Vusumuzi Dube
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
THE long wait for the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers is finally over as the flagship 10-team event gets underway in Harare today.
The 10 nations will battle it out for the two remaining spots to the World Cup that will be held in India, later this year. It promises to be an interesting four weeks of cricket for the sport’s enthusiasts.
Two groups of five were created and the top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six stage where each team will play three matches against the teams they did not meet in the group stage.
All points won in the group stages will be carried over to the Super Six stage, apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group. The finalists will both book their ticket to the World Cup India in October.
Group A is made up of Nepal, the United States of America (USA), Netherlands, West Indies and the hosts, Zimbabwe and will be based in Harare. Group B will play their matches in Bulawayo and the group consists of Oman, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
A welcome ceremony took place at Harare Sport Club on Friday and was graced by President Mnangagwa.
Bulawayo based teams were represented at the ceremony by their respective captains. Preparations have gotten into full swing, after the completion of the warm-up matches on Thursday in both host cities.
Some of the tournament favorites, West Indies, Sri Lanka and the Chevrons will head into the tournament oozing with confidence after winning all their warm-up games.
In the last round of warm-up matches, the three nations had comfortable victories over UAE, USA and Scotland respectively. Netherlands and Nepal will also both enter the group stages on the back of victories, with the Netherlands overcoming Ireland while Nepal defeated Oman.
Zimbabwe will be looking at returning to the World Cup after missing out, for the first time ever, in 2019 in England. All-rounder Wessly Madhevere is confident of registering triple figures in the tournament, something which has been on demand from him since breaking into the team three years ago.
The 22-year-old also hopes of helping Zimbabwe get to the top, where they belong.
“I don’t know if I can explain the feeling of taking the hat-trick but it was something beyond what I could imagine.
For it to actually happen to me came as a surprise but I’ll take it and look to take more. It was a brilliant feeling. I believe I’m one of those players who thrives on confidence. Being able to contribute to my team and being able to help the team win games, it can only boost my confidence.
I’m quite confident right now and hopefully I’ll be able to put on some match-winning performances for my team.
“I was probably 10 when I started watching cricket and dreamed about playing for my country. For it to happen for me right now is massive, I can’t even explain. This tournament means a lot. So many players in our squad have dreamt about playing in it.
I’ve dreamt a lot about playing in a tournament like this. It’s exciting times for us and for the nation as well. Guys are keen to get back the status that Zimbabwe cricket had and there is no better chance than this one, so we’re really excited about the opportunity,” said Madhevere.
Madhevere and the Chevrons will play the first game of the tournament against Nepal today at Harare Sports Club. In Bulawayo, Sri Lanka will be looking at getting inspiration from the triumphant team of 1996 as they take part in their first World Cup Qualifiers in over four decades.
Young off-spinner, Maheesh Theekshana believes that they will take a page from the book of the World Cup squad of 1996 which was led by the Arjuna Ranatunga in Pakistan.
The 22-year-old leggie was, however, not born when Ranatunga led the Lions to the top of the world but is well knowledgeable about the story and believes it’s time for the young blood to see the team through.
The USA will be looking at making their first ever appearance at the biggest stage of them all and Aaron Jones is willing to put his friendship with the Windies aside to help his team. Born in the USA, Jones received his cricketing education in Barbados, having moved there with his family in his early years and grew up alongside some of the players in the Windies squad.
“For me, it is just like playing against my friends. I grew up playing with the guys from Barbados, Shai Hope, Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase and I played against some of the other guys, like Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell. I want to go hard and I want to win, for sure, but I will just have to treat it like another game. It will be a great occasion,” said Jones.
For all the other teams participating in the tournament, there is a lot at stake. There is all to play for and will have to give their all out in the middle if they are to book their tickets to India.
A total of 34 matches will be played between Harare Sports Club, Takashinga Cricket Club, Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC) and Queens Sports Club. Harare Sports Club will stage the final on 9 July. Spectators will be able to watch for free all the other group matches not involving the hosts. — Follow on Twitter @brandon_malvin
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