Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Cricket (ZC) board is confident that the Chevrons will cross the line and book their place in next year’s T20 World Cup when they play in the Qualifiers in November in Namibia.
The Chevrons took part in last year’s edition of the T20 World Cup for the first time in six years and are confident of returning to the global stage and competing against the best in the world in the game’s shortest version.
After missing out on qualification for the 50-over World Cup which will be staged in India in October, ZC Chairperson Tavengwa Mukuhlani is confident that the Chevrons will go all the way during the Africa Regional Final qualification tournament.
Mukuhlani said preparations for the tournament are already underway.
“I am confident that we will cross the line, plans are already underway to make sure that the boys are ready. Fortunately, the core team of our Chevrons will be available for those qualifiers and probably also for the World Cup in 2024.
“So, a lot of work is going on, the coach is on it, programs are underway to make sure that we are ready and we qualify,” said Mukuhlani.
A total of seven African teams will compete for the two available slots to the global showpiece. The Chevrons and the tournament hosts, Namibia did not participate in the Sub-Regional Qualifiers which five of their opponents played in.
Only two teams from the African Qualification tournament will proceed to the global showpiece which will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America (USA) in June next year. Next year’s tournament is set to feature 20 teams.
Besides Zimbabwe and the hosts, Namibia, the other teams that will take part in the qualification tournament are Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The tournament will run from November 20 to 1 December.
Zimbabwe missed out on direct qualification to the World Cup after failing to make the top eight in the previous edition of the tournament which was held in Australia last year. A total of 12 teams have already secured their spots and they are the hosts, West Indies and USA, England, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Netherlands, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Bangladesh and Netherlands qualified automatically as the best-ranked teams in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20I Team Rankings, as of 14 November 2022. The 20 teams in the World Cup will be divided into four groups of five, from which the top two teams in each group advance to the Super Eight round.
The upcoming qualification tournament will be the perfect opportunity for the Chevrons to put past them the failure to qualify for the One Day International (ODI) World Cup which they will be missing for the second time in a row.
In last year’s edition, Zimbabwe managed to reach the Super 12 stage and caused an upset after a last-ball one-run victory over eventual finalists, Pakistan. Playing and winning the upcoming qualifiers will be a big confidence booster for the Chevrons camp. Follow on Twitter – @brandon_malvin
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