We are the World

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
IT keeps getting better for Zimbabwe Cricket with the country being granted the rights to host its biggest cricket festival, since the World Cup bandwagon rolled into town 14 years ago, after the game’s global leadership invested their trust in this nation to stage the qualifying batte for the 2019 ICC World Cup. The mini-global cricket festival, which will feature 10 countries, will be held in March next year and that has also given the Chevrons a huge boost to qualify for the global world cricket showcase in England in two years time.

The Chevrons will be joined by nine other nations for the event where only the top two teams will grab the tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup. The qualifiers will feature the bottom four-ranked teams in the ICC One Day International rankings and these include West Indies, who are already on tour in this country, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland. They will be joined by the four Associate nations that finish top of the log standings in the ongoing ICC World Cricket League Championship.

So far Netherlands and Papua New Guinea are favourites ahead of the final round of matches. However, Scotland, Hong Kong, Kenya and Nepal are still in with chances to make it. The two teams that will finish top in the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two will complete the cast for the qualifying tournament set to be held at various venues, including the world-class facilities such as Harare Sports Club and Queens Sports Club.

Zimbabwe, who were represented by ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani and managing director Faisal Hasnain when the decision was made during a board meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday, emerged the best choice to host after brushing aside a serious bid from the United Arab Emirates and a joint bid from Ireland and Scotland. ZC spokesperson Darlington Majonga welcomed the decision by the ICC.

“As ZC we are thrilled to be afforded this privilege to host the qualifier. It’s something that we are proud of and we would like to thank the ICC for having faith in us. I am sure it’s a clear reflection of the ICC’s determination in trying to see Zimbabwe realising it’s dream to become one of the cricket powerhouses. But this award did not come on a silver-platter, we worked hard to make sure that our bid was the best. In terms of facilities and infrastructure I am sure Zimbabwe has some of the world-class cricket amenities. Remember we co-hosted some matches of the 2003 World Cup together with South Africa and Kenya. And this coming at a time when cricket is back on the rise in Zimbabwe, we hope to deliver a successful event,” said Majonga. Bangladesh were originally penciled to host the qualifier but they could not go ahead after the Tigers defied the odds and qualified directly to the 2019 ICC World Cup.

The Asians managed to secure an automatic top eight slot on the ODI rankings by the September 30 deadline, closing out West Indies who lost a series to England. The ICC have already sent an inspection team to Zimbabwe to ascertain the suitability of the venues. The inspection team arrived just over a month after the global cricket chairman Shashank Manohar had made a landmark visit to the country. Manohar had a series of meetings with ZC management and senior Government officials including Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko and Minister of Sport, Recreation and Culture Makhosini Hlongwane who all gave guarantees to support Zimbabwe’s candidature.

Besides boosting the Chevrons chances of qualifying for the main tournament, given that playing in home conditions comes with an advantage in this game, hosting the Qualifier is also expected to come with huge financial rewards from the television rights. Zimbabwe Cricket has already been boosted by the return to international duty of Brendan Taylor, the country’s best batsman, and Kyle Jarvis who chose to serve their country ahead of better remuneration in county cricket in England.

The ICC also gave their blessings to the pioneering four-day Test between Zimbabwe and South Africa on Boxing Day when the board approved a trial of four-day Tests matches for all members to run through until the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Zimbabwe, who have a two-match Test series against the West Indies starting next week, have accepted the invitation by Cricket South Africa to fill the traditional Boxing Day slot. ICC chief executive David Richardson said members will be able to schedule four-day games by bilateral agreement and a set of standardised playing conditions will now be finalised.

“Our priority was to develop an international cricket structure that gave context and meaning across international cricket and particularly in the Test arena. This has been delivered and every Test in the new League will be a five-day Test format. However, throughout the discussions about the future of Test cricket it became clear that whilst context is crucial we must also consider alternatives and trial initiatives that may support the future viability of Test cricket. The trial is exactly that, a trial, just in the same way day-night Tests and technology have been trialled by Members. Four-day Tests will also provide the new Test playing countries with more opportunities to play the longer version of the game against more experienced opponents, which, in turn, will help them to hone their skills and close the gap with the top nine ranked teams,” said Richardson.

Meanwhile, the ICC Board yesterday gave the green light to a nine-team Test league and a 13-team ODI league aimed at bringing context and meaning to bilateral cricket. The schedules of the leagues, due to start in 2019 and 2020, will now be finalised. The Test series league will see nine teams play six series over two years – three home and three away – with each having a minimum of two Tests and a maximum of five and all matches being played over five days culminating in a World Test League Championship Final.

The ODI league will be a direct qualification pathway towards the ICC Cricket World Cup and will be contested by the 12 Full Members plus the winners of the current ICC World Cricket League Championship. In the first edition of the league, each side will play four home and four away series each comprising of three ODIs moving to all teams playing each other from the second cycle onwards.

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