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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
LOCAL cricket followers who missed out on watching star all-rounder Sikandar Raza during Zimbabwe’s Twenty20 International cricket series against Ireland will be in for a treat as he is expected to be available for the three One Day International (ODI) which begins tomorrow.
ZC managing director, Givemore Makoni confirmed that Raza will be available for the 50 over series after he was granted permission to miss the shortest format to play in international franchise leagues (Bangladesh Premier League and International League T20).
The 36-year-old all-rounder who was nominated for the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI player of year accolade will be a big boost for the Chevrons side who will be without the services of Sean Williams who suffered a finger injury that forced him to miss the decisive T20 match against Ireland on Sunday. Williams is expected to be out for a minimum of six weeks.
With Raza coming in to join the Chevrons in the one-day format, the team will be hoping he continues with his form from last year when he was not shy of breaking and making records.
He finished the year with an average of 49.61 and strike rate of 87.16, making two fifties to complement the three centuries. All of his runs came against top sides that have been brilliant in the white-ball game in 2022. Of the three centuries, two were back-to-back against Bangladesh in Harare where Zimbabwe won their first white ball series since 2017.
The other hundred was a gallant effort against India where the Chevrons fell short. All the centuries came while chasing. He scored 540 runs in nine ODIs at Harare Sports Club and will be looking to continue with his form.
Raza was in action for the Dubai Capitals in the International League T20 as they defeated the
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by 73 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Zimbabwean all-rounder scored 26 off 17 deliveries, the Capitals posting 187/6 in 20 overs.
He went on to pick up one wicket for 17 runs in four overs, the Knight Riders reaching 114/9 in 20 overs.
Gary Ballance, who missed out on the Chevrons’ last two matches due to a mild concussion will also return to the national side for the ODI series. Ballance, who switched allegiance to Zimbabwe (country of birth) from England last year is set to make his ODI debut in Zimbabwean tomorrow.
Ballance who last played international cricket in 2017 for England and ended his 15-year flirtation with English county side Yorkshire signed a two-year contract with ZC.
However, changes were made to the second match of the 50-over series, which has been moved from Friday 20 January to Saturday 21 January. The shift in dates was meant to allow fans to go out on a weekend and enjoy the game. The rest of the ODI schedule remains unchanged with the first match scheduled for Wednesday 18 January (tomorrow) and the final one set for Monday 23 January. – @brandon_malvin.
Online Reporter