Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THERE was a moment or two when emotions seemed to get the better of him.
Brendan Taylor looked to get a little teary-eyed as he pointed to the heavens to celebrate his maiden T20 century against Botswana on Sunday.
For the few who chose to throng Harare Sports Club over Rufaro for the Harare derby pitting football giants Dynamos against rivals CAPS United, it was a day well-spent.
Taylor showed glimpses of the player that was once a darling of the country.
The sceptics out there will probably point out to Botswana being a lightweight on the cricketing landscape but it was a knock months in the making.
And, more importantly, it was a knock the 39-year-old so desperately needed.
“Yes, emotions did get the better of me,” admitted Taylor.
“Four years ago, I didn’t know where I was going in life.
“The struggles were enormous and the promises of recovery came true so I was just giving a big thanks to God,” he said.
Taylor’s 123 runs off 54 balls was only the second hundred in the format for Zimbabwe, after Sikandar Raza’s 133 not out against The Gambia in 2024.
The Zimbabwe wicket-keeper/batter finished 11 runs away from Raza’s national highest score record.
In the process, he also became the oldest player to score a men’s T20I hundred from a Full Member nation, beating Raza’s record by more than a year’s margin.
But records mean very little to the 39-year-old, who is just happy to be back in the team after serving his three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code.
“It is something I wasn’t really expecting,” he said on his century.
“I was hoping for a contribution and I seem to have gone a bit further than that.
“In the moment itself, I was trying to take it one ball at a time and didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself.
“I wasn’t chasing the century but rather trying to stay very present and playing each ball as it came.
“Still, getting that score in the end was a big confidence booster.
“I felt I was putting the pieces of the puzzle together in the previous match but I just didn’t really commit to the shots.
“However, today (Sunday), I rectified that.
“I was a bit clearer on my shot selection and execution.
“Getting the first 100 is always the difficult one in this format, hopefully, there is more to come now.
“I will just keep my feet on the ground, train hard and hopefully there are some more impactful performances in my future,” he said.
Led by Taylor’s batting masterclass, the Chevrons put on quite the show during their 170-run victory over neighbours Botswana on Sunday.
The win saw Zimbabwe clinch their semi-final spot and leave them one step closer to booking their ticket to next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Eight teams are currently taking part in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifiers but only two will proceed to the main tournament.
The Chevrons go into their final group game this morning against Tanzania having already secured safe passage to the knock-out rounds of the competitions.
And Taylor has refused to take any game or any opponent for granted.
“We speak about respecting our position but not fearing any opposition at the same time,” he said.
“I think that’s a great way to go about it. T20 can be unpredictable, we are seeing some upsets in other groups as well.
“We don’t want to take anyone lightly and we respect everyone involved in this tournament.
“Through that, we focus on our skills, and hopefully, that will be good enough.”
On Tanzania, the final group game, Taylor said, “there’s always so much you can take out of it.
“Obviously, there may be different combinations we can try.
“We have got match winners all the way down to number nine and we know what our bowlers can do.
“So this game will probably be another chance we can really try and enhance our skill set.
“Hopefully, that bodes well for us and again on Thursday in the semi-final.”
It remains to be seen whether the Taylor will take to the field as he was forced to retire after some cramping at the tail end of Zimbabwe’s innings.
He did not keep wicket during Botswana’s failed run chase with Zimbabwe opener Tadiwanashe Marumani taking over.
“It’s just a small lingering hamstring issue,” he said after the match.
“I’m working tirelessly with the physio, and hopefully, we can rectify that and make sure that come Tuesday (today) we are good to go.”
