THE Zimbabwe women’s cricket team begins a landmark maiden tour of Pakistan today, with the first of three ODIs in Karachi signalling a new chapter under captain Nomvelo Sibanda following the recent retirement of Mary-Anne Musonda.
Technical director Steve Mangongo says the tour, which also includes three T20Is, is about “growth and stabilisation” for a new generation of players rather than immediate results.
“We are not expecting miracles but genuine baby steps. Being competitive and staying in the fight for longer in this maiden tour will be big enough ticks. We want to show the world that we truly belong in the big league of women’s cricket,” Mangongo told NewsDay Sport ahead of the opener.
Zimbabwe has named a largely inexperienced squad for the series, with 10 of the 15 players making their tour debut. Mangongo said the focus in camp was on building team cohesion and modernising the team’s approach.
“Key takeaways from the camp were creating a team environment where each girl plays and fights for her teammate, and creating an awareness of modern-day ladies' cricket based on athleticism and aggressive batting upfront, especially in T20,” he said.
“Better to learn to win by batting aggressively upfront and putting opposition bowlers under pressure than play conservative batting and lose the match.”
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The technical director stressed clarity and freedom across all departments.
“Winners have clarity of goals on individual and department levels — top order batters, front line bowlers, and middle order batters. Therefore, every department has to play with freedom and enjoyment to execute their goals with clarity,” he said.
“As TD [technical director], the expectation is competitiveness in all three departments. Key areas we need growth in are top order batters to exhibit combative batting instead of just walking to exist on the wicket, and to improve strike rates upfront. This is a tough maiden tour, particularly touring Pakistan.”
Mangongo, who prepared the squad for their last tour of New Zealand, opted not to travel on that tour. He said the decision was driven by the need to expand Zimbabwe’s player base.
“I offered not to travel. With such a squeezed calendar year, I decided to stay and work with 15 girls so we can increase the player base and strengthen competition,” he said.
“You see, tour in, tour out, it has been the same faces for the past three years because there is little competition for places. If the team is to move forward, we need to work harder with the next tier of players. So this was a priority for me.”
He said Zimbabwe Cricket’s High-Performance Programme in Bulawayo underpins that strategy.
“Zimbabwe Cricket has prioritised women’s cricket development with a roadmap based on a dedicated high-performance programme in Bulawayo. These identified young players have undergone weeks of gruelling, tough training in both fitness and skills work,” said Mangongo.
“We expect to see them finding their feet in Pakistan on their maiden tour, with 10 of the 15-member squad being raw. The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step — so here we go.”
The first ODI bowls off at the National Stadium in Karachi today.