
“I think winning and losing are both habit forms. When I took over the team had been losing a bit. So they were a little bit down in the changing room and a little bit of loss of confidence.
“But we have had a good couple of weeks together, particularly in Bulawayo and a good tournament there and won a few games.
“Very quickly the mood in the camp changed to a very positive one. At the moment everyone is upbeat and looking forward to the next game and that’s what we want them to be,” said Houghton. The Chevrons have been training with a squad of 20 players in Harare. Unfortunately, two key bowlers Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani will not be considered for the upcoming series due to injuries.
“We have got a couple of injuries. Sadly, Tendai Chatara will be out for quite a few weeks. He had a fractured collar bone and Blessing Muzarabani is also going to be missing in the next few home games.
“Otherwise everybody else is fit and well. We have a squad of 20 training so we have got to look at options for replacement,” said Houghton.
Apart from the quest to reclaim their place among the big teams, Zimbabwe will also be looking to turn the tables against Bangladesh.
The Tigers, who arrived in Zimbabwe in batches, have dominated the meetings between the two nations in the last two decades.
Bangladesh have been on the ascendancy and they enjoy supremacy in head-to-head statistics.
To put it in perspective, Zimbabwe have never won a T20I series against Bangladesh.
The two countries have played six T20I series since 2006, with Bangladesh winning three while the other three ended in draws.
A total of 16 matches have been played in the shortest version of the game and Bangladesh have won 11 while Zimbabwe have been victorious five times.
The bigger picture shows the Chevrons have been going south while the Tigers have continued on the up. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will play three T20I games on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday at Harare Sports Club.
The two sides will then lock horns in as many ODIs set for August 5, 7 and 10 at the same venue. A total of 78 games have been played between the two countries since the turn of the millennium when the Tigers got their ODI status.
Zimbabwe have won only 28 games while losing 50. The Chevrons have more to play for as they have to break a 19-match losing streak against the Tigers which spans nine years.
The last time that Zimbabwe won an ODI game against Bangladesh was in May 2013 when they came back from behind to record their last series win against the Asians at Queens Sports Club. Since that 2-1 series win, they have suffered whitewash defeats in the last five ODI series.
“Bangladesh has been a vastly improving side for many years. They have vast numbers of cricket players in their country and they play lots of cricket. It was only a matter of time to get to what they have achieved. Having said that, we are playing a very good brand of cricket ourselves at the moment, and I expect that it will be a good challenge when we play them,” said Houghton.
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