adminMehluli Sibanda in BULAWAYO
BOTH teams have yet to taste defeat in the tournament with three wins out of three and Zimbabwe and Scotland clash in a crucial ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in what promises to be a thriller at Queens Sports Club this morning.
Zimbabwe and Scotland are through to the Super Six stage of the 10-team competition but at stake are crucial two points when the two teams collide today.
The winner of the contest will take four points into the next round.
With Afghanistan likely to fail to progress to the next round of the competition, should Hong Kong beat Nepal at Bulawayo Athletic Club, whoever wins the contest between Zimbabwe and Scotland will head into the Super Six with an advantage of four points while the loser proceeds with two.
Only points picked up from the teams that make it to the Super Six are carried to the next and crucial stage of the tournament.
Zimbabwe are on top of the log with six points, the same as Scotland but the Chevrons have a superior net run rate.
Looking at how the two teams have played so far in the tournament makes it hard to predict how today’s encounter will pan out.
The two teams shared a series when Zimbabwe toured Scotland in June last year.
Chevrons skipper, Graeme Cremer, said there is not going to be any change in approach from his team since they head into every game the same way.
Cremer conceded the Scots have been playing some decent cricket which means they are busy plotting the downfall of the host nation.
“Every game is a big game for us in this tournament, no game is going to be different, we won’t take any game lightly, they have been playing decent cricket, we are mindful of that and we have been playing well also, I am sure they will be thinking about that and want to plan against our guys,’’ Cremer said.
Scotland captain, Kyle Coezter, refused to accept the underdog tag since they have won against all the teams in the tournament, except West Indies.
“We don’t believe that we are the underdogs in as much as others may believe so, we have beaten every team in this competition, barring the West Indies.
“We know that we are capable of going far into this competition but we have to take it one day at a time. Obviously, the Zimbabwe game is going to be key to the next stage,’’ Coetzer said.
One thing that Zimbabwe have, which Scotland do not have, are the fans.
In all of Zimbabwe’s three matches, Queens Sports Club was packed and this is what promoted the ICC to move the venue of today’s match from Bulawayo Athletic Club.
With Zimbabwe playing their last match of the tournament in Bulawayo before heading to Harare, the fans are expected to throng Queens Sports Club.
“Our fans have been excellent, it really spurs us on, it must be horrible for the other team because when we lose a wicket the crowd goes quiet but when we are out there in the field it really pushes us on.
“They turn up and I am sure they will again on Monday but we are happy we have given them three wins and hopefully another one on Monday,’’ Cremer said.
Brendan Taylor is the tournament’s highest scorer with 235 runs and he is the man Zimbabwe will be looking to deliver with the bat, together with Cephas Zhuwao, Solomon Mire, Hamilton Masakadza, Sikandar Raza, Craig Ervine as well as Sean Williams.
Raza has proven to be a great asset for the Chevrons as he also contributed in a big way with his off spin which has him as the joint leading wicket taker with Mujeeb Ur Rahman of Afghanistan on nine wickets.
Slow bowlers have been terrific for Zimbabwe with Cremer and Williams also anticipated to play a huge part.
Seamers, Kyle Jarvis, Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara will be expected to do the damage with the ball upfront.
Today’s Fixtures
(Matches start 09h30 local time; games involving the Netherlands and Nepal will be classified as List-A matches as the two sides don’t have ODI status coming into this tournament):
Windies v Netherlands, Harare Sports Club; Shaun George and Michael Gough (on-field), Ahsan Raza (third umpire), Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid (fourth umpire), Graeme La Brooy (match referee)
Ireland v UAE, Old Hararians; Simon Fry and Langton Rusere (on-field), Jeremiah Matibiri (reserve umpire), Devdas Govindjee (match referee)
Hong Kong v Nepal, Bulawayo Athletic Club; Chris Brown and Joel Wilson (on-field), Iknow Chabi (reserve umpire), David Jukes (match referee)
Zimbabwe v Scotland, Queens Sports Club; Paul Wilson and Gregory Brathwaite (on-field), Adrian Holdstock (reserve umpire), Shahit Wadvalla (match referee)
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