Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
HOSTS Zimbabwe, may be down and out of ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup contention, but they have remained in good spirits.
As they went about their preparations at Old Hararians Sports Club yesterday, ahead of their next Super Six assignment, the Young Chevrons were still a happy lot, despite having failed to find a win so far in their World Cup campaign.
It was their first training session since returning from Bulawayo on Wednesday where they fell heavily to India in their first Super Six match.
Zimbabwe were busy putting the final touches during their penultimate net session ahead of their match against Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club tomorrow.
Win-less and anchoring the Group B standings in the Super Six stage, the Young Chevrons can only play for pride.
Defeats to Pakistan and England at the group phase meant that Zimbabwe entered the Super Sixes stage without any points on the board.
And their 204-run defeat to India on Tuesday then confirmed their elimination from the competition.
There is, however, still plenty to play for in Group B, as India, England (6) and Pakistan (4) will most likely go into the final round of games tussling for the top two slots that go through.
India and England are tied on six points with the Asians on top due to a superior net run rate. Pakistan are third with four points and still have a mathematical chance of sneaking through.
Pakistan and India meet on Sunday at Queens Sports Club, with that derby a repeat of the Asia Under-19 Cup final last month, which the former side won by 191 runs.
They will be aiming for a repeat of that kind of performance in order to punch their semi-final ticket.
England, on their part could confirm their place with a win today against New Zealand, another team that has already been knocked out.
Sandwiched between those two games is the Zimbabwe against Bangladesh tie, and the two nations have nothing but pride left to play for.
At least, that is the gospel according to the Zimbabwe Under-19 coach Elton Chigumbura.
“Even though qualification is no longer in our hands, there is still a lot to play for,” said Chigumbura.
“Pride, performance, and growth are powerful motivators.
“And our target areas will be to play disciplined cricket, give opportunities to players to take responsibility, and finish the tournament on a high note.
“Every game at this level is part of their development and should be treated as such,” he said.
Given that the main objective of this juniors’ World Cup is development, Chigumbura has opted to put more emphasis on the positives from his team’s performance.
“It’s been a fantastic tournament — competitive, high-quality cricket and a great experience for young players,” he said.
“It shows how strong youth cricket is globally.
“For our players, it has been an invaluable learning environment.
“The biggest lesson is understanding the consistency required to compete with top nations.
“We have seen that talent is not enough — execution, discipline, and mental toughness are also key elements and areas.
“These experiences will help our players as they progress towards senior cricket.”
Chigumbura’s sentiments were echoed by his deputy, Norbert Manyande, who believes that the team owes the nation and fans a great game tomorrow.
He also believes that the tournament has not been a total failure as there are important lessons and a few positives to take away from Zimbabwe’s performance.
“I think in the last game against Bangladesh, we obviously want to try and finish strong. That’s the main thing,” he said.
“Everyone knows that we are going out, but it’s also how you go out.
“You want to go out in a good way.
“We want to finish the tournament with a flourish and give the fans and the country something to cheer for.
“They (supporters) have been absolutely splendid during the whole tournament, from our warm-up game in Masvingo right up to Takashinga in Harare and Bulawayo.
“They came in their numbers and cheered us on at every step,” he said.
Manyande also opted to focus more on the positives from the tournament.
“This is the highest and biggest tournament at the Under-19 level, so from here we will see a lot of international cricketers going on to make their mark on the world stage at the senior level.
“The boys (Zimbabwe) did put up some good performances here and there.
“The problem is that those performances were in patches.
“We need to build some sort of consistency and gel as a team,” said Manyande.
