Zimbabwe’s Performance in T20 World Cup

Zimbabwe Team Schedule for T20 World Cup 2022

Zimbabwe T20 Squad S.W.O.T Analysis

Strengths – Zimbabwe have been involved in a lot of T20 cricket action in the past few months leading up to the tournament. Before the qualifiers, they also played two T20I series, against Namibia and Afghanistan. Although they lost both the series, they did win the T20 World Cup Qualifiers, which can be seen as an indication of the team developing as a unit and gathering momentum. The team and its supporters would hope that they carry this momentum and deliver the goods on the stage where it matters the most. The team also gets a lot of balance due to the presence of several quality all-rounders like Sikander Raza and Ryan Burl.

Weaknesses – Zimbabwe, when up against a bigger opposition, often are found without answers in the face of an attack. Considering a lot of players don’t have the exposure of the biggest stage, it’s only natural for the nerves to come into play. However, that allows the game to drift away from them and in no time, they find themselves out of the contest even before the contest reaches the halfway mark.

Opportunities – Having failed to qualify for the 2021 T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe would be mighty pleased to have made it to the group stages. However, if they can proceed to the Super 12s, it would mean a lot to the team and would allow them to finally bury the ghosts of 2021. Moreover, both Williams and Ervine are at the fag end of their Zimbabwe careers and would like to make a mark in their final appearance on the T20 World Cup stage.

Threats – Zimbabwe finds itself in the group with Ireland, Scotland and West Indies. Although West Indies haven’t enjoyed the best of forms in the lead up to the tournament, their progress to the next round is almost a certainty. That means Zimbabwe would be locked in a battle with Ireland and Scotland for the second place on the points table. Ireland’s form has been excellent although the results might not show that as they managed to lose to India and New Zealand despite stretching both the teams.

Zimbabwe Team’s Performance in T20 World Cup

Zimbabwe’s tryst with international cricket began in the early 80s and in a span of a decade, they had become a force to reckon with and were fully capable of defeating the top nations in white ball cricket. However, things changed in the mid 2000s, even leading to Zimbabwe losing its Test playing nation status for a while. Since then, despite numerous attempts to reach those heights again, Zimbabwe’s successes have been few and far between.

The team, however, began its tryst with T20 World Cup in a memorable fashion when they defeated Australia in the 2007 T20 World Cup. That win, it turned out later, had more to do with the Australian team being lacklustre than Zimbabwe being remarkable. The 2007 T20 World Cup appearance was the first of the five that Zimbabwe have made before their scheduled appearance in Australia later this year. Their win over Australia fifteen years ago remains their only high point in the tournament’s history.

They have qualified for the 2022 T20 World Cup after having missed out on qualifying for the 2021 World Cup. They secured a place for themselves in Group B by defeating Netherlands in the finals of the Qualifiers in Bulawayo. Their comprehensive win over Netherlands, despite being achieved in home conditions, will give them a lot of confidence ahead of their Australian adventure. However, the road ahead for them will not be easy as they will have to battle it out against Ireland, Scotland and West Indies in their quest to book a place for themselves in the Super 12s. Captain Craig Ervine, however, would know well that the conditions in Australia will be much different than what they experienced at home and replicating the same form would not be easy.