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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Under-19 cricket team coach Prosper Utseya says they have been charmed by the success of the Bangladesh youth team, who won their maiden World Cup crown by upsetting favourites India over the weekend.
The world witnessed one of the most thrilling battles at the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup when Bangladesh pulled off an unlikely win over the defending champions.
The Junior Tigers beat India by three wickets in Potchefstroom, South Africa, through the Duckworth-Lewis method on Sunday, to be crowned champions for the first time in a typical David versus Goliath affair.
“I was so happy for Bangladesh, congratulations to them. These guys have been investing a lot in their development and their progress was there for all to see,” said Utseya.
“Their team did quite well at the last World Cup in New Zealand, and if I remember quite well, they were also in a very good position to challenge for the title in 2016 when they hosted the event although they ended up finishing third.
“One thing that impressed me most about Bangladesh, whether they were winning or they were losing, they kept doing the right things.
“I don’t think the Bangladeshi were surprised to be in the final.
“Winning is a process that requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice. You cannot just wake up and start winning without investing into it.
“They have been playing lots of cricket and getting on tours. I think they had played about 28 internationals in the lead up to the World Cup and they really invested a lot into the team.
“After getting such exposure against top teams, it’s natural that they would start believing that everything is possible.’’
Zimbabwe finished 11th at the tournament after failing the make the Super league quarter-finals from Group C, which ironically had Bangladesh, Scotland and semi-finalists Pakistan.
As was expected, they lost to both Bangladesh and Pakistan and won one match against Scotland to finish third.
“In terms of the will to win, I think the boys (Zim team) demonstrated that they wanted to do it,’’ said Utseya.
“They gave their all, but as you would find out in the end, we were up against some of the strongest teams in our group.
“One reached the semi-final and the other went all the way to win the tournament.
“Our boys played their hearts out. You don’t know what could have happened if the game against Bangladesh, in the group stages, wasn’t affected by rain.
“Against Pakistan, we put up a really strong show, but we lost the key moments of the game.
“I think we should have done better and the 11th placing is not a true reflection of exactly where we belong because you don’t get to play all the teams at the tournament.’’
Zimbabwe still had some glimpses of brilliance from the likes of Wesley Madhevere, Emmanuel Bawa, Milton Shumba, Luke Oldknow, Tadiwanashe Nyangani, Dane Schadendorf and skipper Dion Myers.
Having beaten hosts South Africa and semi-finalists New Zealand in the build-up to the tournament, Utseya still believes Zimbabwe deserved better results.
“The way we played against New Zealand, I thought we dominated them, but they found themselves in the semi-finals.
“Same with South Africa, they found themselves playing for sixth position,” he said.
Online Reporter