The Sunday Mail
ZIMBABWE seamer Neville Madziva says he is “gutted” to miss out on what would have been a debut appearance at the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup.
The 24-year-old returned home last week with fellow seamer Luke Jongwe and spinner Graeme Cremer after the trio sustained injuries during Zimbabwe’s warm-up matches in the run-up to the tournament.
All-rounder Jongwe suffered a head injury in the first practice match at Sharjah Cricket Ground in the United Arab Emirates, where he was hit above the right eye while attempting a return catch.
An x-ray revealed no damage, but he was admitted in hospital overnight and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan as a precautionary measure.
There will be no cricket for him for four to five weeks.
Cremer suffered a fracture in his left forearm while batting in the first practice match against the West Indies, a game in which Madziva also injured his right thumb while attempting a routine catch.
Madziva has described the feeling of missing out on the T20 World Cup as a great disappointment.
“Obviously missing out on a tour or match is a bad feeling, but I am greatly disappointed that I will not make my debut at the world cup this year.
“If it was a tour or match then that would be another thing, as those games come fast and regularly, but a world cup comes around every two or four years,” said Madziva.
“I was really looking forward to making my debut and hoped to do well to help my team get through the qualifying rounds and through to the main group phase.”
Madziva is now set to go for intense heat therapy with the injury requiring at least two weeks to fully heal.
“We still have a lot of cricket to play and work to do, so I will not let this injury pull me down too much,” he said.
Efforts to contact Jongwe proved unsuccessful as his phone was unreachable for the larger part of the week, while Cremer had an operation on Thursday morning.
With the trio’s return, Donald Tiripano, Chamu Chibhabha and Tawanda Mupariwa have been roped in as replacements.
Mupariwa flew to the UAE last week to link up with the rest of the squad, joining Tiripano and Chibhabha who were already touring with the team as replacements during the warm up matches.
The Zimbabwe Chevrons begin their World Cup campaign against Hong Kong on Tuesday.
