NATIONAL Under-19 cricket team coach Walter Chawaguta says his team’s batting department is a serious cause for concern ahead of next month’s International Cricket Council Under-19 Cricket World Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates.
DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER
The coach’s sentiments come after a dismal performance by the batters during the Cricket South Africa Franchise Cubs Week in South Africa last week.
Zimbabwe managed a single win out of five matches.
Chawaguta said while he was impressed by the bowling department, the same could not be said about the team’s form with the bat and there was a lot of work still to be done.
“Obviously it was a disappointing outing for the team particularly this close to the World Cup,” Chawaguta said in his assessment of the recent outing in South Africa.
“The bowling was generally very good and we put pressure with the ball consistently throughout the tour, however, our batting is still a concern.”
“Our inability to keep doing the simple things for long and taking the easy options was our biggest letdown. Centre wicket sessions will hopefully rectify this weak link in the chain,” he said.
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Chawaguta said his team was unlucky to lose two of their top batsman in the early stages of the tour.
“We were plagued by incessant injuries, case in point Ryan Burl who sustained a shoulder injury which took him out of the opening match and the rest of the series. Dylan Nel was also starting to gain form and confidence, but suffered an ankle injury which took him out of the match leaving us without an in-form top order batsman in the last match,” he said.
With less than a month before the team’s first World Cup match against Canada, Chawaguta said the team’s success hinged on the players’ ability to perform with both bat and ball.
“I believe our success in the World Cup hinges on our spinners’ accuracy and a solid batting performance. Seamers also have a big role of laying a good foundation for the spinners.”
Zimbabwe was drawn in Group C for the World Cup alongside Canada, South Africa and the West Indies.
They kick start their campaign against the Canadians at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on February 14.
