Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo, Zimpapers Sports Hub
A confident Brendan Taylor, the former Zimbabwe Cricket captain, believes the Chevrons will deliver a strong performance in their historic one-off four-day Test against England. The unique challenge unfolds at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, between May 22 and 25.
Taylor, at 39 and hailed as one of Zimbabwe’s finest cricketers, urged the Chevrons to embrace the challenge of tricky English conditions, especially with the unfamiliar Duke’s ball. He stressed this fixture represents an invaluable experience for those unaccustomed to playing in England.
“It’s going to be an enormous uphill battle, make no mistake about that. The guys are aware of that, just with the Duke’s ball alone, and then with the skill of England and how good they are (at home), it’s quite a challenge.
“There aren’t many of the guys who have experience in England; Ben Curran and Blessing Muzarabani were at Northants (Northamptonshire County Cricket Club), and Nick Welch at Leicestershire, but a lot of them need that experience.
“That’s what we all live for, the chance to play against the best, and to do it in their own back yard, that’s great. It’s something I would have loved to have been a part of, and especially at what became my second home — but it was not to be. It’s going to be a tough few days though. If the weather holds out, that would be ideal but if the weather comes in, you’re looking at a tough time for the batters,” said Taylor to Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, the hosts for the historic Test match.
Backed by the experience of Sikandar Raza, Craig Ervine, and Sean Williams, combined with exciting young talents such as Brian Bennett, Taylor is confident Zimbabwe are ready for the Trent Bridge challenge.
“Sikandar Raza might be up against it with the red ball, as a player who has built his skills in white-ball cricket, but he is a phenomenal player. Craig Ervine has been a very loyal servant to Zimbabwe cricket, and is an unbelievable player in his own right. Sean Williams, he’s very experienced too.
“Someone who is very well thought of too is Brian Bennett. He is a wonderful kid, who has a very bright future, and he is supremely talented. He is a fearless cricketer, he bats at the top of the order, and he bowls some pretty handy off-spinners too.
“He is mad for cricket, he loves it, and he has a bright future. He conducts himself very well too, he’s got the right mentality for this sort of game, and he’s quite a simple guy; he keeps everything very simple, very softly-spoken. He’s a lovely character as well.
“The guys are going to have to be very skilled, technically, to prepare for what’s going to come, but it’s exciting times. It’s nice to get out of Zimbabwe and to go and play one of the best Test-playing outfits in the world. I’m sure they’re all fired up for that,” said Taylor.
This historic Test marks Zimbabwe’s first visit to England in 22 years, and their first away Test against a ‘top three nation’ (England, Australia, India) since 2003. Taylor hopes this tour will open doors for future encounters with other major cricketing nations, while also stressing the crucial need for continuity, which he feels has been lacking.
“No doubt, it’s important to play those games. Zimbabwe cricket has, for many years, lacked continuity — we would play once every couple of months, then not play again for a while, and we would have to pick it up again.
“We have always seemed to string things together a little bit better when we have got some cricket behind us, like most teams probably would. Hopefully this Test match against England can lead to other things, like playing in Australia, New Zealand, and India.
“Whenever we have been to the subcontinent, we have been to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, but not much past that.
These are exciting times, and hopefully they just keep coming, because that’s how we get better,” said Taylor.
Following their England fixture, Zimbabwe will play a four-day Test against South Africa at Arundel from June 3-6. This match serves as part of the Proteas’ preparations for the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s. — @brandon_malvin
