Zimbabwe

It is not often that Zimbabwe stand a decent chance of qualifying for the semi-final of an ICC tournament. They were one win away from making the final four of the ICC Knockout – later renamed Champions Trophy – in 2000, but fell short against New Zealand; they made the Super Sixes in the 2003

The joke among Bangladesh fans, particularly in the past eight years, is that their team schedules a series against Zimbabwe whenever they are out of form. But that overlooks the fact that it is the cricket boards – and not the teams themselves – that schedule series against each other. And in that respect, the

Zimbabwe 130 for 8 (Williams 31, Wasim 4-24, Shadab 3-23) beat Pakistan 129 for 8 (Masood 44, Raza 3-25, Evans 2-25) by one run Zimbabwe promised to cause as much damage as they could in the Super 12s and, two games in, they have inflicted a major blow. They defended 130 to deny Pakistan their

No result Zimbabwe 79 for 5 in 9 overs (Madhevere 35*, Ngidi 2-20) vs South Africa 51 for 0 in 3 overs (de Kock 47*) South Africa were denied a victory in their T20 World Cup opener after rain ensured their shortened fixture against Zimbabwe could not be completed. After a two-hour-and-35-minute delay, the match

The Super 12s are only just beginning but Zimbabwe 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

Zimbabwe 133 for 5 (Ervine 57, Raza 40, Davey 2-16) beat Scotland 132 for 6 (Munsey 54, Chatara 2-14, Ngarava 2-28) by five wickets Zimbabwe had not played in a major ICC tournament in six years coming into this T20 World Cup, but they announced themselves as a team on the comeback trail as they

Playing the evening game on Friday, both Scotland and Zimbabwe will know exactly what they have to do to get through to the Super 12s. But the equations won’t be available until after the Ireland-West Indies game, and the weather might have a say. For now, though, the two sets of players are mentally preparing

Zimbabwe batter Sean Williams admitted his side might have taken their aggressive approach a touch too far in their defeat to West Indies, saying there is a difference between being encouraged to play your shots and “being reckless”. At 48 for 2 after five overs, Zimbabwe were well-placed to chase down West Indies’ 153, with

Zimbabwe 174 for 7 (Raza 82, Madhevere 22, Little 3-24) beat Ireland 143 for 9 (Campher 27, Muzarabani 3-23, Chatara 2-22) by 31 runs Zimbabwe announced themselves back on the big stage with a statement win over Ireland in their first major tournament appearance since 2016. It was also Zimbabwe’s first World Cup win over

Former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener has quit as Zimbabwe’s batting coach with immediate effect after reaching a mutual agreement with the board. “According to his agent, the decision follows Klusener’s desire to pursue professional engagements around the globe which will impact his full-time availability for the national team’s programmes,” Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said in

Zimbabwe have roped in Steve Kirby as their new bowling coach. He is expected to join the side ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia next month. Kirby, 44, had a long county career in England as a fast bowler with an experience of 348 games across formats: 167 first-class, 104 List A and

Harmanpreet Kaur has also moved up, advancing four places to ninth in ODIs following her 74* in the first ODI against England, and one place up to 14th in T20Is. Yastika Bhatia, who also scored a half-century in the first ODI, has moved eight places up to 37th. And Deepti Sharma, who bagged 2 for

Blessing Muzarabani will head the bowling unit. He had played just the first ODI on the Australia tour as Zimbabwe took a cautious approach with the seamer returning from a thigh muscle tear. Muzarabani brings with him the experience of having played for Multan Sultans in the PSL and having been a net bowler for

It’s been a big few weeks in one-day cricket for Zimbabwe. They beat Bangladesh 2-1 and showed great spirit to run India close in the last match of that series. But their performance in Townsville tops the lot. They had played Australia 13 times on their own soil since 1992 and the closest they had

It’s hard to sugarcoat an ODI loss that comes in less time than the length of one innings, but Zimbabwe are determined to keep the bigger picture in mind on their brief tour of Australia. Sean Williams, who top-scored for Zimbabwe with 29 in their 96 all out on his return from injury, echoed the

Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton is seeing encouraging signs that his players are learning how not to “freeze” against the strongest opposition, and hopes that the batters can put together a complete performance during the remainder of the ODI series against Australia. Having been put into bat, the top order – led by a career-best 72

Wessly Madhevere is eager to establish himself as Zimbabwe’s No. 3 in ODIs after making the most of an unexpected opportunity in the opening match against Australia in Townsville. Madhevere only found out shortly before the game started that he was in the team when Sean Williams was ruled out having taken a blow on

50 oversZimbabwe 200 (Madhevere 72, Green 5-33) vs Australia Cameron Green, who is being viewed as Australia’s third quick bowler in their ODI side as they build towards next year’s World Cup, bagged the first five-wicket haul of his international career as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 200 in the opening match of the series

This series in Townsville marks the end of a lot of long stretches. It’s 634 days since Australia’s men played an ODI on home soil; 14 years since a winter series in northern Australia; seven years since Zimbabwe last visited the country and 18 since their last bilateral series here. These games were first meant

Australia’s immediate sights may be on back-to-back ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand but wicketkeeper Alex Carey says this is where their preparation begins for the 2023 World Cup. Australia face Zimbabwe in three ODIs in Townsville from Sunday, before they meet world No.1 New Zealand for three matches in Cairns from September 6.

The tour is part of the ODI Super League, which is being contested by 13 teams with the top eight qualifying for the 2023 World Cup in India. Zimbabwe sit 12th on the table, having won just three out of their 18 matches so far in the cycle. Australia occupy the eighth spot.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has announced central contracts for 19 women players for the 2022-23 season. Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano were named in the Grade A+ category. “As part of our commitment to the growth and development of our women’s game, we are pleased to confirm the awarding of central contracts to a

Big picture The last time India toured Zimbabwe, they went with a captain who had won a T20 World Cup, a 50-over World Cup and a Champions Trophy title. That wasn’t a full-strength Indian side. This isn’t one either. But this Indian team is led by one of their seven captains from recent times. KL

Regis Chakabva, Zimbabwe’s wicketkeeper-batter, will continue to lead the side against India in the upcoming ODI series, with regular captain Craig Ervine still nursing a left hamstring injury. Zimbabwe, who announced their 17-member squad against India on Thursday, will also be without left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza, who is sidelined due to a shoulder tendon injury.

Zimbabwe not only winning the T20I and ODI series against Bangladesh but also achieving that while trying out new players was very encouraging for senior batter Sikandar Raza. “From a team perspective, the biggest positive is the amount of youngsters who played in this series,” Raza said. “Some of our big names were missing. We

Sikandar Raza spent his formative years preparing to become a fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). An eye condition prevented him from becoming one, but the time he spent in his childhood dreaming to be a fighter pilot, and the training he went through in the PAF college, have shaped his outlook in

Wicketkeeper-batter Regis Chakabva has been named Zimbabwe captain for the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh with regular captain Craig Ervineruled out with hamstring and knee injuries. Allrounder Sean Williams will also miss the series, with Zimbabwe Cricket saying he had been granted leave to “attend to some personal matters”. Blessing Muzarabani, who missed the T20I

Big picture Zimbabwe have enjoyed a month of rare success. After dominating the T20 World Cup qualification tournament, they registered a maiden T20I series win over Bangladesh. There was a lot of fun and partying at the Harare Sports Club. The focus though now has to quickly shift to the ODIs, a format in which

Toss Zimbabwe chose to bat vs Bangladesh Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine decided to bat after winning his third consecutive toss against Bangladesh in Harare. Bangladesh made three changes: Mahmudullah predictably came in for Nurul Hasan, while Shoriful Islam and Munim Shahriar were replaced by Nasum Ahmed and debutant Parvez Hossain Emon. For the hosts, Wellington

Zimbabwe 132 all out (Williams 28, van Beek 3-18) beat Netherlands 95 all out (Raza 4-8) by 37 runs Zimbabwe denied Netherlands their third straight championship at the T20 World Cup Qualifier as the hosts defended a total of 132 to secure a 37-run win in the final in Bulawayo. Netherlands – who have already