New Zimbabwe cricket skipper Brendan Taylor says he is ready for his first challenge as captain of the national team.
He said he was confident that his charges were ready for the tri-series which commences Wednesday.
The Zimbabwe XI open their campaign in the tri-series involving South Africa A and Australia A with a date against the Australians in a one-day international at Harare Sports Club Wednesday.
The Australians — who boast a very formidable outfit — arrived in the country on Sunday.
“It will be nice to start playing some competitive cricket again for the first time since the World Cup.
“I’m looking forward to my first assignment as captain and I believe all the guys are ready for the challenge.
“We have all been working very hard for this and I believe we have a strong team and hopefully we will be able to come out from the series with some positive results,” said Taylor in an interview with NewsDay Sport.
The 25-year-old opening batsman will be looking to lead his team from the front and hopefully inject confidence into them with his aggressive batting and cool demeanour on the pitch.
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Taylor, who took over from all-rounder Elton Chigumbura on Friday last week after the Zimbabwe Cricket board approved the Cricket Committee’s recommendation that he be appointed captain, said his predecessor had taken his appointment well.
Chigumbura left under acrimonious circumstances after he resigned in April before briefly overturning his decision and then being ultimately pushed out after a poor run of form.
“I’m fortunate that I’ve always enjoyed good relations with all players including Elton.
As soon as he heard about my appointment he gave me a call to congratulate me and he together with the rest of the team have been very supportive.
“We will be working closely together and I’m willing to learn from him as he obviously has experience in that area having captained the team for over a year,” Taylor said.
Taylor is already looking beyond this upcoming series and believes Zimbabwe can perform at the highest level.
“We are all confident we can make it when we return to Tests, I think we’ve come a long way,” Taylor says.
Zimbabwe ODI team for tri-series: B Taylor (Captain), H Masakadza, V Sibanda, R Chakabva, F Mtizwa, C Ervine, P Utseya, R Price, K Meth, T Chatara, B Vitori, C Mpofu, T Taibu, M Waller, E Chigumbura
