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Eddie Chikamhi

Senior Sports Reporter

THE stage is shaping up for the qualifying ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier where hosts Zimbabwe will be vying for the remaining two slots at the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup finals to be held in Australia later this year.

The Chevrons, who are currently holding a training camp in Bulawayo, are in Group A and will play Jersey, Singapore and USA. Group B comprises the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Uganda.

The eight-team tournament, set for Queens Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club, is one of two global contests that form the final stage of the qualification process for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

The Netherlands were the first team to arrive in Zimbabwe for the qualifying tournament after they touched down in Harare yesterday.

The Dutch, who are favourites along with hosts Zimbabwe, will have exactly one week to acclimatise with the conditions in the Southern African nation before the start of the tournament next Monday.

They arrived in Zimbabwe on the back of a busy schedule in the last six months when they played a series of international matches, albeit in One Day Internationals, against Afghanistan, New Zealand, West Indies and lately, England.

As part of their final build-up to the tournament, the Netherlands are scheduled to play two T20 practice matches against USA tomorrow and on Thursday in Harare.

USA have had a comprehensive preparation, which started off with the recently concluded ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 series in Texas.

While Zimbabwe were setting up base in Bulawayo last week, their group A opponents USA and Jersey were embarking on a tour of Africa and were hosted by Namibia in a T20 triangular series that ended on Sunday.

The teams played at least four games each in a round robin format. Series hosts Namibia, who have since qualified for the T20 World Cup finals after they acquitted themselves well at the last edition, won the series with a 100 percent record.

And yesterday they saw off the visitors. The USA are scheduled to shift base to Harare, where they play the Netherlands in two warm-up games.

Zimbabwe, who recently made a technical reshuffle after roping in local legend Dave Houghton, have also been preparing their own way. Houghton replaced Lalchand Rajput following a depressing run of results in the run up to the qualifiers.

The Zimbabwean authorities were forced to make the decision following a series of poor results and the team’s lifeless performances in the recent international engagements with Namibia and Afghanistan.

Ex-South Africa international Lance Klusener has also returned to the technical department as batting coach.

Speaking to The Herald before the team’s departure for Bulawayo, Houghton said he was aiming to lead Zimbabwe back on the winning paths and to qualify for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as the tournament winners.

The Chevrons will kick off their campaign against Singapore next Monday, followed by a clash with Jersey and then end their group matches against USA on July 14.

The top two teams from the group will advance to the semi-finals, set for July 15. Then the two teams that make it to the final will qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup finals to be held in Australia between October and November this year.

Zimbabwe and Singapore sealed their places in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier based on their ICC MRF Tyres Men’s T20I Team rankings.

The Netherlands and PNG entered the qualification pathway at this stage following their finishing positions in the first round at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 co-hosted by the UAE and Oman, while Hong Kong, Jersey, Uganda and the USA advanced from the regional finals.

The winner of the qualifying tournament will go into Group B in Round 1 at the T20 World Cup finals in Australia where they will play Ireland, Scotland and the West Indies.

The runner-up will go into Group A alongside Namibia, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.

Then, the top two teams from each group after this round will proceed to the Super 12, joining the top eight teams from the last edition.