ZIMBABWE Senior Women’s cricket team is set to host Thailand next month in four One Day Internationals (ODI) and three T20I’s.
The Asian team will be making their maiden tour of Zimbabwe to get game time and improve in the ODI format.
Subject to approval by the Sports supreme board, the Sports and Recreation Commission, Thailand, are scheduled to arrive in Zimbabwe on August 15.
Their first tour of the match begins three days later at Takashinga Cricket Club in Highfields, Harare.
Zimbabwe are using the series to prepare for the African T20I World Cup qualifying tournament to be hosted by Botswana in September.
While for Thailand, it’s an opportunity to improve their ODI cricket as part of their road map to qualify for the Women’s 50 overs World Cup.
Thailand and Zimbabwe have met once before in ODI’s at the Global Qualifiers hosted by the former in 2015, and the Lady Chevrons won the match comfortably.
The Lady Chevrons finished third in the tournament behind winners Bangladesh and second-placed Ireland. Hosts Thailand settled for fourth place, with Netherlands, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and China completing the log standings in their chronological order.
Both teams do not have an ODI ranking yet, but in T20I cricket, Thailand is ranked 11th and Zimbabwe 12th. The hosts are expected to dominate in the ODI’s, and the T20I will be fiercely contested.
Thailand is one of cricket’s emerging side in Women’s cricket and is well supported by their board following their last showing at the Global Qualifiers in Scotland in 2019.
Sources within Zimbabwe Cricket who spoke to EnterSportNews said that Thailand have paid for all their expenses to play Zimbabwe.
“Thailand have paid for all their expenses to come and play our girls, they only wanted to play ODI cricket, but ZC had to persuade them to add three T20I matches to the tour itinerary,” said the source.
Rwanda was supposed to come around the same time but Thailand refused to play a triangular series because they felt Rwanda’s standard was well below them.
“We could have played a triangular series that included Rwanda, but Thailand only wanted to play Zimbabwe because of the high standard of cricket we play.”
However, Zimbabwe were prepared to play Rwanda just after the Thailand tour. Still, due to budget constraints, Rwanda is only prepared to come to Harare on their way to Botswana for the African Qualifiers. Rwanda is now coached by former Zimbabwe and Namibia Women’s coach Leonard Nhamburo.
Thailand will be the third country hosted by Zimbabwe this year after Pakistan and South Africa Emerging side.
Zimbabwe is proving to be a good country to host matches in these Covid-19 times. They will host the T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers towards the end of the year, in which eight teams will take part.
