The failure by the Zimbabwe national cricket team to qualify for the International Cricket Council (ICC) T-20 World Cup following a qualifying tournament in Namibia has thrust players and the technical team under immense pressure.
Brickbats have also been aimed at the Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) board that has overseen disappointment after disappointment on the field. There is speculation that the board will react by chopping and changing the technical team.
Zimbabwe were largely expected to breeze through the African region qualifiers where they faced teams all ranked below them and with most having never played at any World Cup in their history.
Yet the Chevrons first suffered an embarrassing nine wicket defeat to Namibia in their opening match but went on to win the other five matches.
With everyone convinced that Namibia would be the only bleep in the Chevrons’ march, they fell at the hands of Uganda who eventually stole the other ticket to USA and West Indies next year.
This disappointment comes just a couple of months after Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the 50 over World Cup having hosted the qualifier in home conditions.
What particularly angered and saddened fans was that the team missed out on the India showcase particularly because they lost to Scotland in Bulawayo.
They would have been forgiven for losing to Sri Lanka but the Scotland performance and result were a bitter pill to swallow.
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Four years prior, they had also shocked and disappointed their fans after fumbling a World Cup chance by losing to no hopers UAE at the Harare Sports Club.
The Dave Houghton-led technical team has presided over two failed attempts at qualifying for a World Cup showpiece, which has triggered doubts about their pedigree to take the team to the next level.
Failing in an African qualifier which did not even feature South Africa is a new low for the team which has triggered fury on social media platforms.
While some have pointed fingers at the coaches, others see problems with the board that has seen three failed attempts at qualifying to the World Cup under their watch.
After the 2018 debacle under the deceased Heath Streak, the board reacted by employing Lalchand Rajput, whose poor record saw him getting kicked out to make way for Houghton. Houghton’s era started off with a lot of promise as he led the team to the T-20 World Cup in Australia following another qualifier held in Bulawayo.
While they have enjoyed some good results like beating Pakistan at the T-20 World Cup, they have had poor runs too which is why there is a big debate on whether they should stay.
The players also feel the heat with the core of the team having been around since the 2018 qualifiers. Sections of the fans have demanded that some players be dropped from the national team so that a team for the 2027 World Cup which Zimbabwe will co-host can be put together in time.
The selectors have also not been spared in their roles with questionable decisions where under-performing players continuously get selected.
