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BULAWAYO. — Boycotts, protests and the occasional surprise victory once ensured Zimbabwe’s place in cricket’s consciousness, yet now they are battling for relevance, reduced to facing Singapore, Jersey and the United States this month for a World Cup berth.
Earning a position at the Twenty20 showpiece in Australia this October has become a critical endeavour for Zimbabwe, who have failed to register a World Cup appearance in any format since 2016.
To break the drought, Zimbabwe will have to overcome second and third-tier sides during a qualifying tournament in Bulawayo starting today.
“They are not automatically qualifying for the World Cup and these ICC (International Cricket Council) events,” former Zimbabwe bowler-turned television commentator, Ed Rainsford, told Reuters.
“Now you are having to brush shoulders with Oman, Jersey, Uganda and teams like this in the hope that you’re going to qualify. That’s a dangerous place to be.”
Recent events show that it has become an appropriate place to be, albeit an undignified one for a relatively well-funded, Test-playing outfit struggling to compete against poorly-resourced, low-ranking amateurs.
Over the past five years, off-field corruption scandals have tarnished the legacies of Zimbabwean icons Heath Streak and Brendan Taylor, and on the field the team suffered humiliating series defeats to Ireland, Afghanistan, Netherlands and Namibia.
They also lost matches that they were expected to win against Singapore, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates.
The loss to UAE caused the team to miss the 50-overs World Cup in 2019, underscoring the fall of a side once recognised for punching above their weight.
Test triumphs over Bangladesh and Pakistan in the early 2010s offered fans some hope, as did one-day victories against India, New Zealand and Australia, but the side never progressed because weakened development pathways failed to churn out talent.
Now in their mid-thirties, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Regis Chakabva and Sikandar Raza are the only remaining active players to have brought up three figures at the top level.
Zimbabwe’s domestic league has failed to produce a single international centurion with a first-class debut since 2007. Adding insult to injury, English county clubs snap up many young individuals who show promise, such as Nick Welch and Ed Byrom.
“As a Test-playing nation… you’ve got to be thinking progressively, you’ve got to be thinking about the next crop of players coming through,” Rainsford said.
“It’s just meandered through the last 10 to 12 years. Zimbabwe cricket has never been where they are right now and it’s actually quite scary.”
As the team’s prospects have diminished, so too has interest in Zimbabwe from the global cricket fraternity.
“I think the world of cricket have said, ‘Zimbabwe needs to do what they need to do, we can’t continue to molly-coddle them’.”
Meanwhile, India will tour Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI series next month. While the dates are yet to be officially announced, Cricbuzz has learnt that three games, part of the ICC One-Day Super League, have been tentatively scheduled for August 18, 20 and 22 respectively.
The matches are of immense significance for the home team as the points from the series will count towards the qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup. They are, however, not as important for India, the hosts for the event, as Rohit Sharma’s side had directly qualified for the pinnacle event next October.
The six ODIs India are slated to play back-to-back this month, against England and the West Indies, are not part of the Super League.
“We are absolutely delighted to host India and we look forward to a competitive and memorable series,” a Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) official told Cricbuzz on Friday.
As of now all the matches are to be played at the Harare Sports Club in the capital city. The Indian team is expected to arrive in Harare on August 15.
“It’s a big opportunity for the players to play against the Indian players and for the cricketing fraternity in Zimbabwe. It will create a lot of interest amongst the younger generation to take up this game. Overall, the series is very good for Zimbabwe cricket,” said Lalchand Rajput, the former coach of the side, who has now been re-designated as the Technical Director. Dave Houghton is the head coach of the Craig Ervine-led side.
The tour to Zimbabwe is the first for India in six years. The last time India was there was when the MS Dhoni-led side played three ODIs and as many T20Is in June-July 2016.
There are no 20-over games this time around since in under a week from the third and final ODI, the Asia Cup is scheduled to begin in Sri Lanka, on August 27. Given the quick turnaround time between the two series, India may again field two different sides simultaneously. — Reuters.
Online Reporter