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Don Makanyanga
Sports Reporter
AS the campaign for the remaining two spots at the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup begins today, hosts Zimbabwe say they are ready for battle.
Such is the confidence oozing from the Chevrons that their coach Dave Houghton wants them to not only book their place at the World Cup but also to win the qualifiers outright.
“We do not have to just qualify for the World Cup, we need to win the ICC World Cup qualifiers,” he said.
“We have set our goals and ambitions a little higher than just qualifying.
“I want us to continue with the good brand of cricket that we have been playing for the last 12 months, which has excited fans, and I do not want the team to take the foot off the pedal, hence we should win more than we lose.
“And, if we do that, we stand a good chance of achieving what we want to achieve.”
However, to achieve their set target, they have to battle it out with nine other countries.
“Every one of these teams is capable of beating any team on their day and obviously the strongest sides will be the likes of West Indies and Sri Lanka.
“You will have to have a really good day . . . for them to lose games, hence we have to be on guard every time and take our best cricket to the big sides as well.”
Zimbabwe is in Group A, together with former World champions West Indies, Nepal, US and Netherlands.
Houghton believes the two-time World Cup champions will be the toughest opponents in their group.
“The West Indies are the strongest in that group, there is no doubt. They are a very strong side when it comes to white-ball cricket in particular, but on a given day, if we play our game, we can cause them as many problems as we can.”
The Chevrons must first deal with Nepal at Harare Sports Club today, before playing Netherlands on Tuesday.
They will face their real test on Saturday, when they engage West Indies, before rounding off their group matches with a clash against US on June 26.
The Chevrons coach is happy with his players’ form, including the batters, who had lately come under scrutiny for their inconsistencies.
“Everyone seems to think that our batting is a problem, but I think our batters are doing really well at the moment, and we are going into this tournament in good form and pretty high on confidence.
“I think the team could not be more ready; we need to start playing the games, everyone is excited and raring to go.”
Nepal, who are making their debut at the ICC World Cup qualifiers, will be looking to continue with their good run of form, which saw them losing a single match in 12 outings.
Their captain, Asif Sheikh, believes that his men stand a chance of punching their ticket to the World Cup.
“Looking at the qualifiers, we believe that if we play quality cricket, we are going to win most of the matches. It is just about playing the best cricket on the day.
“We believe that if we play our best cricket on that day, we are going to win,” said Sheikh.
Harare Sports Club and Takashinga will play host to Group A matches, while Queens Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club are the venues for Group B games.
Online Reporter