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Solomon Mire

Bongani Ndlovu, Sports Correspondent
ZIMBABWE senior national team cricket captain Hamilton Masakadza says the injury to top-order batsman Solomon Mire in the run-up to their opening game of the five-match one-day international (ODI) series against Pakistan gives a chance to other players to step up to the plate.

The Chevrons take on the Shaheens at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo today without seven top players.

Mire was ruled out of the series after sustaining a gluteal tear last Friday during his magnificent innings of 63 against Australia in the T20I triangular series at Harare Sports Club.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference at Queens Sports Club yesterday, Masakadza, who leads a largely inexperienced side, said it was up to him to carry the team for the nation.

“Having been around for as long as I have, I’ve learnt to embrace pressure and deal with it. So it probably won’t affect me as much as the younger guys. It’s up to me to help them to embrace it and deal with it. There’s always pressure as a top batsman to get runs on the board and give my team a good score. So it spurs me on to get the team a good start,” said Masakadza.

He said it was also a chance for other players to stand up and be counted.

“As a country, there’s a lot to be gained as we don’t play a lot of international cricket. So this series is for the guys who are coming up in the team and it’s an opportunity to build for the next World Cup. We can blood in the new guys and give them a feel of international cricket,” he said.

The Chevrons named three uncapped players Liam Roche, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and Ryan Murray.

Roche (18) is a former Zimbabwe Under-19 captain, while Murray (20) is a wicketkeeper batsman and Kamunhukamwe (23) is a Rising Stars top order batsman, who has been in good form in first class cricket.

Kamunhukamwe could be handed his ODI debut following a good knock for Zimbabwe Select in a T20 match against Kenya last month. He has a List A record of 379 runs in nine matches at an average of 42.11 with a strike rate of 140.89, including a 98-ball 128 at the top of the order for Rising Stars against Mountaineers in May.

The absence of Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Graeme Cremer has opened doors for the return of former captain Elton Chigumbura, who featured in the recently concluded T20I Tri-Series, but he hasn’t played an ODI since November 2016.

Pakistan skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed, said although Zimbabwe is depleted they will not take today’s match and series lightly as they are preparing for  the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates in September.

“We are taking each match as it comes and we want to play good cricket to beat Zimbabwe at  their home. The Zimbabwean team is very young and our team the same, but our goal is to play good cricket in preparation for the Asia Cup,” said Ahmed.

The last four ODI matches at Queens Sports Club have seen high scores averaging 200 runs per innings.

Squads
Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza (c), Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Ryan Murray, Peter Moor, Tarisai Musakanda, Blessing Muzarabani, Liam Roche, Malcolm Waller, Brian Chari, Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Tendai Chisoro, Tendai Chatara, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Donald Tiripano

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail