ZIMBABWE opening batsman, Cephas Zhuwao’s aggressive batting style has received its fair share of criticism during the International Cricket Council World Cup qualifiers, but West Indies opener Chris Gayle advised the right-hander to stick to his style.
BY Kevin Mapasure
Zhuwao’s aggressive style, where he attacks bowlers from the start, has had its proponents, but came under criticism in instances where things didn’t work out and he made a low score.
But Zhuwao said he was advised by the West Indies legend, who thrives on the same style, to stick to it.
“Gayle told me that he admired the way I bat. He said that I should stick to the style and not fear to go out cheaply. He told me that with that style there is always a chance of making a low score, but when it works out its very rewarding. He gave me a brand new bat and a pair of gloves. He had advised me to go out and attack ahead of the match against the United Arab Emirates, but unfortunately I didn’t play. I was looking forward to the match, but it was someone else’s opportunity.”
Zhuwao was disappointed with the team missing out on the World Cup ticket when they looked to have clinched it. “This is not the match that anyone would have thought we would lose. But we didn’t play well and we lost. It’s disappointing missing out on such a big tournament, but we have to pick ourselves up and move on. There are other challenges ahead. We have to learn from this and for me it was a good experience, particularly because I didn’t even think I was in the picture, but I made the squad.”
Zhuwawo made 41 off 23 balls against Nepal, featuring three fours and four sixes, while he scored a duck against Afghanistan.
Against Hong Kong, he gave Zimbabwe a blistering start with 45 runs from 23 balls, after hitting six fours and three sixes.
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In the Scotland match, he scored 18 from nine balls while against Ireland he contributed 20 runs.
After his duck against the West Indies, he was dropped in the last match.
But there has been discontent over his dropping in the last match, where Peter Moor was preferred.
Some have argued that in the match against United Arab Emirates, where Zimbabwe were asked to chase 230 from 40 overs, Zhuwao was more likely to be effective than Moor, who came in at number three and used 61 balls for his 39 runs.
