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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
DESPITE not being in the field of play, fans are an important part of any team that have winning on the back of their minds, they play a huge role as the 12th man.
It is popular knowledge that a home side is pushed through by its fans throughout difficult times. Those who follow England Cricket will know of the Barmy Army who always rally behind their side, in India there is the Bharat Army who are equally good as their English counterparts. During the days of South Africa’s Hashim Amla, they had a set of fans known as the Hashim Army.
Since the taking over of Dave Houghton as the head coach of Zimbabwe’s senior men’s team, a section of fans have taken it upon themselves to be the team’s 12th man. Popularly known as the Castle Corner, they have proved to be an integral part of Zimbabwe at the recently concluded Twenty20 International series against Ireland at Harare Sports Club where they were up in song, throughout the duration of the matches.
Cheering through their beloved Chevrons, bringing an electric atmosphere to Harare Sports Club, the fans have won the hearts of the Irish internationals due to their love for the game.
“The best atmosphere I’ve ever seen at an international match as over 10 000 fans made the Harare Sports Club bounce to every single moment as the series went right to the wire with Zimbabwe Cricket taking it 2-1!” wrote commentator Andrew Leonard on his Twitter account.
Leonard is not the only one to have been charmed by the love Zimbabweans have for the game, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie was also impressed by the crowds at Harare Sports Club, pitting them just behind giants India.
“Apart from when you play India, it’s probably the best atmosphere to play in. It’s really nice, it’s not hostile, it’s friendly, and everyone loves to be here and it’s great to play in front of. We want to play good cricket and entertain people whether it’s here, whether it’s at home, or wherever it is. We have really enjoyed the crowd and hopefully, it continues,” said Balbirnie.
The Chevrons won the T20I series, which was both teams’ first outing of the year, 2-1 in front of their buzzing fans. The energy is expected to be on show again in the second ODI of the series which will be played on Saturday after Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) moved it to allow fans the time to enjoy the match. – @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter