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Ronald Mashinga, Sports Reporter

DERBYSHIRE County Cricket Club are set to visit Bulawayo in March to play six matches as part of their pre-season preparations for the 2020 County Championships.

Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales.

The club was invited by Zimbabwe Cricket and they will play all three formats of the game broken down into two Tests, two 50-over and two T20 matches against select opponents during the three-week tour.

The matches will be played between March 8 and March 29, with the 2020 County Championship kicking off three weeks later.

Derbyshire head coach and former Zimbabwe captain Dave Houghton said the tour provided a great opportunity for his players ahead of the new season.

“We will be facing some strong opposition during the tour, which will provide ideal preparations for the 2020 season. Hopefully, this tour will open the door for further English County tours in future which may help Zimbabwe Cricket get back on its feet,” Houghton said.

Houghton captained Zimbabwe in four Test matches and 17 one-day internationals. He holds the record for the highest Test score by a Zimbabwean, the 266 he smashed against Sri Lanka in the 1994/95 season.ul.