adminThe two teams will clash in a Pro-50 One-Day game tomorrow and then square off in a Twenty20 match the next day.
Ali is the only player who missed the team’s training session which resumed on Wednesday after a three-week festive break.
The 25-year-old Ali, a left-handed top order batsman and right arm off spinner, joined Tuskers in October last year from English county club Worcestershire, having moved from Warwickshire.
Ali, a former teammate of Tuskers head coach Heath Streak at Warwickshire captained the England Under-19 team at the 2006 International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka and has established himself well at the Bulawayo based franchise.
Stanley Staddon, the Tuskers chief executive officer said they are expecting the Englishman to return from England next week.
“Everyone is back except for Ali who is held up in his home country. We expect him back sometime next week before we travel for our game against Manicaland Mountaineers in Mutare next Saturday,” said Staddon.
The Tuskers boss was confident that they will complete a double in the Pro-50 One-Day competition against Southern Rocks who they beat by nine runs in the first leg and went on to lose by four wickets in the Twenty20.
Southern Rocks are coached by former Tuskers gaffer Dave Houghton and they will not be pushovers.
Staddon said Tuskers is aiming at winning two trophies this season, which are the Logan Cup and the Pro-50 competition.
“If you look, we started the season on a bad note in the One-Day and Twenty20 competitions but now we are back. Everyone is looking forward to the second half and our target is to win both the Logan Cup and the One-Day trophy. Competition is close and everyone is aware of that and what we just have to do is win all our games,” Staddon said.
After facing Southern Rocks, Tuskers will play host to Mashonaland Eagles on Wednesday before travelling to Mutare for a game against Manicaland Mountaineers on Saturday. In their last game against Mountaineers, Tuskers lost by seven wickets in the One-Day game and went down by five runs in the Twenty20 to the same side.
The Bulawayo club also lost both their games to Mashonaland Eagles in Harare and managed to bounce back getting a bonus point for their 132-runs win against MidWest Rhinos. In that resounding One-Day victory, skipper Graig Ervine scored an unbeaten 106 runs which powered Tuskers to 294 runs.
In the absence of Ali, some of the players expected to lead Tuskers’ quest to bag the Castle Logan Cup and the Pro-50 One-Day include Terrence Duffin, Keegan Meth, Ervine, Chari and all-rounder John Nyumbu.
There is fierce competition for places in the team especially in bowling where there is national team pace bowler Christopher Mpofu, Glen Querl, Nyumbu, seamer Njabulo Ncube, Mpofu, and Meth.
Online Reporter