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Sports Reporter

THE Zimbabwe +50 Cricket Association have called former national team top order batsman Murray Godwin to join their squad of cricket veterans ahead of the 2023 Over-50s World Cup to be held in South Africa next month.

The 14-team tournament is scheduled to run from March 6-20 in the city of Cape Town. Zimbabwe are upbeat after they reached the final of the recent Quadrangular Series in South Africa. Their first game in the World Cup is against New Zealand on March 6.

“The most notable addition is Murray Goodwin, who played nearly 700 first-class and List-A games, scoring over 34,000 runs with a highest score of 344. This included 19 Tests and 71 ODIs for Zimbabwe,” said the Zimbabwe +50 Cricket Association in a statement.

Murray joins his brothers Darrell (captain) and Brian in the squad, which also includes ex-internationals in the form of Craig Evans, Stuart Carlisle, Mark Burmester and John Rennie.

“Overall, it’s quite a settled side, with only the two Gavins – Lindsay and Parker – yet to win an O50I cap. The Test/ODI/FC experience, combined with the O50I experience, probably makes Zimbabwe one of the favoured sides in Pool A.”

All 12 teams that participated in the 2020 edition of the tournament – which was sadly curtailed by COVID-19 after just two-and-a-half matches – are set to return and will be joined by newcomers the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The 14 teams have been split into two pools. Each team will face each other in its pool in six round-robin matches between March 6 and March 15. The top two teams from each pool will progress to semifinals, while the other teams will play off for lower positions. This means that each of the 14 teams will play eight games.

The opening ceremony will be held on March 5 before the first round of matches takes place on March 6. The final will likely be held at the famous Newlands Stadium on March 20.

Zimbabwe are in Pool B along with defending world champions Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, Canada, Sri Lanka and the UAE while Pool A features hosts South Africa, 2018 finalists Pakistan, England, Wales, India, Namibia, and the USA.

Tournament Director Roger Moult said: “The tournament will be hosted by cricket clubs, schools and universities around the Western Cape. We welcome newcomers to the veteran cricket scene, USA and the UAE. We are looking forward to re-creating the excitement and spirit which was evident in 2020.”

Zimbabwe O50s squad:
Darrell Goodwin (C), Timothy Bartlett, Kelly Bennett, Mark Burmester, Stuart Carlisle, Craig Evans, Brian Goodwin, Murray Goodwin, Gavin Lindsay, Gregor McDonald, Gavin Parker, John Rennie, Garry Spence, Darshan Vaghmaria, Michael van Staden, Andrew Walton, Jason Wells, Kenyon Ziehl