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Eddie Chikamhi

Senior Sports Reporter

THE Zimbabwe national cricket team players are set to resume preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier when they take part in the matches against the visiting Pakistan A side next month.

The Chevrons players have been out of action since last month when they featured in a three-match One Day International series against the Netherlands.

And, with no international matches scheduled until the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier set for June and July in Harare and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Cricket have taken the opportunity presented by the Pakistan A side to get their players exposed to the game situations before the crucial qualifying event.

ZC indicated in a statement yesterday that a total of eight matches, including two first class games, will be played across venues in Harare, Mutare and Kwekwe during the tour. “Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has confirmed six one-day matches against a Pakistani side in Harare next month as part of Zimbabwe’s final preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 on home soil.

“The inbound tour will however start off with two four-day games between Zimbabwe A and Pakistan A, popularly known as the Shaheens, scheduled for 3-6 May in Kwekwe and 10-13 May in Mutare.

“Action will then move to Harare for the 50-over series pitting a Zimbabwe Select team against the tourists, with the first encounter pencilled in for Takashinga Cricket Club on 17 May.

“The rest of the one-dayers will be played at Harare Sports Club on 19, 21, 23, 25 and 27 May. “ZC arranged the series to help Zimbabwe fine-tune for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 that will be staged across four venues in Harare and Bulawayo from 18 June to 9 July.

“The event will see 10 teams competing for the two remaining places at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India later in the year,” said the ZC statement.

Zimbabwe are set to be joined by nine other nations in the Qualifier to battle for the remaining two ICC World Cup 2023 slots.

Two former world champions West Indies and Sri Lanka are set to headline the cast. Just like Zimbabwe, the two failed to secure direct qualification at the conclusion of their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches.

They will also be joined by the Netherlands and Ireland from the Super league and five Associates that include the United States and UAE who were victorious in the six-team play-off tournament played in Namibia last month.

The other teams expected in Zimbabwe for the final Qualifier are Oman, Nepal and Scotland, who come in as the top three from the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2.

The 10-team qualifying tournament is expected to take place in Harare and Bulawayo between June 18 and July 9, with only two spots available for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India later in the year.

This is an important event for the Chevrons who last played at the ICC 50-over Cricket World Cup in 2015. Zimbabwe missed qualification to the last event held in England and Wales in 2019 after they failed to make it from the Qualifier which they hosted.

This was the first time since 1983 that Zimbabwe did not play at the ICC Cricket World Cup. They were made to play in the qualifying tournament because of their ranking in their ICC ODI Championship after the organisers decided to reduce the number of participants at the main World Cup to 10 teams.