Raza off to England

FOLLOWING the completion of the five-match T20I series against India at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe’s star all-rounder Sikandar Raza is set to return to England for the remainder of 2024 and will not play the one-off Test against Ireland.

The 38-year-old all-rounder was not named in the Chevrons’ 15-member squad for their one-off Test match against Ireland which is scheduled for July 25-29 at Stormont in Belfast, Ireland. Instead, Raza will be playing in The Hundred for Manchester Originals in the United Kingdom.

Raza has not played any First-Class cricket in two years and his last Test match for the Chevrons was in 2021 against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Raza believes it would be unfair for him to just walk into the team as he hasn’t played any four-day cricket recently.

Speaking after the completion of Zimbabwe’s T20I series against India last Sunday, Raza said he will only play the longest version of the game when he is fully fit and has had a stint in domestic cricket. He added that he needs to manage his workload.

However, he said he is still available for red ball cricket.”My workload needs to be managed. I haven’t played any four-day cricket in the last two years post my surgeries. My shoulder isn’t 100 perecent. I don’t want to be a guy who just gets a jersey. I need to go back, respect my domestic cricket, and also respect my domestic cricketers who have put up a lot of runs. I will go back to play domestic cricket and test my own fitness.

“I am still available for Test match cricket, but at this point, I am not because I haven’t played a lot of four-day cricket. I’ll leave for Manchester for The Hundred in a few days. I am looking forward to that,” said Raza. The forthcoming Test against Ireland will be the first ever red ball game between the two nations.

Zimbabwe’s squad for the tour includes four uncapped players in Clive Madande, Brian Bennett, Joylord Gumbie and Johnathan Campbell. Craig Ervine will be the captain and with Sean Williams, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava will provide the team with the much-needed experience.

This will be Zimbabwe’s first Test action since their two-match series at home to the West Indies in February last year at Queens Sports Club. The Chevrons lost that series 1-0.

Zimbabwe squad for test match against Ireland:

Craig Ervine (captain), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Tanaka Chivanga, Joylord Gumbie, Roy Kaia, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sean Williams.
—@brandon_malvin