ZIMBABWE seek to continue on their winning ways when they face Ireland in the first One Day International (ODI) on Wednesday and make Harare Sports Club a citadel buoyed by their vociferous fans.
The Chevrons beat the visitors 2-1 in the just-ended Twenty20 International series, and their coach Dave Houghton wants to make Harare Sports Club an impregnable fortress.
With Zimbabwe banned from participating in international football competitions due to government interference, cricket is slowly becoming the nation’s most supported sport.
Winning at home has helped to galvanise that support, and everyone loves a winning team.
“We are now going into the ODI series, and our target remains that of winning every game we play,” Houghton said.
“I would want to win the series 3-0, but I will take 2-1 anytime.”
The two teams last met in an ODI Super League encounter with world cup points at stake with the three-match series ending 1-1, while the other game was a no-result affair.
These two teams know each other well, and judging by the just-ended T20, it will be a closely fought series.
But, the home team is backed by the drum-beating fans who are creating an intimidating atmosphere for the opposition, winning neutrals in the process.
The crowd that came through in the just-ended T20I is probably the most diverse in recent memory.
Zimbabwe players are enjoying playing before they sold out partisan home crowd.
Veteran coach Houghton and his charges understand that fans are fickle, love a winning team, and that if they start losing, the same fans can start turning against their team.
“I want to make us a difficult team to beat at home. Part of our growth has to be being strong at home. It’s something I have tried to talk to the players about, that when we are at home, people don’t want to come and play us,” he added.
“That’s the combination of the cricket we play on our surfaces and the fantastic crowd we get, plus the aura created here.”
Tadiwanashe Marumani, who many felt should have been included in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, had a problematic T20I series, being dismissed for single-digit scores in the three matches he played.
However, he has the backing of his coach, who believes he will succeed in the ODI series.
“I am not in the habit of giving a guy two games and then dropping him. We will give him an extended run in the ODI series,” Houghton said.
“Sometimes you need luck, when I was a kid coming into the team, I was a wicketkeeper-batsman, but I was a wicketkeeper because my batting was rubbish. But I could keep my place in the team because of keeping, and I learnt how to bat in the team.
“Someone like Maru (Marumani) is a young accomplished batsman, and he needs to find his ground in the side. I think the more we play him, the more he will cross the bridge, and he will be fine.”
