What’s in a toss?… Wellington Masakadza: Zimbabwe’s Cricket’s unlucky captain Wellington Masakadza toss

Brandon Moyo
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IN many sports, the toss is just a tradition that has to be done prior to the start of a match but has not much effect on the game.

For example, in football or rugby, the toss has little or no effect in determining the match’s outcome but still has to be done regardless. However, in some sports, the toss plays a crucial role in determining how the match goes.

Some may take it lightly, but it is equally important as the amount of work that is put into the field of play. The toss is one of the most important factors in a cricket match, it plays a huge role in determining the final outcome of a game. There is an old phrase that goes; “Win the toss and win the match.”

In 2019, the then South African captain, Faf du Plessis saw the importance of a toss in a game after they were trounced 3-0 by India in a Test series that was played in the Asian nation. In all three matches, South Africa lost the toss. Losing the first two matches, having called wrong in both matches, du Plessis brought in a proxy captain in the third game to try and have a change of fortunes.

Wellington Masakadza toss

They brought in the present skipper, Temba Bavuma but no fortunes changed, the Proteas lost the toss, eventually going on to lose the match and the series. However, winning the toss and winning the match is not a hard and fast rule, you can win the toss and go on to lose the match.

Many captains, like du Plessis have been unlucky when it comes to the coin toss and back home, we have had our very own unlucky captain. Going out to the middle of the park for the first time in his career as captain of Zimbabwe at List A level, the cricketing toss gods surely turned their backs on one of their own, Wellington Masakadza.

In Zimbabwe Select’s ongoing six-match one day series against the visiting Pakistan Shaheens side, Masakadza has had no luck with the coin, tossing it four times and getting it wrong on three occasions.

Zimbabwe Select and the visiting Shaheens have played five matches, Masakadza has captained four of those.

He lost the toss in three consecutive matches, before finally calling it right in the fourth game of series. The left-arm spinner has not had a great record with the toss, and one would say, he has bad toss luck, becoming Zimbabwe Cricket’s unlucky captain by repeatedly calling it wrong.

In a twist of fate, the “win the toss and win the match,” belief however, has no place in Masakadza’s book. Toss decides fate, they said, but not for the “unlucky” 29-year-old Zimbabwean international.

Zimbabwe Select won two of the three matches where Masakadza got it wrong. In the first match, the home side won by 24 runs and followed it up with an 81 runs win in the second encounter.

The visitors managed to pull one back in the third match, recording a narrow five runs win (D/L method).

Having the cricket gods smile at him in the fourth match and finally winning the toss, Masakadza went on to guide Zimbabwe to a thumping seven wickets win over their opponents to go 3-1 up in the series.

The unlucky skipper missed Thursday’s fifth match of the series and his replacement, Sean Williams called it right but the team lost the match, leaving the series at 3-2 going into today’s decider.
– @brandon_malvin

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