ZIMBABWE captain, Sikandar Raza, is confident of a series win in the One Day International engagement against the visiting Irish team as he defended his charges' commitment to the game after a recent dip in perfomance.
The Chevrons lost the three-match T20I series to Ireland 2-1 having taken a 1-0 lead giving Ireland their first series win against a Test-playing nation. Zimbabwe’s fortunes on the cricket field have waned in recent past with the locals missing out on two high profile competitions: the 50 overs World Cup played recently in India and will also miss the T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by West Indies and USA next year.
Despite these setbacks, the leading all-rounder Raza is optimistic that something has to give and the Chevrons will bounce back to their winning ways starting with today’s second ODI at Harare Sports Club this morning.
The first ODI was abandoned due to rains on Wednesday with Zimbabwe getting some batting centre practice having been asked to bat first; the third and final encounter is scheduled for Sunday at Harare Sports Club.
“Cricket, that’s why it’s such a beautiful sport, it's such a beautiful team game as well. Yes it helps (guys contributing positively), but I can assure you the guys understand and they know that they are trying their hardest,” Raza said.
“Sometimes or even all-time which is OK because they feel that they want to be successful, they want to make it on the international stage so I can’t fault my boys for lack of trying or effort because they are doing everything they can. Hopefully it will happen sooner I guess.”
Raza who is standing in for injured ODI skipper, Craig Ervine, praised the selectors’ merit-based system that has seen outstanding performers in the domestic league being rewarded with national team call up.
Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and Brandon Mavuta have been rewarded for their good performances in the domestic leagues.
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“It’s fantastic because if you look at Tinashe and Brandon they have actually played domestic cricket and have actually been very consistent and that’s what we have missed in the past couple of years,” he added.
“Tinashe has gone back into the domestic side and scored 150 in the other game. He came back to the national side, we took him to Namibia. He went back to domestic [side] and scored another 100. Brandon has been at the top of MVP list. He has bowled well, he has taken a lot of wickets and he has scored a lot of runs as well. These are good signs; only in domestic cricket will your confidence improve, will your skills set improve and not only that, when they come into the national team, they are a lot more settled.”
