Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo, Zimpapers Sports Hub
STANDING in as captain after Craig Ervine was sidelined with a calf injury, Williams led the Chevrons in two nail-biting One Day Internationals, both of which went down to the final over. Zimbabwe lost the opener by seven runs before falling by five wickets in Sunday’s decider, but the fight they showed against a top-tier side earned praise from their skipper.
Williams said a culture of truth-telling, no matter how uncomfortable, helped fuel their effort.
“Yes, it could be. Again, if I go back to what I’m trying to achieve here, I think there’s nothing better than telling someone the truth now, and that’s something we’ve been doing in the changing room over the past week. The truth can be hard to hear, but it has to be heard.
“That’s something the team is starting to grasp — you can take it personally, or you can take it as… I’m not sure how to put it.
“The truth can hurt you, but it also helps you grow more than it hurts. I think that’s something huge for us going forward. If we can maintain that in our changing room, it will filter down into the franchise systems as well,” he said.
The veteran all-rounder stressed the importance of being proactive and encouraged his teammates to express themselves, even if it meant taking risks.
“I think just trying to be productive — from my side, it was a late call to captain. The message I gave was that I’d rather you try something new and positive and lose that way, than be cautious and lose.
“Doing something a bit more exciting and inspiring people, including your children, is the job I asked the guys to do.
“And I think if you express yourself, the guys would be surprised by what they can actually do and achieve. That changes the mindset of the players and brings clarity to the roles they have. That’s something I personally tried to achieve in the series.”
Williams admitted his own leadership decisions were not flawless.
“Our performance was huge — there was massive learning. For me as captain, I can already pinpoint decisions I made that probably cost us, or could have put us in a better position to win. There’s a lot of learning to be done. But again, that learning must be followed by action. It can’t just be talked about — there needs to be action behind it,” he said.
He also challenged his teammates to take full ownership of their roles.
“So, I simply asked the guys to own their own space. It’s very easy for me to single you out if you’re not doing that.
“You’re responsible for your own space. At national level, there’s no time for us to be looking after you. If you’re wearing that shirt, you’re owning your space — on the field, as a leader, Craig, Raza… you’ve made the national side based on your skills, qualities and awareness.
“So coming into the game, you know your role, you’ve trained for it, you have your plans, you’ve sat with the coaches and analysts — it’s about executing those plans and being brave. I’m one of those guys who will call you out on that, and I expect the others to do the same to me and to each other.”
With the ODI series wrapped up, the Chevrons now turn their attention to three T20 Internationals, beginning tomorrow at Harare Sports Club.
@brandon_malvin
