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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter

THE feel good vibe from Zimbabwe’s perfect run and subsequent qualification to this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the best news that the game desperately needed, with more expected as the Chevrons begin a makeover under new broom, Dave Houghton. 

Zimbabwe beat the Netherlands by 37 runs in a low-scoring final at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday, with both teams securing their tickets for the T20 World Cup finals to be held in Australia this October. 

At the end of the day, it did not really matter that they were playing against “second-tier’’ Associate Member sides in the eight-team Qualifier that finished in Bulawayo on Sunday. 

Zimbabwe had some big wins after they emerged top of the table in Group A with victories over Singapore, Jersey and the USA, much to the satisfaction of new coach Dave Houghton. 

They faced serious competition in the semi-final win over Papua New Guinea before putting up a huge fighting spirit to claim a low scoring final against the Netherlands.

“It’s huge for us. 

“It was a big thing hanging on our necks in these games. It was a lot more for us to lose than for the other sides, which made it difficult for us. 

“So more than anything, I am pleased with the way we have played, particularly with that extra pressure on top of us. Our goal when we came to Bulawayo was to win all five games and win the tournament. So we have qualified and a little bit of pressure is off us,” said Houghton after Zimbabwe had secured the T20 World Cup spot. 

The reason the estimated 10 000-plus crowd went wild after the final on Sunday was because the Chevrons had slumped rock bottom that one wouldn’t vouch for them to win against any cricket-playing nation, following a series of depressing results in the last few years. 

The Chevrons were in Intensive Care Unit when Houghton was appointed coach last month following the shock defeat to Associate nation, Namibia, in a home T20I series played in Bulawayo as part of the build up to the qualifier. 

They had also suffered a humiliating 6-0 limited overs tour whitewash to Afghanistan, who in every way have made huge strides in their game, and overtaken Zimbabwe, in the last decade. But ZC made a key decision with the appointment of Houghton, otherwise qualification to the T20 World Cup qualification was not guaranteed. 

Houghton is a legend of Zimbabwean cricket and his influence in the dressing room cannot be underestimated. Like many other Zimbabweans, Houghton believes the Chevrons do not deserve losing to Associate Nations, hence he made the declaration at the start of the tournament. 

Zimbabwe always ought to show the difference between them and the Associate Nations. All things being equal, they did not deserve to go through the Qualifiers, where they were the only Full Member, when the likes of Namibia and Scotland are getting automatic qualification. 

Houghton also does not believe winning the Qualifier was a good gauge for Zimbabwe’s abilities, although it came as a huge lift to a nation low on morale. 

The 65-year-old is actually looking forward to the upcoming series against Bangladesh, India and Australia, which Zimbabwe are set to play in the coming six weeks before taking on the rest of the world at the ICC T20 World Cup. 

Zimbabwe will be in Group B in the First Round at Australia 2022 alongside Ireland, Scotland and West Indies. Australia will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the first time ever between October 16 and November 13, 2022 across seven host cities, with Geelong and Hobart playing host to the First Round. 

“We may still be lower down in Test ranked nations but we are above the Associate Member nations and I think we have proved that point,” said Houghton. 

“So for me this is not a process that’s finished but this is just three weeks’ work for me. 

“We have a good following already. People just want a team that’s winning to get behind. For us, this is getting us back somewhere where we should be. 

“Now we have got to actually really prove it over the next two years. We have got some real tough games coming up. We are going to play Bangladesh, who are on a high after beating the West Indies, then we play India.

“Everyone knows how good they are and we follow up with three games against Australia in Australia. Very tough period of time for us, so we will start to see how our cricket has improved over the next couple of months,” said Houghton. 

Houghton hopes to turn back the hand of time to Zimbabwe’s golden era of cricket, which he was part of in the late 1990s. During that golden period, Zimbabwe could beat almost all the Test-playing nations, except Australia, in ODI series. Houghton was in charge of Zimbabwe during their memorable run to the Super Six stage of the 1999 World Cup in England, following impressive group-stage wins over India and South Africa. 

But the team had become the laughing stock in the last decade. Understandably, getting Zimbabwe back to the top will not be an overnight job. 

Houghton is set to be in charge again as Zimbabwe will be making a fifth appearance at the T20 World Cup in Australia. 

The other teams that will make the line up in Australia include the hosts, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Namibia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the West Indies. 

The 16-team tournament runs from October 16 to November 13, with Australia defending the title they won in the UAE last year. 

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine was excited by the turn up of events during the Qualifier. 

“It’s unbelievable to come from where we were and end the qualifiers in this way. I think it’s outstanding. I can’t give enough credit to the rest of the boys for being up for the fight. 

“We had a few scrappy games throughout the tournament but I thought the belief, the confidence in everybody was there,” said Ervine. 

He was also bowled over by the support from the terraces. The atmosphere at Queens Sports Club was electric as the enduring fans once again found their voice with an estimated 10 000-plus crowd backing the Chevrons. 

“It’s unbelievable. This is what we used to know Zimbabwe cricket to be like, all the supporters coming out and cheering for us.

“And over the past week, we’ve definitely given them something to cheer about. From the players’ point of view, it’s good to see the cheers and the happiness back in the crowd.

“We’ve just got to concentrate on what we have done over this week. The World Cup First Round is in October so there is plenty of time between now and then to have a chat and think about how we are going to go about that,” said Ervine. All-rounder Sikandar Raza, who had an outstanding tournament, said it was time to recharge their batteries ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh. 

Raza was named man of the match for his sensational bowling figures of 4/8 in the final and the overall Player of the Tournament accolade. “To win my third Man of the Match and the Player of the Tournament and most important to be champions of this tournament, now I can afford to smile, take a few days off, switch off. We have Bangladesh coming and that’s another tough series. We have to gear up for it as well. But it is no secret we are definitely looking up to the World Cup as well,”