New-look Chevrons shows promise

Sport
Zimbabwe trail the five-match series 4-0 and are faced with a series whitewash should they lose this encounter.

ZIMBABWE national cricket team coach Stuart Matsikenyeri is happy with the progress that the team has made despite falling 4-0 in their five match T20 series against hosts Bangladesh.

He believes that with luck they could have bagged at least two wins today.

Zimbabwe trail the five-match series 4-0 and are faced with a series whitewash should they lose this encounter.

The third and fourth T20I saw the visitors coming close before losing by nine and four runs respectively.

Matsikenyeri, though hurting in defeat, is gracious towards the competitiveness of the team.

"It is disappointing that we didn’t cross the line last night. Incredibly proud of how the guys fought on the field in the last 10 overs of our innings," Matsikenyeri told Standard Sport.

"Some inspired bowling all the way round. Again just found ourselves in a place where we didn’t find one of the main batters batting just deep enough to help our cause."

A win for the Chevrons will be a reward for all the hard yards the guys have put in during the seires. A defeat and series whitewash will be a reminder that more work still needs to be done.

"The trajectory has been going the correct way as the tour progressed, which is pleasing considering we have made some significant changes in onfield personnel," added Matsikenyeri.

"I think this new look T20 squad is showing a lot of promise, Bangladesh is not an easy place to tour, but the less experienced guys have actually shown they have the ability to get good results here. More experience at this higher level will do them good.

"We do need to continue broadening our base which is underway already through our high performance programmes."

Related Topics

Sparkling Gems qualify for Netball World Cup
By The Southern Eye Aug. 28, 2022
‘Zim film culture bad’
By The Southern Eye Aug. 28, 2022
Inside sport: Is Dynamos a community team?
By The Southern Eye Aug. 28, 2022