Zimpapers Logo

Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
WITH less than three months before Zimbabwe head into the battle in the 2023 International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup Qualifiers to be held in the country from June 18 to July 9, veteran all-rounder Sean Williams believes playing at home will come in good for them.

Zimbabwe, just like they did in 2018 will once again host the Qualifier and will be looking at making the most of the home conditions which they are accustomed to after missing out on the previous edition of the 50-over World Cup held in England.

The Chevrons have been enjoying an impressive run at home since mid-last year when Dave Houghton took over from Lalchand Rajput as head coach and Williams believes playing on familiar territory will help them do things right and is also good for the team’s mental preparedness.

“I think the biggest advantage that we have is that we are playing at home. We understand the pitches, we understand our outfields, we know everything so we can train accordingly and we can train the way we want to play and play that way.

“Just having that alone, mentally is a huge thing, it is massive and just being able to train somewhere where no one else can train its priceless for us and I am truly grateful that it is back here (World Cup Qualifiers) in Zimbabwe again and I think it’s going to be massive,” said Williams.

The 36-year-old was voted Player of the Series in the recently ended tour against Netherlands which Zimbabwe won 2-1. The all-rounder played two matches and managed to score 120 runs and take three wickets to help his side seal a memorable series win. In the third ODI, which Zimbabwe won by seven wickets, Williams took home the Player of the Match accolade after picking up three wickets and then scoring 43 runs.

Sean Williams is Player of the Series

While no tour is confirmed for the Chevrons before the Qualifier, Zimbabwe Cricket are working on getting the players more game time before they attempt to secure a ticket to India. For now, the players are taking a breather after a hectic schedule which saw the Chevrons square off against Ireland in three Twenty20 Internationals and same number of ODIs.

That was followed by two Tests against West Indies prior to facing the Dutch in 50 over cricket.

“For now, the team is nice and confident, I think they are really looking forward to having a break, a nice mental break and getting some physical work in, getting some strength back, getting back to being cricket fit again and going home and being with their families, I think that is going to be number one on every single person’s mind,” said Williams.

Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza celebrate a wicket against Netherlands

Zimbabwe missed out on the previous edition of the 50-over World Cup which was hosted in England in 2019 after falling short during the Qualifiers. The Chevrons lost their Super Six match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by three runs (D/L Method) at Harare Sports Club to crash out of the tournament.

West Indies and Afghanistan went on to qualify. Before that, the Southern African nation had been to every 50 over World Cup since making their debut in 1983 when the tournament was held in England and Wales where they upset Australia by 13 runs in their first match.

Williams added that they want to make winning a habit and they want to reach a point where they can win against the top teams frequently and not just once off.

“We want to be able to walk out there knowing that people are like, the Zimbabweans are here, we are here to play, we will beat you, we are not coming to lose and when we rock up to the ground, we rock up to win not to lose,” he said.

As part of the preparations for the Qualifiers, Zimbabwe are set to also host Pakistan A in May. — @brandon_malvin