Chevrons primed for Windies

18 Mar, 2018 - 00:03 0 Views
Chevrons primed for Windies Sikandar Raza

The Sunday News

Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza

Mehluli Sibanda in Harare
ZIMBABWE are gearing up for what is their biggest test so far in the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup with West Indies, their next opponents at Harare Sports Club tomorrow.

The Chevrons are flying high as they are still yet to taste defeat so far in the tournament and their chances of heading off to England next year are looking bright. Heath Streak’s men are on top of the log with five points, the same as second-placed Scotland while West Indies still have the four they carried from the group stage.

Zimbabwe shot to the top of the six-team log with a 107-run triumph over Ireland in their first Super Six match at Harare Sports Club last Friday. After that victory over Ireland, skipper Graeme Cremer expressed a desire to finish the tournament without tasting defeat.

“It’s a really good chance to qualify if we beat the West Indies but our main goal in the tournament right from the beginning was to go through the tournament unbeaten so we are going to take each game as it comes,’’ he said.

Cremer believes it would be a massive setback if the Chevrons were to lose to the Windies because they feel like they are playing fantastic cricket at the moment. Zimbabwe are enjoying great support with all their matches well attended both in Bulawayo and Harare.

The Chevrons on Friday had retired swimmer Kirsty Coventry, former footballers Benjani Mwaruwaru and Harlington Shereni backing them against Ireland.

“It would be a real setback if we lose the game, we don’t want to lose a game in this tournament, we feel like we are playing good enough cricket, with the crowd behind us in our home conditions, if we are playing good cricket we shouldn’t lose a game. Definitely a big game, we are playing well, also it will be a good game,’’ Cremer said.

Zimbabwe will be keeping an eye on the clash between Ireland and Scotland at Harare Sports Club today. The Scots pose a big threat to Zimbabwe’s qualification if they win today. If Scotland beat Ireland they will jump over Zimbabwe to the top spot with seven points. Should Ireland overcome Scotland today, then a win for Zimbabwe over the Windies will mean the host nation will just need victory over United Arab Emirates on Thursday to secure a ticket to England.

Sikandar Raza has been outstanding for the Chevrons so far with three Man of the Match awards out of Zimbabwe’s five matches. It is however, the batting which is a cause for concern, something coach Heath Streak has to work on ahead of the crucial clash with West Indies.

Meanwhile, Netherlands ended as the seventh best team in the tournament after they defeated Nepal by 45 runs at Kwekwe Sports Club yesterday. At Old Hararians, Papua New Guinea finished as the ninth team in the tournament with a 58-run victory over Hong Kong at Old Hararians yesterday with the latter the worst side in the competition. -@Mdawini_29

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