Online Reporter
Mugove Chigada-Zimpapers Sports Hub
CHEVRONS coach Justin Sammons admits Oman are very dangerous, but they are in a good space to understand exactly what to expect.
The two teams play their first Group B match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo today.
The Chevrons lost a warm-up game to Oman last Thursday, and Sammons admits they picked up vital lessons.
“They’re a very good side, they’re very dangerous, and they’ve got some really good players there,” Sammons was quoted as saying by Zimbabwe Cricket.
“A lot of experience as well. They give a bit of everything and have all the different angles covered — left-arm seam, right-arm seam, and left-arm orthodox — so they’ve got a lot of bases covered in terms of their bowling attack.
“From a batting point of view, they come out very aggressively. They looked to take us on in that warm-up game from ball one, and we knew we were in for a fight.”
Australia, Ireland and hosts Sri Lanka complete Group B, with only two teams expected to progress.
In Oman, the Chevrons face one of the teams that have greatly improved, and today’s game could be a close one.
But Zimbabwe’s chances of progressing will be kept alive if they can beat Oman and Ireland and shock Sri Lanka. Australia will be an uphill task.
Sammons added: “Obviously what we wanted to do was get an idea of their game plan and how they approach things, and it allowed us to hone in on how we can counteract that, both from a batting and a bowling point of view.”
Captain Sikandar Raza, who goes into this World Cup rated the number one all-rounder in the T20 format, will be expected to lead the Chevrons to victory.
Apart from the individual capabilities, Sammons says they have paid attention to detail.
“I think it’s execution. At the end of the day, it comes down to the execution of skill. I think we understand the plans that we’re trying to go with, we understand what we’re trying to execute,” he said.
“It’s actually about going and doing it, so certainly we’ve tried to hone in on the execution of our skills because ultimately that’s what it’s going to come down to.”
