Zimbabwe’s International Cup Squad Announced
Zimbabwe announced their XI man squad for the International Cup in July against Netherlands and Canada, naming Vusi Sibanda as captain. Stephen Mangongo was appointed coach and Heath Streak, former Test star, will be the bowling coach. There are a few problems in the Zimbabwe camp which threaten to affect their performance.
From rebel players led by Grant Flower, who is Zimbabwe’s most capped player, to unstable and changing leadership, Zimbabwe have to sort out their problems if they expect consistent results. The bowling coach, Streak has also come under criticism after a fall-out with the selection committee.
Heath Streak made his Zimbabwe Test debut on the tour of Pakistan in 1993-1994, taking 8 wickets in only his second Test match. In 2000-2001 he had the honor of winning 2 'man of the series' awards and holds the record for being the only Zimbabwean bowler to have taken over 100 Test and One Day International wickets (Grant Flower is the only other player who has taken over 100 One Day International wickets). He retired from International cricket to captain Warwickshire County Cricket Club, only to give up the captaincy two years later in 2007. He joined the Indian Premier League for a brief period but quit and expressed his wishes to coach the national side.
He was appointed as the bowling coach of the Zimbabwe national side in 2009 and has also been given the responsibility of training the teams young fast bowlers. He is also a hopeful candidate for the head coach of the Zimbabwean national team after the current coaches’ contract expires. With his talent and experience he is expected to improve Zimbabwe’s performance on the International stage and take them far, starting by building their reserves ahead of an important comeback in the Test series.
Captain Sibanda impressed by making 209 runs in Zimbabwe’s last outing of the International Cup which was last October against Kenya, and is expected to continue his good form. "It does not really matter who we play against in the next matches, we will not be intimidated by any team on field so long as we stick to the game plan and perform our role," he said. "Cricket in Zimbabwe is drastically climbing the ladder and we will make use of experienced coaches and senior players in the squad. It will have to be a case of clinical efficiency in everything that we do and we are still in a comfortable position because we have not yet lost a match and have the most games in hand." He added, hopeful of Zimbabwe’s chances in the tournament.
Sibanda graduated from the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy and was fast tracked into the national side because of his promising talent. He made his One Day International debut in 2003, impressing the selectors by making 58 runs. He had a bad run of form from 2005 to 2007, during which period he was dropped for the first time. He made a successful comeback in the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup, in which he scored 80 runs in two One Day International matches out of three.
Currently, Zimbabwe XI are in fourth place, after beating Kenya and securing 23 points. Sibanda stressed on the teams will and ability to win, and believed they would perform well at the upcoming Test matches because of the strenuous practice and domestic level cricket the team had to face. He was confident in his team and expected them to play their best in not only the Test matches but also focus on the current tour, aiming for a win in all the remaining games. Other players to watch are RW Chakabva and Forster Mutizwa, the second and third highest scorers in the tournament after Sibanda.
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