Zim Target Has Already Been Achieved Even Before T...

Zim Target Has Already Been Achieved Even Before They Plunge Into Super 12 – Top Critic

Firdose Moonda

A cricket analyst with crickinfo believes that while the Super 12s are only just beginning, the Chevrons have already achieved their major goal of the T20 World Cup: to actually get to this point.

“Coach Dave Houghton previously said he would not consider his team to have actually qualified for the tournament unless they advanced from the first round and secured a spot among the bigger teams. Now, they have done that and been given a licence to cause as much damage as they can, which they are accepting with a mixture of trepidation and thrill.

“It's a far cry from the Zimbabwean side that were on the edge of their seats more than four years ago, when they bottled a chase of 230 in a rain-affected 40-over match against UAE and missed out on the 2019 World Cup.

“At 7 for 2 in their must-win game against Scotland on Friday, Zimbabwe feared history may be repeating itself but getting over the line in that match has helped them exorcise some of the ghosts of that previous failure,” says SA-based Firdose Moonda, who critiques for ESPN’s cricinfo.

With no further expectations or explicit targets in mind, Zimbabwe enter the Super 12s unshackled although they remain acutely aware of what they are up against, she says.

“Though they are Full Members, Zimbabwe play significantly less cricket than the top eight teams and have the fewest fixtures on the next FTP. Their opportunities to test themselves against the best in the world are rare and limited, but not so far in the past that they can't remember what is required.

“They last played against India and Bangladesh in August this year, against Pakistan in April 2021, and against their first Super 12 opponents, South Africa in 2018. But they have played more must-win cricket in Australia in the last week than any of those teams and have the advantage of getting their squad used to conditions and pressure situations,” the analyst observes.

Moonda reckons the Chevrons have demonstrated that their strength lies in their varied bowling attack, led by a pace pack for whom Australian conditions appear to be tailor-made.

“After batting line-ups have got through that, Zimbabwe have at least three spin options, led by a resurgent Sikandar Raza, who has remodeled his action and developed deliveries including the carrom ball,” she notes.