Deputy Sports Editor
IT has been quite a busy start to the year for Zimbabwe on the cricket front.
It all began with a visit by Ireland, which was largely dominated by the much-awaited debut of former England opener Gary Ballance in January.
The two teams met in a six-match white-ball cricket series, in which the Chevrons took the T-20 format 2-1, while the teams shared the spoils one-all in the One-Day Internationals (ODI).
This was immediately followed by a two-match Test series against the West Indies, which the visitors took one-nil after drawing in the first and then winning the second by an innings and four runs.
On the domestic front, Eagles claimed the double when they won the Pro50 Championship and the Logan Cup.
Zimbabwe also played host to English county sides Durham and Glamorgan to mark quite a hectic start to the year.
For Chevrons’ skipper Craig Ervine, all this cricket can only be a good thing.
“There being a lot of cricket this year for the Chevrons, I think in the grand scheme of things, it’s a good thing,” said Ervine.
“It gives a lot of players the opportunity to play cricket and stake their claim for selection.
“We have seen that already against the county sides, which is separate from our international schedule; lots of guys were given the chance to play and show their skills and talent.
“We always want to widen our player pool, and, I think, the best way to do that is to play more competitive cricket.”
With both Durham and Glamorgan expected to wrap up their visit, the Netherlands are the next side to visit.
The Dutch have a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe slated for March 21-25, and this is part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
With both nations virtually out of contention for the eight slots to automatically qualify for the 50-over World Cup later this year, the duel will, therefore, see the two sides merely fulfilling a fixture.
Ervine has, however, refused to see it that way.
“There is probably no chance that either one of us, Zimbabwe or the Netherlands, can automatically qualify for the World Cup through the Super League.
“However, it’s still a great opportunity to play some cricket and just to get a feel of their team leading up to the qualifiers in June.
“I don’t think we have to spend too much time looking at what went wrong just because we haven’t yet qualified, but rather see this as an opportunity to build some momentum and make sure we are as sharp as possible when the qualifiers come.”
Ervine said he views Netherlands’ visit as any other tour and hopes the Chevrons can win all three games.
Most of the senior players, he said, should be available for the games.
“Sikandar Raza should be back (from the Pakistan Super League); hopefully, Sean Williams will be fit and Blessing Muzarabani is looking to be back for those games.
“Ryan Burl and Gary Ballance should also be back.”
The Dutch have released their squad for the visit.
They welcome back left-arm spinner and hard-hitting batter Roelof van der Merwe.
The all-rounder is expected to play his first ODI since November 2021 after being named in the 17-member squad for their visit to Zimbabwe and South Africa.
His return was one of a few changes that also see former South Africa and Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo now part of the coaching setup.
Domingo resigned from his position as Bangladesh coach in December last year.
He will now sit in the Dutch dugout alongside former South Africa international Heino Kuhn.
In addition, head coach Ryan Cook has been ruled out of the tours due to commitments at the IPL
He will be temporarily replaced by Ryan van Niekerk.
Also back in the Netherlands’ squad are fast bowlers Brandon Glover, Paul van Meekeren and Fred Klaassen, all of whom were missing from the last ODI assignment against Pakistan in August 2022 due to county commitments.