Make or break tie for Zimbabwe Select

LOOKING at ending the six-match series on a high note, only one result has to be in the minds of Zimbabwe Select players, victory, when they face off against the visiting Pakistan Shaheens in the decider today at Harare Sports Club.

Zimbabwe Select requires nothing but a win to secure the series, given the good start that they had. The series is standing at 3-2, with both teams desperate for a win, however, the home side will have to show more hunger.

A win for the home side will be a good confidence booster, coming from a dismal performance on Thursday. A 3-3 will be as good as a series win for Pakistan Shaheens who would have come from 2-0 down to get a share of the spoils.

The full-strength home side will have to bring their A game in today’s match to claim the series which is their last prior to the commencement of the upcoming Men’s Cricket World Cup qualifiers.

The Zimbabwean side will also be looking at the returning Sikandar Raza, to help see the team through.
Raza returned to the team on Thursday having missed out on other matches due to Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments.

However, it was not a good return by the all-rounder as Zimbabwe were thumped by 177 runs and the Select side will be hoping to put their poor performance behind them.

One area that the team will have to work on is their batting, which has been inconsistent especially at the top of the order.

The opening batters have failed to put up any decent partnership on the board, something which they will have to work on in today’s game. Without a good foundation at the top, it puts pressure on other batters.

Despite struggling at the top, the experience of batters such as Craig Ervine and Sean Williams will be crucial to the team’s campaign and will also be looking at Clive Madande to continue with his impressive form with the bat. Madande fought almost a lone battle on Thursday, top-scoring a gallant 41 runs not out.

Crucial to claiming the series today will also be the bowlers who have had a good campaign so far despite the struggles in the previous match.

Zimbabwean bowlers have been playing a crucial role in the team’s performance, stepping up when needed the most.

The captain Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani and Bradley Evans have had a good campaign with a ball in hand and will, once again, be key in today’s game. Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) organised the series as part of their preparations for the World Cup Qualifiers which start on June 18 and will be played in venues across Harare and Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe was put in Group A alongside West Indies, Netherlands, Nepal and the United States of America (USA) and their matches will be played in Harare.

In Group B, there will be Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and their group matches will be played in Bulawayo. The series decider is set to start at 09.15hrs.
– @brandon_malvin