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Zim eyes whitewash

Sport
Even after Sunday’s series clinching victory, Zimbabwe national cricket team will not let off in their third and final one day international (ODI) against Ireland at Harare Sports Club this morning

Even after Sunday’s series clinching victory, Zimbabwe national cricket team will not let off in their third and final one day international (ODI) against Ireland at Harare Sports Club this morning, as they target further progress up the International Cricket Council ODI rankings.

By Kevin Mapasure

With the two wins so far Zimbabwe swapped positions with their opponents to move to 10th place and another win could see them make a bit of progress in their pursuit of Pakistan, who are ranked ninth.

The hosts will be out to seal a whitewash series win, having been on the receiving end of such batterings in recent years.

Zimbabwe’s hero in the last match, which they won by five wickets, Craig Ervine said the team will press for a whitewash, with the view of rising on the rankings table.

“The third match is just as important as the first two and our approach will not change. We will stick to our plans, hoping for a win,” he said.

“We want to move up the rankings and it is important that we continue winning matches like these. It was nice to finally cross the line, Ireland have enjoyed some success against us before so it’s good to win this one.”

There was a heavy load of expectation, with locals demanding nothing less than a series win for Zimbabwe.

And after negotiating the first two matches successfully, the players might be freer to express themselves more in the final match.

But Ireland will be pumped up to try and at least get a consolation win, since they have competed well in the first two matches.

Ervine said Zimbabwe had started to reap the rewards of playing a lot of cricket, a sentiment also echoed by Ireland coach, John Bracewell.

“We have had some game time, we have been playing lots of cricket that’s why we have been able to deal with situations better than Ireland,” Ervine said.

Bracewell said: “At the moment Zimbabwe have shown greater composure at the pressure points and that counts for a lot.

“They have been playing a lot of tough cricket for a period of time, and that really helps you deal with pressure points. They have just come out of a series against Pakistan, had a competitive series against New Zealand. You are getting used to competing because you are playing a lot more cricket.”

Zimbabwe is unlikely to make any changes from the Sunday team, as they may already have an eye on the next opponent, Afghanistan.

They will seek consistency with the bat, having successfully chased 268 in the last match, but they will be hoping for a better display with the ball.

Ireland bowled well in the first match, having struggled with the bat. Their batting improved on Sunday, yet their bowling let them down. They will target good performances in all aspects of their game today.