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Jeffrey Murimbechi Sports Correspondent  
TINOTENDA Mawoyo has made his name as a specialist opener in Test cricket. But his teammate Sean Williams believes he could be a good addition to the Zimbabwe national team for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh next month.
The Zimbabwe cricket selectors are in the process of selecting their final squad of 15 players for the Twenty20 World Cup from a pool of three select sides, of 12 players each, who have been playing matches at Harare Sports Club since Monday.

The team is set to be finalised today.

Mawoyo is known as a specialist Test cricketer and his game appears suited for the longer formats of the game where he can contain pressure and stay at the crease for long periods of time while scoring at the required rate.

His strength has also been used against him in the selection of teams for the shorter version of the game, like Twenty20, where stakes are higher and more runs are needed per over.

But Zimbabwe’s recent struggles at the top order has opened a window for people who would, probably, not have been considered for a Twenty20 World Cup.

“I think Tino (Mawoyo) can hold it down in Twenty20, international cricket is tough I must say, we face countries that have a guy who can bowl an average 145km/h which makes your whole game plan change,” said Williams.

“Tino is probably one of the few guys you would want at the top of the order because he can run up the wicket and do all sorts of things with the new ball, I would rather have him, Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor facing that sort pressure rather than me.”

For someone who is also battling to get a place in the Twenty20 World Cup team, and is likely to do so, Williams’ assessment of his teammate is refreshingly candid.

But is Mawoyo that pedestrian as a cricketer?

He has a Twenty20 strike rate of 110.32%, contrary to popular belief, where critics believe that he has a very slow strike rate.

He has scored three half centuries with a personal best of an unbeaten 74 runs which contributes to his tally of 438 runs at an average of 23.05 runs. Zimbabwe’s Achilles Heel in recent internationals has been the loss of early key wickets at the top of the order.

Mawoyo’s 33 runs off 33 deliveries on Monday wasn’t the kind of stuff that will make selectors stand and take notice but, as Williams argues, there is no substitute for experience. The selectors have a tough time choosing between experienced players and emerging hungry and ambitious players and mould them into a team that will perform at a level as high as the Twenty20 World Cup.