Zimpapers Logo

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket team’s fixtures at the ICC Under-19 men’s Cricket World Cup have been amended with the youth side now expected to begin their campaign tomorrow against Papua New Guinea.

Prosper Utseya’s men, who rounded off their preparations with a 155 runs defeat to defending champions Bangladesh on Tuesday, will plunge into battle a day earlier than the original schedule.

According to the original fixture, Zimbabwe were expected to kick off their campaign on Sunday against Afghanistan in Group, which also has two-time champions, Pakistan.

But the Asians delayed their arrival into the Caribbean after facing visa glitches.

Due to quarantine requirements, it also meant that they would not be able to prepare for the game against Zimbabwe on Sunday.

“The fixture schedule for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 has been updated after the delayed arrival of Afghanistan into the region.

“After successfully obtaining the necessary visas for travel, Afghanistan will arrive in the West Indies and undergo their required quarantine period.

“To ensure all fixtures could be completed, four out of the six group C matches in Trinidad and Tobago have been rescheduled,” said the ICC in a statement.

The revised fixture will see Zimbabwe engage Pakistan in the second game on Monday before completing the round robin games on January 22.

The changes were approved by the Event Technical Committee which comprises ICC Head of Events chairman Chris Tetley, ICC Senior Event Manager Ben Leaver, Tournament Director Fawwaz Baksh, WICB Representative Roland Holder, Alan Wilkins and Russel Arnold.

“We are delighted that the Afghanistan squad have received the necessary visas and will be able to travel to participate in the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022.

“We have reworked the fixtures for group C to ensure that all matches can take place within the allocated timeframe and would like to thank the participating Members for their flexibility in finding a solution,” said Tetley.

New Group C Fixture

 15 January – Zimbabwe v PNG — Queens Park Oval. (Rescheduled from 20 January).

17 January – Pakistan v Zimbabwe — Diego Martin Sporting Complex. (Rescheduled from 22 January).

18 January – Afghanistan v PNG — Diego Martin Sporting Complex. (Unchanged).

20 January – Pakistan v Afghanistan – Brian Lara Cricket Ground. (Unchanged).

22 January – Pakistan v PNG — Queens Park Oval. (Rescheduled from 15 January)

22 January – Afghanistan v Zimbabwe — Diego Martin Sporting Complex. (Rescheduled from 16 January).