Madhevere relishes the challenge

WESSLY Madhevere is eager to establish himself as Zimbabwe’s No 3 in ODIs after making the most of an unexpected opportunity in the opening cricket match against Australia in Townsville on Sunday.

Madhevere only found out shortly before the game started that he was in the team when Sean Williams was ruled out having taken a blow on the elbow at training on Saturday. An indication of how late the change was made came from the hasty scribbles on the team sheet.

“To be honest I didn’t know I was going to play,” Madhevere said. “Was told (on Saturday) I wasn’t going to play but found out that Sean wasn’t doing too well with the elbow and that’s when the coach told me that I was playing.

“I normally get nervous the day before, especially when I know I’ll be playing, but today I was kind of relaxed.”

Madhevere went on to make his fourth ODI fifty and a new career-best of 72 to give Zimbabwe a platform from where they could have accelerated at the death, but after he gave a return catch to Adam Zampa’s final delivery they lost 6 for 15 to be bowled out for 200 with 15 balls unused.

However, Madhevere wants to take on the No. 3 role in a more permanent capacity having made 5 and 2 in the position on the previous occasions he had batted there, in the recent series against India.

“I see myself batting there, it’s one of the crucial positions when you want to be exposed to the pressure, so that’s one of the key areas and I quite like that challenge,” he said. “It also helps me grow as a cricketer if I get exposed to it right now, then it will be easier for me in the future.”

Madhevere, who made his debut in early 2020, began his ODI career with a solid run of scores, making his first three half-centuries in the space of eight innings against Bangladesh and Pakistan, but after that he had only reached 20 once in 13 innings before facing Australia.

He built steadily against seam and spin, reaching his fifty from 67 balls, and said he found the Townsville surface similar to those he had played on while at school in South Africa.

“I quite enjoyed it,” he said. “Got exposed to those kind of conditions while I was at school so I knew what was happening.”

Madhevere added that he felt 250-260 would have been a competitive total and Zimbabwe are hopeful that spin will be become more of a factor in the remaining two games. Sikandar Raza caused a few problems with his offspin while legspinner Ryan Burl collected three wickets as the Australians played aggressively against him.

Madhevere will be hoping to continue his good form and hope for more support from his teammates as the three-match ODI series continues in Townsville tomorrow.

Madhevere is Zimbabwe’s rising young cricketer, captaining Zimbabwe’s squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup as a vice-captain. Born and brought up in Chitungwiza in 2000, the youngster was always fond of several outdoor games, while cricket turned into his passion.

The same passion and fierce for the game begged Madhevere the prestigious mention of “rising star of” Zimbabwe cricket by the International Cricket Council (ICC) back in 2018.

Following recognisation, just at 21, Madhevere found his position in Zimbabwe’s One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) squads for their tour against Bangladesh. This is not it; there’s a more interesting fact about Madhevere that you should definitely know.

Madhevere is believed to be single as of now. Moreover, there’s no info of his girlfriend. The player looks highly motivated toward the game and, in accordance, has kept his personal life private.

He goes by the name “madhevere45_official” on Instagram, where he posts pictures of himself and other sponsorships. Besides, there’s also not much information about his parents and siblings.

Interestingly, Madhevere has more pictures of him on ICC’s official Instagram handle than on his page. Zimbabwe’s rising star has brought some notable ICC mentions to his names, such as “game changer”, ”player of the match”, and more.

Madhevere precisely commenced his cricketing journey in 2016 while being an integral part of Zimbabwe’s teams for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, followed by the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

The all-rounders performances were appreciated, as the player maintained consistency on the ground, which helped him land the vice-captain position for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Meanwhile, his list A debut came in the same year as the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup for Mashonaland Eagles in the Pro50 Championship. Madhevere made his first-class debut in 2020 for Mashonaland Eagles in the Logan Cup.

2020 brought many opportunities for Madhevere as he seized the opportunity to represent his national side internationally against Bangladesh, Nambia, and Pakistan for ODI and T20I. Last year, his goal of being named in Zimbabwe’s Test series got fulfilled in a series against Afghanistan. Madhevere’s previous game was against India at Harare on August 18, 2022. — ESPNCricinfo