There is lot of positivity around Zimbabwe Cricket since Dave
Houghton has taken over; the team has shown lot of promise and zeal to compete
with stronger sides. Among several faces, Blessing Muzarabani and Bradley Evans
has risen as the next generation cricketers who have responsibility to take the
team’s game to a new level
There
is lot of excitement among fans and followers of Zimbabwe Cricket. The team has
started to show promise on the field. Off the field the camaraderie in the team
looks healthy and Zimbabwe Cricket Board has been trying to develop new culture
in the country for cricket.
Amid
this the players started to come back to the country, Garry Ballance and
Blessing Muzarabani’s return has strengthened the team. The rise of new faces also
promises good future for Zimbabwe in future.
Among these faces the two who might be crucial for taking Zimbabwe to
next generation will be Blessing Muzarabani and Bradley Evans. The two
cricketers have been core to Zimbabwe’s success off late.
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| Blessing Muzarabani - He has been Zimbabwe's main pacer |
Blessing
Muzarabani played his first match in 2017, he was only 21 back then. With
towering figure and ability to take wickets on regular intervals, he seemed to
be the most exciting prospect for Zimbabwe after a long time. The World Cup
Qualifiers though put a brake on Muzarabani’s career. Zimbabwe’s failure to
qualify led to era of dark time. For the next 3 years cricket tumbled from one low
to another. Players like Muzarabani left Zimbabwe to look for better
opportunities. Zimbabwe was suspended for mis-governance in 2019 and then post
covid, the team’s performance declined on field.
By
this time Muzarabani has returned to Zimbabwe and was again the pace spearhead
of the team. As Dave Houghton took over as coach, the performance and team
environment improved considerably, showing lots of promise. Numbers of
youngsters were given chances and one among them was Brad Evans, son of former
Zimbabwe player Craig Evans. Evans who
plays for Eagles in Zimbabwe’s domestic Cricket, is bowling all-rounder whose
entry in the team have given team an all rounding option, a player who can
contribute with bat and bowl.
In
October last year when Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan, Evans was crucial to the
memorable victory. Since then, he had
become a vital part of the Zimbabwe national team. His First-Class record is
quite promising and seems a long-term investment for Zimbabwe. Along with
Muzarabani and Chatara, Evans can make a bowling attack that can help them win
matches on continuous basis.
Evans
has played 18 First class matches till date and has taken 49 wickets in them at
26.79 in addition to it he has scored 449 runs at 21.38. These figures show his
potential as a bowling all-rounder who can boost the lower order.
In
recent years Test cricket has become costly to arrange and not all the 12 Test
countries can afford to organize it like they had in the past. Countries like
Zimbabwe has shifted their focus to play mainly the limited over cricket while
playing occasional Test matches. It is a major reason that Zimbabwean players
are mostly seen playing either 50 over game or T20 Internationals.
Both
Muzarabani and Evans have performed amicably in limited overs format.
Muzarabani (47 Wickets in 35 ODI Matches at average of 31.14 and 42 wickets in
34 T20 Internationals at 23.57) has been Zimbabwe’s strike bowler who has
provided the team break more often. While Evans has played mostly as 2nd
change bowler who aims to stifle the opposition with his nagging line and
length.
Zimbabwe
can form a very good attack in form of Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara,
Brad Evans and Richard Ngarva. The pace attack will be very crucial when the
World Cup Qualifiers will take place in July 2023. Zimbabwe, who is the host of
the high profile tournament wouldn’t want a repeat of 2018, when the loss in
tournament seemed to have sunk the whole Zimbabwe Cricket, on and off the field
for almost two years.
Ticket
to World Cup in India would surely give a huge boost to Zimbabwe Cricket. Good
finance might help Zimbabwe attract more finance which it dearly needs to
infuse in its cricket infrastructure. In absence of a T20 Franchise league (New
Zealand, Zimbabwe and Ireland are only teams among 12 Test nations to be
without a Franchise league) participation in ICC tournaments becomes crucial
for country’s cricket future.
In
such a scenario both Muzarabani and Bradley Evans have a huge responsibility to
ensure that Zimbabwe qualifies for the World Cup not only for the game but also
for some of the long serving seniors like
Sean Williams (36) Sikandar Raza(36)
Craig Ervine (37) who are into twilight of their respective
careers. Whether both of them succeed in
their mission or not only time will tell, till then let us sit back and enjoy
their journey to the marquee tournament.
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