Zim cricket’s WC dream: Same old story, so near an...

Zim cricket’s WC dream: Same old story, so near and yet so far

Edmore Zvinonzwa

The story of Arsenal’s 2023 season quickly comes to mind. After spending the better part of the season in pole position, the Gunners surrendered the lead and with that, the title, to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

This is the story of Zimbabwean sport. So near, and yet so far. In the local Shona language, “kubvutirwa nyama pamuromo”, literally meaning, having the trophy snatched from your hands.

All the excitement shown by the singing and cheering that had characterised the Harare Sports Club in the capital, which spoke of the hope and positivity of a nation that has endured the agony of having to get used to missing out, was shattered.

The dream of reaching the ODI World Cup in India was shattered at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo when the Chevrons, at a time when they needed nothing short of victory, lost by 31 runs to Scotland, a result that was too bitter for Zimbabwean fans to accept.

Chevrons captain Craig Ervine shared his disappointment after the match.

“It's a very difficult pill to swallow. I thought we did well to restrict them to 230. Unfortunately, that first initial spell from (Chris) Sole really put us on the back foot and just made it hard for us to recover from that position. Throughout the tournament, we played some extremely good cricket. It's always nice to put those demons from 2018 behind us and had we gotten over the line today, nobody would have been asking about that unfortunately, we didn't,” he said.

Zimbabweans also expressed disappointment at the loss and failure to qualify, despite the chances having looked so bright.

“For a moment cricket united us and gave smiles on our faces. We were looking forward to qualifying for the World Cup. However, we are happy that we did our best and for the few days, we had the best days of our lives,” said Patricia Mashiri, a marketing executive with a Harare-based company.

“Zimbabwe must have at least one or two sporting disciplines that get funding from the government right from the grassroots. If you go to South Africa. You find they have rugby and cricket, if you go to Australia they have rugby, cricket, New Zealand rugby and cricket; India, cricket, Bangladesh cricket, Pakistan cricket. In Zimbabwe, we rely on individual talent, once it is gone the sport also goes to ruins. Kirsty Coventry came with individual swimming talent and it’s gone, the Blacks, Byron, Wayne and Cara but now, that glory is gone. There are no resources to fund other talents. With cricket we now rely on Sikandar Raza, the moment he will go and he does not perform, we are doomed. One day we will hear that Raza is gone just like what happened to others such as Andy Flower. Government must fund at least one or two sports from the grassroots,” said a car wash attendant, who operates along Fife Avenue in Harare, who refused to be named.

“The media is the other problem. Why do people write headlines like Warriors go down fighting, why just write Warriors lose. On this one, you see Chevrons go down fighting, they will not have the stamina to challenge and nothing comes out of it,” he added.

“We have failed to qualify. It is painful because we do not have even a single sport which can make us proud by progressing. We are failing in all sporting disciplines and worse still, at the last minute,” said another who preferred anonymity.

Sports analyst, Alwyn Mabehla said the defeat is morale-sapping, especially after the brilliant displays in the opening fixtures.

“The victory over the Windies raised all of the nations' hopes that we could make it to the World Cup.

“Our top order was our Achilles heel in the last two matches against Sri Lanka and Scotland, if they had performed as well as they had done against the Windies and the United States, we could have been talking of another story. It is definitely time to move forward and build on the achievements of the series and hopefully overcome our weaknesses in the coming games and qualifiers.

“It is definitely hard to take but all the same, let’s give Dave Houghton all the support he needs and hope for the best,” said Mabehla.

But it was not the first time with the Chevrons, and surely not the first with other Zimbabwean and global sporting disciplines.

In 2018, missed out on World Cup qualification after narrowly losing to the United Arab Emirates by three runs in a rain-affected thriller at Harare Sports Club.

At that point Zimbabwe, with five points, needed to win against either West Indies or UAE to reach the World Cup in England and Wales. The Chevrons lost both games, which cost them a place at the World Cup.

The national men’s soccer team, the Warriors, have been on the verge of qualification for both the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations on several occasions but failed at the last hurdle.

They are not the only ones. English Premier League side Liverpool, just like Arsenal, failed to capitalise on their early lead and eventually lost the title to Manchester City in the 2021/22 season.

The Chevrons’ experience is not an isolated incident. There lessons to be learnt, of course, but perhaps the most important definer of character and resilience is to being able to reflect and pick oneself up, dust up and move on. The chance could still be coming.