Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE next 48 hours will be a crucial period in Zimbabwe’s quest to qualify for the Super Six stage of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
Hosts Zimbabwe and their camp will be watching today’s group C encounter between England and Scotland with a keen and vested interest on the proceedings at Takashinga Cricket Club.
This is because the result of this match, which will be played at Takashinga Sports Club, impacts who goes through to the next round as the final round of group games begin.
England have virtually qualified for the next round as they go into today’s match with a maximum four points from their opening two games.
After their win over Scotland on Monday, Pakistan are second with two points.
With three going through to the next stage, Scotland currently occupy the third and final qualifying spot and will be desperate to consolidate their position as only net run-rate separates them and bottom-placed Zimbabwe.
Much like it has done so far during this tournament, the weather could also have a say on both the results and who goes through.
Zimbabwe and second-placed Pakistan have a game tomorrow and will go into that encounter fully aware of what is needed to qualify.
The hosts have, however, refused to dwell on the match between England and Scotland or the permutations involved, rather opting to concentrate on perfecting their craft in preparation for their match against Pakistan tomorrow. For assistant coach Norbert Manyande, the time to bring out the calculators has not arrived yet, but he did admit that it is fast approaching.
“It hasn’t come to that just yet,” he said.
“However, with the rain in play, it’s definitely going to come to that at some point.
“In my opinion, every team has to be careful in terms of their net run rates as the rain is a constant threat and may cause disruptions to some matches.
“Some, if not most, of the games are going to be affected by rain, and you have a plan for such scenarios.
“We have discussed these things as a team and we will plan accordingly when the time comes,” he said.
Zimbabwe played their first full match over the weekend, going down to table-toppers England by eight weeks.
It was a game of two innings as the Zimbabwe batters showed glimpses of promise while the bowlers seemed to struggle with their line and length. The match left an impression on Manyande, who praised the English side for the organisational skills while he believes his team are yet to play their best match.
On the English, Manyande said: “I think England are very organised.”
“ I am not saying this because they played us and won, but I also watched some of the games they played throughout the warm-up matches.
“They look more organised than most of the teams and stick to their game plan very well,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s batting will once again be under the microscope as they meet a Pakistan side that has a very potent bowling unit.
They showed glimpses of promise against an equally explosive England attack as four batters displayed decent starts.
Zimbabwe skipper Simbarashe Mudzengerere top-scored with an unbeaten 45 runs off 63 balls, while the trio of Kian Blignaut (33), Dhruv Patel (36) and Tatenda Chimugoro (30) came in with handy cameos as Zimbabwe finished on 208 for nine in their allotted 50 overs against England. The entire batting line-up will need to go a gear up if they are to wrestle a win against a Pakistan side with lots of talent at their disposal in the bowling and batting departments.
