The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
NEVILLE MADZIVA’s swashbuckling show as Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by three wickets in the second T20 international in Dhaka on November 15 was the grand total of a lot of hard work away from the public eye.
Madziva scored 28 runs off 19 balls as the Chevrons levelled the two-match series 1-1.
The 24-year old recalls the historic moment which saw him equal Australian great Mike Hussey’s record of 18 off the last over.
“Judging from the ball that got Maru (Malcolm Waller) out I had an idea of the length, line and speed of where the bowler was going to bowl. I had that confidence that I was going to win it for my country although I had struggled in the previous over.
“Above all I give all the glory to the Almighty,” said Madziva, who broke down in tears after smashing the match-winning six.
Madziva has been capped eight times in ODIs and four times in T20s since making his international debut against South Africa in 2014 at Queens Sports Club.
His poor batting saw him dropped and he reveals he reacted to the disappointment of missing the cut by working on his weaknesses.
“My batting had dropped big time because I was no longer putting effort even at practice, it was just bowling after bowling.
“But from the Afghanistan series, when I wasn’t playing, I worked on my batting in the nets with the technical staff. So from there I never stopped putting effort on my batting,” says the MidWest Rhinos all-rounder.
The results of that hard work were evident against Bangladesh. And the challenge is for Madziva to prove it was no fluke.
“Getting 18 runs off the last over, in fact off four balls, is amazing. Obviously it’s something that boosts your confidence as a player.
“Someone sent me a link saying I was the second in international cricket after Hussey of Australia to have done it, so you can imagine – my confidence has been boosted. About the team selection, I think it’s beyond my control, I like to control the controllable,” he says.
One thing he can control is striking the right balance between bowling and batting.
“I have been working hard on both,” he says. “Now I want to balance the two every time I am practicing, I want to win more games for my country and to be ranked amongst the top best in the world, to play those big leagues IPL, CPL etc. All I can say is if God says yes, no one can say no; and if God says no, no one can say yes.”
