malvernmugadzikwa
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE next 12 months will be telling for Zimbabwe women’s cricket.
And no one is likely to feel the heat more than the Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) convener of the Zimbabwean women’s selection panel, Julia Chibhabha. This follows the inclusion of Zimbabwe women’s cricket on the International Cricket Council (ICC) Future Tours Programme for 2025-2029.
The ICC unveiled the 2025-2029 Future Tours Programme (FTP) last month, which outlines the fixtures for the fourth edition of the ICC Women’s Championship.
This cycle, which will shape the lineup for the 2029 Women’s Cricket World Cup, expanded to feature 11 teams, from 10.
Notably, Zimbabwe are set to make their debut in the tournament, marking a significant step towards broader global representation in women’s cricket.
In the Women’s Championship, each team will compete against eight others, maintaining the format of four home and four away series, as in the current edition.
Across 44 series, a total of 132 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) will be played, with each series consisting of three matches.
For Chibhabha, on one hand, there is overall excitement over the news, as being included in the ICC Futures Tours Programme is a form of reward for years of hard work, and, more importantly, it means more cricket for the Lady Chevrons.
“It certainly is the major highlight for us this year,” she said.
“We have been hoping and praying that something like this happens and looking at how we have been playing, and how the players performed over the years, it has been some very good cricket.
“We are very honoured and grateful that the ICC have seen the potential that Zimbabwe possesses and we will likely grow from strength to strength from here onwards.”
According to the schedule, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe make up the ICC Future Tours Programme.
Zimbabwe will play four away games against South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland. They will play host to India, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
This is in addition to the bilateral tours that ZC had either organised or has been working on. With more games comes more attention on the team and more demands, as Chibhabha noted.
“Looking at the FTP and all the top sides we are going to play against, it is certainly going to be a higher level of competition,” she said.
“For me, as the convener of the selection panel, I kind of have mixed feelings about all this. The more games that we play means more players are going to put up their hands for selection and this could lead to selection headaches.
Another challenge will be the physical aspect of all that cricket. We have got some players who are a bit older and managing their workload will be of paramount importance.”
Chibhabha stressed the importance of balancing personnel between the 50-over and Twenty-20 cricket. There will be a need to divide the current pool into those more inclined to the 50-over cricket and those more inclined to the T20 format.
Another challenge she noted was bringing more eyes to women’s cricket, as the selection panel will come under more scrutiny and criticism, as opposed to now, where they have flown under the radar.
Still, Chibhabha remains optimistic; she sees better days ahead, promising an upset or two, and refusing to rule out Zimbabwe gracing the ICC six-team women’s Champions Trophy.
“You can never say it’s too early to dream,” she said.
“The earlier you start dreaming, the earlier you are inclined to start working hard.
“I don’t want to prematurely rule us out of the Champions Trophy because, if we have been included on the FTP, then that means we have got something. If it happens, then kudos to us, but if it does not, then that means a lot more work is needed.”
Online Reporter