Chisoro ready to atone for mistakes

04 Dec, 2016 - 00:12 0 Views
Chisoro ready to atone for mistakes

The Sunday Mail

Brighton Zhawi —
After being dropped from the national cricket team for disciplinary issues, earlier this year, Zimbabwe spin bowler Tendai Chisoro (pictured) found himself at a crossroad.

Either continue on his current path, one which included infamously getting expelled from the team after missing curfew, or change and change for the better. Luckily he chose the latter.

“Obviously in life we all make mistakes, no one is perfect and I am not either.

“What was important is how I took it, and I think I took it pretty well,” said Chisoro.

Now, all Chisoro wants is to be remembered for winning games and not his past mistakes. Egging him on is experience, after all Chisoro knows a thing or two about making the right kind of changes after a recurring side strain and a nagging ankle injury forced him to dump pace bowling and take up spin.

It is an action he still enjoys today and most importantly one that has brought about success for the 28-year-old. When called up for the just-concluded tri-series featuring Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, Chisoro showed his capabilities with both bat and ball.

“As for my personal performance I feel satisfied to have worked my way back in the team as well as to come and play like that in a must win match. . .but there is still work to be done,” Chisoro said in reference to his match winning performance against West Indies.

“As a team I personally feel there is progression and we are going in the right way,” reckons the 28-year-old.

During that game (West Indies), Chisoro scored a 35-ball unbeaten 42 and partnered Sikandar Raza in Zimbabwe’s record ninth wicket partnership of 84 that helped the team recover from a dire 89-7 to post 218.

Zimbabwe went on to win that match by five runs under the Duckworth Lewis method, but not before the burly left-arm spinner returned with the ball and finished with 2 for 23 runs in six overs.

So far, Chisoro has taken 13 wickets in 12 ODIs since making his debut against Afghanistan in Bulawayo in 2015. He is keen to have more matches, take more wickets and produce more match winning performances.

“(I want to) give it my all and bring a positive vibe to the team,” he said.

“Sangulo”, as Chisoro is called by his mates, has been in the black book after a late night drinking spree with a team mate saw them break the team curfew just before the Limited overs series against India back in June this year. The offence saw Chisoro, together with Luke Jongwe, get dropped from the squad.

It is this experience that Chisoro reflects on and uses as a reminder of what life could have been had he continued on that disastrous path. He says he learnt from past mistakes and used the time away from the team to also work on his game.

“Since there was no domestic cricket I just had to go back do gym, run and practice. (I also) played three Zimbabwe Premier League games before the Pakistan A series.”

Chisoro never thought he would be an international spin bowler.

“I had my injury problems as well as things were not going well for me at that stage. I then decided to change. . .the change brought change of fortunes.

“I changed for good in the 2014/15 season when I moved to Midwest Rhinos. Dave Houghton encouraged me to do that and initially it was weird because I was used to the hostility as well as the aggression that comes with bowling pace.

“Now, it was just normal, too normal. My mates just took it as a joke at first, but now they actually like it,” he said.

Chisoro’s attention now shifts to the domestic season expected to start in the coming weeks.

“The season is crucial in the sense that Midwest hasn’t won a trophy in its history and on paper we are one of the stronger sides, so we have to deliver,” he said.

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