Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THERE was something cathartic, liberating even, about the rains that poured down from the heavens in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday.
For Zimbabwe Chevrons coach, Justin Sammons, every drop felt like a huge weight was being lifted off his shoulders.
And to some extent, it was.
The rain resulted in the match between Zimbabwe and Ireland being abandoned without a ball bowled, which in turn saw both teams share a point each.
For the Chevrons, the point gained helped them book their ticket into the ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight stage.
Not only that, but Zimbabwe also punched themselves a ticket to the next T20 World Cup that will be held in New Zealand and Australia in 2028.
The development left Sammons and his team, naturally, happy people.
“Yeah, we are really excited and super chuffed that we have made it through the next round,” said Sammons.
“That was the initial goal set out some 20 months ago, and we are pleased that we have managed to achieve that.
“We are kind of disappointed that we couldn’t get onto the park as we would have loved it if we could have secured the path to the next round with a win.
“But then again, that’s the game of cricket. “You can’t control the weather,” he said.
Sammons was also left over the moon with his Chevron’s automatic qualification for the 2028 edition of the World Cup.
“It is massive.
“Having to go through those qualifiers is a lot of work, and they come with so much pressure.
“So, it’s a huge weight off the shoulders not having to go through that, and we are really pleased with that.
Zimbabwe are back in action this morning when they take on Sri Lanka in both teams’ final group assignments.
That match begins at 11.30am (Zim time).
The Chevrons yesterday made the great trek back to Colombo from Kandy, a 123km journey that takes roughly four hours by bus.
It was one of Sammons’ worries that the journey to and from Colombo, their main base, would take a toll on his players while eating up their preparation time.
However, he was a bit more relaxed yesterday after securing qualification, and now he has the luxury to tinker around with his team given the lack of high stakes in today’s encounter.
With qualification secured and no points to carry over, Sammons has revealed that the key objective today will be to win and maintain momentum as Zimbabwe brace for the Super Eight stage of the competition.
There, the West Indies, India and South Africa await the Chevrons.
“We are really excited about playing Sri Lanka,” he said.
“We are playing the host nations, and the atmosphere should be great.
“Also, we have had some really competitive games with Sri Lanka over the past few months, and this one should be no different.
“Stakes or no stakes.
“It is hugely important that we try and maintain that momentum that we have built up and, obviously, keep building on the belief and confidence within the group,” he said.
He also revealed that he might tinker with his squad a little bit and manage the workload on some of his top players.
“We definitely have to manage our players, especially as we prepare to enter into the Super 8s.
“This little period is very taxing on the players.
“We travelled four hours on a bus to Kandy and then played a match, now we have to travel four hours back to Colombo and play the next day.
“It is quite taxing, and we will certainly look at possibly managing our players through this period.
“But we also want to put our best foot forward so we won’t take anything for granted,” Sammons said.
