adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE cricket team coach, Steve Mangongo, believes the fact that most of the current-crop players will face the Proteas for the last time in their careers should be enough source of motivation for them when they face the world number one Test team, South Africa, at Harare Sports Club this weekend.
The hosts, who have been short in game time, are hoping to gauge their strength against the Proteas in the longer version of the game starting at Harare Sports Club on Saturday (tomorrow).
Zimbabwe will then engage the Proteas in a One-Day International triangular series involving Australia later this month.
Zimbabwe last hosted South Africa in a Test in 2001. However, Mangongo believes they can compete.
“The source of motivation for most of these players is that this is going to be the last time for most of them to play against South Africa in a Test match. We last played the Proteas 10 years ago and that is something that does not come every day.
“We will perform better than we did in Centurion (South Africa) a decade ago.
“We will definitely give a good account of ourselves,” he said.
The South Africans, who last week announced a strong team led by Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers for this tour, are expected in the country today ahead of the once-off Test and the triangular ODI series.
The one-off Test against South Africa is followed by three ODIs before further 50-over matches in a triangular series also involving Australia.
Mangongo said his main aim was to stretch the South Africans for the entire duration of the Test match, given that all of their past encounters have ended on the fourth day. “We are aiming at playing the Proteas until the final day of the Test match. If you look at it all of the matches we have played against them have ended on the fourth day.
“We are much concerned with our ability to improve on our performance after playing Pakistan, who are ranked fourth, and we beat them while we are ranked ninth.
“We are a professional outfit and we feel we cannot allow ourselves to get any lower after the Afghanistan experience. This is the chance to show the world that contrary to the belief that we do not belong to the Test arena, we indeed can compete at that level,” said Mangongo.
Zim squad
Tino Mawoyo, Vusi Sibanda, Mark Vermeulen, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (Captain), Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Malcolm Waller, Regis Chakabva, Richmond Mutumbami, John Nyumbu, Natsai M’shangwe, Prosper Utseya, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Steven Chimhamhiwa, Cuthbert Musoko, Luke Jongwe, Tinashe Panyangara, Donald Tiripano, Tendai Chatara, Shingi Masakadza, Michael Chinouya, Neville Madziva, Taurai Muzarabani, Lovemore Gumunyu-Manatsa.
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