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ZIMBABWE’S cricketers are set to return to the Test arena, for the first time in more than a year, when they take on Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi next month.

The Chevrons’ last match, in the most prestigious format of the game, was in February last year, when they crashed to an innings defeat in Bangladesh.

A month earlier, the Zimbabweans had played their first Test, in 14 months, when they hosted Sri Lanka, at Harare Sports Club, and impressed many neutrals, with their commendable show.

They took Sri Lanka, in the final session, of the fifth day, with the visitors finally sealing their 10-wicket victory, with just 60 balls left of what was a true Test contest.

Then, four days later, at the same venue, the Chevrons showed that their performance, in the first Test, wasn’t a fluke, as they forced a draw.

An impressive 406, in the first innings, anchored on a fine century from the dependable Sean Williams, gave the Chevrons a good platform and, for a team that doesn’t play Test cricket often, the draw was a fine result.

“If they play like that, they’re going to test a lot of sides, I think they’re a dangerous young team now, they’ve got some very good players, I was very impressed,” said Sri Lanka coach, Mickey Arthur.

But, sport needs momentum, and that a full year has elapsed, since the Chevrons played a Test match, means that some of the gains of that battle against Sri Lanka, have been lost.

It’s something that South African cricket great, Graeme Smith, noted recently when he urged the International Cricket Council to show leadership and fight in the corners of some of the Test nations who are not part of the game’s Big Three.

That prestigious club features England, India and Australia.

Smith, a former Proteas captain who is the director of cricket at Cricket South Africa, was not amused by Australia’s decision to pull out of their scheduled Test tour of the Rainbow Nation, with the men from Down Under, saying they were concerned about Covid-19.

“The game needs leadership right now. It needs to understand the complexities. I don’t think world cricket wants three nations competing against each other in 10 years’ time,’’ said Smith.

“How does that benefit the game? It doesn’t. I think that will amplify the (Twenty20) leagues and the leagues will then just get bigger and bigger and bigger and probably the rest of the member nations will have little to no content.

“I think the leadership of the ICC, if they don’t address these things now, and I think it has been fast-tracked because of Covid-19, these issues are becoming more and more relevant and amplified.

“I think the ICC found themselves a little bit off-guard with some of these issues now.”

Smith could also have been speaking on behalf of Zimbabwe Cricket with the Chevrons battling, now and again, to find regular opposition, when it comes to Test matches.

Test cricket is the ultimate challenge and, when this country played regular matches, in this format, the Chevrons were known as giant-killers, who used to give as much as they got, in these battles.

Against that background, and the challenges which the world faces today, we find it refreshing that the Zimbabwe Cricket authorities continue to move mountains, to ensure that we play at the highest level, and the battle against Afghanistan is welcome.

Although the Chevrons will be missing the experience of Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine, who could not make the Zimbabwe Cricket training camp because of illness, and will be deprived of the services of key pace bowlers, Kyle Jarvis and Tendai Chatara, we are happy with the decision to fuse in new blood into the team.

The inclusion of Wesley Madhevere is a case in point.

This is a player who, despite his youth and inexperience, has shown that he has the talent to play at the highest level, doesn’t plunge into battles burdened by fear, and always gives everything into his innings.

Where others would have wilted, under the challenge that comes with playing against the best players in the world, and on the tricky surfaces of the Indian sub-continent, Madhevere has shown great character, and lots of talent, to give us hope that we could have a gem of a player, on our hands.

The deliberate investment, into such promising players like Madhevere, by the ZC authorities, by throwing them into the firing line, at a crucial stage of their career, is a noble one because they represent the future of the game, in this country.

Of course, the results might not always come, and there will be some painful moments along the way, but there is no other way and, if we really care about the future of our game, that is the correct path to take.

Madhevere is not the only one, among the young crop, which will be in Abu Dhabi.

Richard Ngarava is only 23 while lanky bowler, Blessing Muzarabani, the hero when the Chevrons beat Pakistan in an ODI on their last tour of the sub-continent, and Brandon Mavuta, are both just 24.

Even our opponents, Afghanistan, appear to have also taken a deliberate move to also infuse young blood into their team which, for a long time, has been dominated by the same players.

Just like Zimbabwe, Test matches have been few, and far between, for the Asians, who last played a Test match in November 2019, losing their one-off match against the Windies by nine wickets.

In Abu Dhabi, they have a host of new faces with Abdul Malik, Munir Ahmad Kakar, Shahidullah Kamal, Bahir Shah Mohboob, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Saleem Safi and Zia Ur Rahman Akbar all coming in, without a Test cap, to their names.