Zimbabwe set Ireland a target of 175 in T20 World ...

Zimbabwe set Ireland a target of 175 in T20 World Cup opener

Zimbabwe have set Ireland a target of 175 to win in their first match at T20 World Cup in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, in the opening game of the campaign.

After South Africa, Zimbabwe is the second strongest cricket-playing nation in Africa. Having missed out on the last two World Cups in both white-ball formats, due to a suspension by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Zimbabweans are back at the top table of world cricket.

Zimbabwe’s return coincides with a dramatic turnaround in fortune for the Chevrons, who have been on a roller-coaster ride over the past four months following the re-appointment of former Zimbabwe Test captain Dave Houghton for a second tenure in charge of his home country’s national team.

So for the Zimbabweans, the goal at the T20 World Cup is to prove that their progress over the past four months hasn’t been a fluke. Zimbabwe used to have a team that constantly challenged the best teams in the world, from the early 1980s to around the turn of the millennium. But boardroom squabbles and power struggles negatively impacted on performance, with the core of the team’s best players prematurely quitting at the height of the commotion post 2004.

But with the groundwork that had been done to spread the game throughout the country, cricket remained part and parcel of the Zimbabwean sporting fabric. Cricket had deepened its roots in Zimbabwe and in spite of everything, it was never going to die.

“We have probably got more talent now than we had going back 10-15 years or 20 years when reached our peak around the 1999 World Cup,” coach Houghton told BBC Sports Africa this week from Australia.

“It’s an absolute privilege to be here and you just hope we do ourselves justice on the big stage.

“We know what we’ve got to do – we’re here to qualify for the main groups. That pressure was on us before we left home, even without the knowledge of where we are in the rankings. These three games that we are playing (in the group stages) are games we should win, so let’s go out there and play our best cricket.”

Houghton, though a hard-to-please coach as he is, isn’t getting carried away with his team’s recent form.

“It’s unrealistic to think we’re going to go on and win this World Cup,” he said.

“But the great fun about being in these World Cups is the ability to upset some of the big dogs.”

Zimbabwe, who are captained by batsman Craig Ervine, open their campaign against Ireland on Monday. And what of Namibia, who open their account against Sri Lanka on Sunday? They are better known for their rugby, having dominated Africa’s single qualification spot for the Rugby World Cup since the 1999 edition, to this day.