Zimbabwe cricket team middle order batsman Sean Williams was back at training on Monday as he sought to make up for lost time after missing practice for most of last week ahead of the series against Pakistan.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO Williams missed team’s bonding camp in Gweru, having requested some days off last week, raising doubts about his preparedness ahead of the national team’s limited overs series against Pakistan starting on Sunday.
However, the talented Bulawayo-born left handed batsman allayed any such fears, saying he was eager to get back to his best during the upcoming series.
Williams took part in a net session with the rest of the squad under the watchful eye of coach Dav Whatmore in the morning before taking part in a T20 encounter practice match.
“It’s always good to be back with the team,” Williams told NewsDay Sport in an interview. “I’ve been hitting some balls in the nets and I’m now looking forward to the warm up matches.
Despite a decent series against New Zealand last month, Williams said he was not happy with his form with both bat and ball since the World Cup in Australasia and had been working hard to get back to his best.
“Obviously my form has definitely gone down a bit since the World Cup,” he said. “I have been struggling to find the right balance between by batting and bowling and have been working hard on both areas. It has not been easy, though. There were some things that have been going on in my life but it’s behind me now and I’m looking forward to doing well during this series.”
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Zimbabwe will be confident of doing well against Pakistan after competing against the subcontinent nation when the two teams met last met in May.
Although Zimbabwe lost all four matches in both the T20 and ODIs during the much publicised tour, they were by no means disgraced, as they put on some solid performances.
Williams said, with the added advantage of playing in more familiar conditions during the upcoming series, he was confident they would do well.
“We could have won two games easily in Pakistan. Infact we should have won those matches but now that we are playing them at home we should be able to do very well. I understand the wickets that are being prepared should give us a bit of an advantage as they will allow us to bowl more spin, while nullifying their seam attack which is very quick,” Williams said.
Zimbabwe will face Pakistan in two T-20s and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) with the first match set for Harare Sports Club on September 27. The second T20 takes place on September 29 while the three ODIs have been slated for October 1, 3 and 5 respectively.
The Pakistanis, who last week named a strong squad, are expected in the country on Thursday.
Zimbabwe Squad: Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Hamilton Masakadza, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura (capt), Sikandar Raza, Graeme Cremer, Tinashe Panyangara, Christopher Mpofu, Prosper Utseya, Taurai Muzarabani, Luke Jongwe, John Nyumbu, Malcolm Waller
