The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Cricket (ZC) are looking at building on the success of the 2018 International Cricket Council World Cup Qualifier when the country hosts the 2023 Qualifier.
Last Thursday, the ICC announced that Zimbabwe will be the venue for the next World Cup Qualifier to be held from 18 June to 9 July 2023.
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 participants will include the bottom five sides from the 13-team ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, excluding India, as well as the top three teams from the World Cup League Two and the top two teams from the World Cup Qualifier Playoff.
In 2018, thousands turned up whenever Zimbabwe played at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo or Harare Sports Club. Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the ZC chairman said the country is a cheaper venue for ICC events because hotel accommodation is affordable, the country has great weather and a favourable time zone.
“Zimbabwe is a cheaper host, hotel accommodation is affordable, the weather is good, the time zone is good for everyone, you can see from 2018 that there is a serious cricket culture. We hope that fans will be allowed into the stadiums in 2023,’’ Mukuhlani said.
Initially, the qualifier for the 2023 Cricket World Cup was meant to take place in 2022 but with the coronavirus (Covid-19) disrupting the ICC Super League fixtures in 2020, the tournament has been pushed to the following year.
“This was an event that Zimbabwe had submitted a bit for and it was supposed to be held in 2022. Zimbabwe were also meant to host the women’s qualifier which was given to Sri Lanka after we were suspended last year,” said Mukuhlani.
Mukuhlani clarified that when the ICC chief executive officer, Manu Sawhney and the world cricket governing body’s commercial general manager, Campbell Jamieson visited the country in February this year, ZC briefed the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Kirsty Coventry on future events they were planning to bid for. By that time, Zimbabwe had already been awarded the rights to host the 2023 World Cup Qualifier.
“When the ICC CEO came to Zimbabwe in February, we did have a discussion with the ICC head of commercial, we did present a schedule of events that we wanted to bid for to the Government but those events were post 2023, not the current cycle. The current one had already been decided before that, we applied for this a long time ago,’’ Mukuhlani said.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Under-19 trials will run from today until Tuesday at Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians. National team coach Prosper Utseya is looking to come up with players for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in West Indies. – @Mdawini_29.
