AFTER the heartbreak of 2018, Zimbabwe senior men’s cricket team finds itself in a familiar place, one victory away from booking a place in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in India later this year.
The host’s unbeaten run in the World Cup Qualifiers came to a screeching halt after being beaten by Sri Lanka by nine wickets, being bowled out for 165 in 32.2 overs, their lowest tournament total.
The game pitted the best players of spin against the best spin attack in the tournament.
Zimbabwe batters won some phases of the game, but with the ball keeping low and skidding, Maheesh Theekshana, with his mystery spin, bamboozled the batters.
However, it’s a loss that the Zimbabwe coach, Dave Houghton, must pay more attention to.
“I am not taking too much notice of what we did yesterday (against Sri Lanka) and how we need to change any of that,” Houghton told reporters at a media briefing in Bulawayo.
“Just been in the change room with the boys; there is no low head. Everybody is full of confidence.”
In 2018, United Arab Emirates stood in Zimbabwe’s way; five years later, it’s Scotland.
A lot has happened within Zimbabwe cricket in those five years.
Zimbabwe cricket is a happy place, and the team is winning. The supporters are filling up stadiums.
Local supporters are known to turn their backs away on the team after a big loss like Sunday’s but not these days.
There is clarity of thought everywhere, from the technical team to the players and the supporters.
The thinking is that Zimbabwe has put itself in a position where they are a win away from booking a ticket to India because of the brand of cricket they have been playing in the last year or so.
Credited with Zimbabwe’s turnaround, Houghton is staying on track with their tie against Scotland.
If they win, they qualify for the World Cup, but they can still qualify on net run rate though it will not be in their hands.
The conversation within and outside the Zimbabwe cricket camp is that only a victory will suffice.
The camp has a buoyant mood, with everyone taking the loss to Sri Lanka as a minor setback.
To be one win away from qualifying for the World Cup, it’s a position of strength.
But still, some level of doubt continues to linger in the mind of a section of Zimbabwe supporters, and you cannot fault them.
On paper, Scotland looks much stronger than the UAE team that beat Zimbabwe in 2018.
Unlike UAE, who were just party spoilers, Scotland, on four points, has a realistic chance of qualifying for the World Cup if they beat Zimbabwe, making the tie intriguing.
When asked about Zimbabwe’s mistakes on their loss and its bearing on Tuesday’s match against Scotland, Houghton singled out Theekshana’s brilliance.
“Scotland pose a different threat completely. I don’t think we made too many mistakes, but Theekshana outbowled us,” he said.
“I knew he would be problematic before we got into the game. We didn’t play him particularly well, but we won’t come across that sort of skill when we play Scotland.”
Zimbabwe has been playing an attacking brand of cricket, and Houghton believes if they continue on that path, victory will be theirs.
“I talk to the players a lot about the brand of cricket we want to play. We have played really good cricket throughout the tournament,” Houghton added.
“But if we continue playing the brand of cricket we have been playing, come Tuesday, we will be fine.”
Queens Sports Club recorded its biggest crowd ever, and many were disappointed with the Chevrons’ defeat.
On Tuesday, the same fans are being called upon to come and fill up the stadium again and get the front-row experience of Zimbabwe’s date with destiny.
“Our fans are our secret weapon. They have been fantastic,” he said.
“Our guys will be upset that they let down the fans a little bit, but we can blame Sri Lanka for that because they played quite well on Tuesday. We have to deliver a good result for them, and we will.”
