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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE senior men’s cricket team limited overs captain Craig Ervine says the recent string of poor results is not a result of off field issues, but a matter of everyone in the team not playing their role to help the team win games.

In his assessment of the just-ended series, which Afghanistan completed a 6-0 sweep of their white-ball tour of Zimbabwe on Tuesday, Ervine admitted to be struggling for form.

Chevrons

The Chevrons lost the one-day internationals 3-0 and T20I 3-0.

Ervine only managed 12 runs in three innings, scoring nine, two and 1 in the three T20I whitewash.

The defeat comes against the backdrop of an embarrassing series defeat to Namibia, who are only an associate member of the International Cricket Council.

“It’s not off field issues, but rather the plans in the dressing room and having guys playing their roles. I will be the first one to admit I was poor in the series with the bat and I know there are a few technical issues I have to work on,” said Ervine.

Dave Houghton

“Over the next few weeks I will be sitting down with the batting coach to make sure that by the time the qualifiers (T20 World Cup) start I am in better form than I was in this series. We have to make sure we qualify (and) that has to be our priority. We have good youngsters coming up, we just need to work on where we are. It obviously has been a disappointing series.

“Generally, we miss winning those key moments. There were times we had Afghanistan on the back foot and we were in the driving seat and I just felt that those are the moments that we should take and control it for a bit longer with bat and bowl. Guys did well with the bowling and then in some sections at the death we gave away too many runs.

With the bat we do well to get into good positions then we just go on to lose wickets and give the game back to the opposition.”

An example is in the third T20I on Tuesday when the Zimbabwe batsmen crumbled, losing six wickets for a mere 16 runs.

Lalchand Rajput

Commenting on the appointment of veteran coach Dave Houghton taking over from Lalchand Rajput, who oversaw the Chevrons’ latest humiliation, Ervine said: “He is an important part of Zimbabwe cricket. He has been around and an important figure in Zimbabwean cricket. I have worked with him before and the reputation he has will get the best out of the youngsters in the team.”

Zimbabwe is one of the countries still seeking a place in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be staged in Australia in October, with just two slots remaining.

The seven teams heading to the Southern African nation for the qualifiers for the two slots from July 8-18 are Hong Kong, Jersey, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Uganda and the United States of America.

The qualifiers will be staged in Bulawayo at Queens Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club. – @innocentskizoe