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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
VISITING Pakistan Shaheens team manager, Imran Abbas, whose team is locked in a four-day match against Zimbabwe A at Mutare Sports Club, believes there is room for improvement for Zimbabwe cricket in the technical aspects of the game.
The Shaheens won the first four-dayer which was played at Kwekwe Sports Club last week by eight wickets.
The Pakistan tour will culminate into six one-day matches against Zimbabwe in Harare which will be part of Zimbabwe’s final preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 on home soil.
The tour started off with two four-day games between Zimbabwe A and Pakistan A, popularly known as the Shaheens, in Kwekwe before the ongoing Mutare four-day encounter.
In an interview on Monday afternoon upon their arrival at White Horse Inn in the Vumba resort area just outside Mutare, where they are being accommodated, Pakistan Shaneens team manager, Abbas Imran said there is need to improve in the technical approach to the game of cricket in Zimbabwe.
“As far as the game of cricket is concerned, I think Zimbabweans are lacking in their technical abilities. I hope their coaching staff and Zimbabwe Cricket management have a plan to improve the standards of the game on the technical aspects.
“Hopefully in coming years, if they have good coaching structures that respond to the technical needs of the players, they will greatly improve,” Abbas said.
Two excellent fifties from Tadiwanashe Marumani and Dion Myers gave Zimbabwe A a fine start before they suffered a batting collapse in their second four-day match against Pakistan Shaheens which started at Mutare Sports Club on Wednesday.
They were dismissed for 163 and by the close of the day, the tourists had put themselves in a strong position by scoring 115 for one wicket.
Pakistan Shaheens won the toss and put Zimbabwe A in to bat.
The home team suffered an early blow when their main batting hero of the first match, Joylord Gumbie, was caught off the bowling of paceman Mohammad Ali for seven, with the score at 12.
There followed a fine partnership of 110 for the second wicket as Myers joined Marumani at the crease, and the pair batted superbly against a mixed bowling attack, scoring at a good pace and putting their side in a very promising position.
Unfortunately, such a good start was wasted as once the partnership was broken, the middle order fell apart.
The dismissal that started the collapse was that of Myers, who reached his 50 and was then bowled out at that mark by the left-arm spinner, Mehran Mumtaz with the score now reading 122 for two wickets.
Myers faced 108 deliveries and hit a six and nine fours.
At 130, Marumani followed him back to the pavilion after scoring an aggressive 66 off 100 balls – he was caught at the wicket off the pace bowler, Aamer Jamil.
Marumani hit a six and eight fours in his dominating innings.
Without addition, Tony Munyonga was out without scoring, and then Johnathan Campbell went out for four – all three wickets fell in nine balls bowled by Jamil, and all were caught behind the wicket.
When Roy Kaia was caught off Mumtaz for 12, the score had gone to 140 for six wickets, five wickets having gone down in six overs.
Nyasha Mayavo did his best to improve the situation by scoring 17, but then he was bowled by Ali and the later batters all failed.
The last four wickets fell for the addition of only two runs, and Zimbabwe A were all out for 163, a poor total after such a good second-wicket partnership.
Ali, who removed the last two batters in three balls, finished with four wickets for 36 runs, while there were three scalps each for Jamal and Mumtaz.
Pakistan Shaheens began their innings briskly, the openers Muhammad Hurraira and Imran Butt making light of the Zimbabwe A bowling.
The home side were not helped by Tanaka Chivanga breaking down in his fourth over and being unable to bowl again.
Butt fancied the bowling of Myers and hit him for three successive fours, but the next delivery found him out lbw for 27, the score then being 63 for one in the 11th over.
Omair Yousuf quickly found his touch, and with Hurraira took the score to 115 for one wicket in 24 overs by the close.
Hurraira was looking ominously good with 60, while Yousuf had 19. — Senior Reporter/Zimbabwe Cricket.
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