Mangongo bullish Stephen Mangongo
Stephen Mangongo

Stephen Mangongo

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE emerged bruised and at their lowest in international cricket during the recent tour of Bangladesh where they suffered a humiliating tour whitewash at the hands of the Tigers. The disappointment came at the most inopportune time, considering that ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is just around the corner.

However coach Stephen Mangongo has refused to put his head down as they now shift attention to the world cricket jamboree scheduled to begin in two months’ time in Australia and New Zealand.

Whether they will rise from the disappointment, it remains to be seen. Zimbabwe returned home on Wednesday evening following heavy losses in Bangladesh.

Mangongo and his men played eight internationals and failed to win a single match, including the warm-up games. The coach, who has been a subject of strong criticism, including calls to quit, nevertheless remains positive.

“We still have the will to fight and the enthusiasm to compete. That is what is important. We are aware of our shortcomings and we are working flat out to address them. I know our fans were not happy with the recent tour and we would want to put smiles back on their faces,” said Mangongo.

Zimbabwe are in Group B of the World Cup and will play neighbours South Africa, India, West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates from February 15.

The players are expected to start preparations from this coming Monday as they engage on a one-on-one fitness programme, followed by a remedial to be conducted by Mangongo and the bowling coach Douglas Hondo.

Zimbabwe were beaten 3-0 by the Tigers in a Test series before crumbling to an embarrassing 5-0 defeat in the ODI series. Most of the players failed to rise to the occasion and the technical team has admitted they had no excuse for the failure as they had thought they had adequately prepared.

Now Mangongo knows they have a lot of work in their hands before they depart for the World Cup. They are also looking to ZC to arrange for them at least an international practice match to perfect their preparations.

“In sport you can prepare as much as you can but if there is no game time it all boils down to nothing. I know for a fact that ZC is working flat out to arrange for us some international game time between now and February.

“There are plans to travel to New Zealand a week earlier. Besides the two international warm-up matches arranged by ICC, our association is also looking at getting us three more practice games there.

“We would want to play at least five practice matches in total at the World Cup, so fitness in this regard is of utmost importance.

“We have a strong fitness programme in place and then we will have a skills camp after Christmas to work on our batting technique and perfecting the bowling,” said Mangongo.

The players are expected to play more cricket in the domestic league as part of the build-up to the World Cup.

While Zimbabwe are still trying to put pieces back in place, some of their opponents at the tournament like South Africa and India are already ahead in their preparations after naming their training squads this week.

Mangongo said the selectors will announce the squad in due course and reiterated that no player is guaranteed a place in the team without proving his mettle.

“As is the trend world over, the team is going to be picked on merit. Everyone who is playing professional cricket at the moment has an equal chance of making it.

“There were some promises in Bangladesh. We had Solomon Mire who did well in his debut under the difficult conditions in the sub continent. Scoring two half centuries in four ODI innings was no mean feat under the circumstances.

“This shows that we have the players. Look at people like (Regis) Chakabva, and even Tafadzwa Kamungozi, who I think did well at a time when we lost our top spinners Prosper Utseya and Raymond Price.

“Probably the main headache we have is to get all the senior players performing at once. Today it’s Hamilton Masakadza and on the other day it’s Brendan Taylor or Elton Chigumbura.

“It’s unfortunate that we don’t have the consistence that we see in other top teams like South Africa or Sri Lanka. Those guys when their senior players are in form, five if not six of them hold their heads high in one innings. We would want to see the same in our team as well.

“I don’t believe we failed in Bangladesh because of the skills factor or that we cannot play. The problem is we couldn’t convert those scores and I think it’s more to do with anxiety and concentration. We need to learn to bat for longer periods,” said Mangongo.

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