Zimpapers Logo

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
RIVALS Zimbabwe and Afghanistan arrived in Harare yesterday on the back of contrasting fortunes from their tour of Dubai as the Chevrons find themselves under pressure to up their game ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, which they host in about 10 days’ time.

Zimbabwe lost the ODI series, which concluded on Monday, 4-1 and the defeat to Afghanistan painted a grim picture for Heath Streak’s men.

In fact, the countdown to the tournament has not been encouraging for the Zimbabweans, who also lost the two-match Twenty20 series 2-0 during the same tour of United Arab Emirates.

The Zimbabwe cricket team’s disappointing performances might also have dampened the spirits back home as big questions have been raised about their chances of progressing to the 2019 World Cup, considering they are in the same group with their nemesis Afghanistan for the qualifying tournament.

Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are in Group B, together with Hong Kong, Nepal and Scotland.
However, the recent tour of United Arab Emirates exposed several weaknesses, which Streak and his men would need to address in the next one week.

“Qualifying is our daily goal and that is what we are working towards,” said former captain Brendan Taylor.
“Hosting the tournament is a fantastic feeling.

“It is clear we have to qualify and playing at home will certainly help.
“It will mean everything, the end goal is massive, we have no doubt in our mind we will qualify. There has to be a certain amount of respect for each team, but qualifying is our daily goal and that is what we are working towards.”

With little over 10 days before the first ball is bowled, the Zimbabweans look shattered.
They need to find their rhythm.

For the record, Zimbabwe have never beaten Afghanistan in an ODI series dating back to their first meeting in 2014.
The teams have engaged five times, with the Afghans winning four of the series.

Of late, it appears Zimbabwe and Afghanistan have been walking in different directions.
One team is on the rise and the other on a free-fall.

The Asians have worked hard to maintain the dominance and yesterday the ICC rubber-stamped this when they confirmed in the latest MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings that Afghanistan have successfully wrestled 10th position from Zimbabwe following their comprehensive series win.

Afghanistan gained four points to take their tally to 55 points, while Zimbabwe have lost three points to sit on 50 points.
The series also benefited Afghanistan players more than the under-performing Zimbabweans in the rankings charts.

Leg spinner Rashid Khan, who was the destroyer-in-chief in Sharjah, ascended to the top of the bowling charts, breaking some records along the way as he became the youngest cricketer ever to hold the position, at 19 years.

Rashid was the highest wicket-taker in the series with 16 scalps in five ODIs at an average of 7.93 and best bowling figures of 5 for 24.

Yesterday he joined India pacer Jasprit Bumrah at the top of the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers in a special endorsement for the phenomenal rise of the game in Afghanistan.

His 51 runs in two innings in the series, including a brisk 43 in the final match in Sharjah on Monday, has also helped him break into the top-five in the list of all-rounders, while he has also moved up 11 slots to take 114th place among batsmen.

Other Afghanistan players that made huge strides in the latest rankings include batsmen Rahmat Shah (up 39 places to 42nd), Javed Ahmadi (up 18 places to 83rd) and Najibullah Zadran (up 23 places to 93rd) and off-spin bowler Mohammad Nabi (up seven places to 11th).

Zimbabwe’s top ranked batsmen Sikandar Raza and Taylor moved in the negative to 45th and 52nd respectively among the batsmen.

But they remain focused on qualifying for the 2019 World Cup, whose qualifying tournament brings together 10 teams in Zimbabwe headlined by the West Indies.

The Windies were the first to arrive at the weekend.
They are in Group A along with Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and the UAE. The teams that come out tops from each group will also grab the two tickets available for next year’s World Cup in England and Wales.