Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo, Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S T20I captain Sikandar Raza believes his team needs to sharpen their skills in the powerplay and at the death as they gear up for the crucial ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier 2025. The tournament is set to be held in Harare from September 26 to October 4.
Raza’s comments came after the conclusion of the three-match T20I series against Namibia, which Zimbabwe won 2-1 at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Thursday. The veteran skipper feels that conceding over 20 runs in a single over during the two crucial stages of a game, the powerplay and at the death, sets them back. He emphasised the need for self-belief, trust in their skills, and a commitment to the team’s game plan.
In the series decider against Namibia, the Chevrons gave up 85 runs while taking just one wicket in the powerplay, largely thanks to a blistering start from opener Jan Frylinck. The Namibian batsman scored a half-century in just 13 balls, the joint-third fastest in history, and hammered 26 runs off Trevor Gwandu’s fourth over.
“The powerplay is an area of concern. If you look at the last five out of six games, we have leaked, there has always been that 20 run over in the powerplay and unfortunately, today (vs Namibia) there were a couple. Also we brought the game back but when we got to the death there is always one over that goes for 20 plus.
“The moment you get a 20 plus runs over, it just kills everything. We have to be a bit braver in our thought process, trust our skills a bit more and stick with the plan a bit more. If we can do that, that comes with experience and a strong mindset. Hopefully we can improve those things and take it from there,” Raza said.
Raza believes the team’s recent performances, first against Sri Lanka and now against the Eagles of Namibia, have given them a significant confidence boost heading into the qualifiers. The all-rounder stated they are aiming for a clean sweep at the regional tournament to carry on the momentum from their two preparatory series.
“We have won three of our last six games, we lost two against Sri Lanka. Even the two games that we lost, we were actually in the game for a long time, the inexperience or quality of the opposition took the game away from us. Sometimes you can hold your head high and say it’s fine, it hurts because we could have won 2-1 against Sri Lanka and 3-0 in this one (vs Namibia).
“We have to be calm in thinking, going into the Qualifiers, three out of six, losing two against Sri Lanka but we achieved a lot of good things in those games. There are a lot of positives and hopefully we will have five perfect games when we get to the Qualifiers,” Raza said.
The Chevrons have been placed in Group B of the Qualifiers alongside Uganda, Tanzania, and Botswana. Group A consists of Namibia, Malawi, Kenya, and Nigeria. All teams are scheduled to play two warm-up matches before the main tournament gets underway. Zimbabwe will face Kenya on Monday and Nigeria on Wednesday at Harare Sports Club.
Their campaign will kick off with a match against Uganda on September 26 at the same venue, followed by a game against Botswana a day later. They will conclude their group matches with a game against Tanzania on September 30.
The top two teams from both groups will advance to the semi-finals, where the winners will qualify for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.– @brandon_malvin
