Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema, Zimpapers Sports Hub
CRICKET fans still talk about that night in South Africa when Zimbabwe stunned Australia at the 2007 T20 World Cup. The Chevrons played with heart, Australia looked flat, and after a rain scare that briefly tilted the game in the Aussies’ favour, Zimbabwe closed out a famous five-wicket win with two balls to spare.
It wasn’t luck. Zimbabwe controlled large stretches of the match. Ricky Ponting chose to bat first and watched his side crawl to 138 for nine in their 20 overs.
Elton Chigumbura led the attack with three for 20, Gary Brent backed him with two for 19, while Prosper Utseya and Hamilton Masakadza chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Only Andrew Symonds and Brad Hodge offered resistance, scoring 33 off 25 and an unbeaten 35 off 22 respectively.
The night belonged to Brendan Taylor. His unbeaten 60 off 45 balls held the chase together. He nudged singles, stayed calm when Australia tightened the screws, then smashed two big sixes off Hodge in the 15th over to swing the momentum back.
Even then, Australia still had the edge as Zimbabwe entered the final over needing 12. Taylor flicked the first ball for four, and with four needed off two, Nathan Bracken speared one on leg stump. It clipped Taylor’s pad and trickled towards fine leg. Stuart Clark chased, slid, and failed. Before the ball even touched the rope, Zimbabwe’s bench was already on the field celebrating a landmark victory.
That was 19 years ago.
Next year, Zimbabwe and Australia meet again on the T20 World Cup stage in Sri Lanka and India. Yesterday’s schedule announcement placed the two sides in the same group, alongside co-hosts Sri Lanka, Ireland and Oman.
Two men who lived through that 2007 upset, Gary Brent and Chamunorwa Chibhabha, were quick to weigh in on the draw and Zimbabwe’s prospects.
“It’s quite a fair draw to be honest, I’m actually excited,” said Brent. “Oman is a team we should beat easily, while our games against Ireland have always been competitive and the team that shows up on the day wins. We recently beat Sri Lanka and we can do it again.”
Chibhabha took a more measured tone.
“It is a very tough group but it is not impossible to progress,” he said. “The team is on a good trajectory, but we need the lower order to start imposing their will on the game.
“Many times when Bennett (Brian) and the top order have given us good starts, the lack of a pure finisher has often exposed us. Yes, Ryan Burl has done some good work, but we need more batters to show up, either in support or when he doesn’t put up the runs.”
On the group itself, he warned against complacency.
“Australia and Sri Lanka are both quality sides and Ireland have been playing some good cricket of late, so it’s going to be tough,” he said.
“Yes, we beat Sri Lanka recently, but they bounced back and could possibly make the Pakistan Tri-Series final, which shows their quality. We shouldn’t underestimate any team in the group and just play the best cricket we can on the day.”
Zimbabwe’s path to the Super Eight is possible if they take lessons from that famous 2007 win. Brent still remembers the details.
“It was a classic case of ‘David versus Goliath’ and I really don’t think Australia took the match seriously,” he said. “Should the same happen again next year, Zimbabwe have to be ready to take the bull by the horns. A lot of things went right for us — I remember bowling to Ricky Ponting and getting a wild edge. Brendan Taylor and Vusi Sibanda also batted very well to take us home.
“There is hope for a good outing in India and Sri Lanka next year. We have a lot of talent at our disposal at the moment. Missing Blessing Muzarabani could be a major blow as he leads our bowling attack, but we have so many pace bowlers coming up like Kudakwashe Macheka. In the batting department, we have the likes of Ben Curran and Jonathan Campbell emerging. No place is guaranteed.”
The tournament will follow the same format as last year’s edition in the USA and West Indies. Twenty teams are split into four groups of five.
The group stage runs from February 7 to 20, with the top two from each pool advancing to the Super Eight phase from February 21 to March 1. The top two from the Super Eight groups will reach the semi-finals before the final closes the tournament.
Full Groups
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
