The Sunday Mail
Brighton Zhawi
Zimbabwe Cricket has filled a huge fixture gap and it’s confirmed the Chevrons will host two nations that have broken their hearts in recent times, UAE and Afghanistan.
UAE are expected in the country first for a four-match ODI series before Afghanistan follow for five ODIs.
ZC acting general manager Givemore Makoni confirmed the tours.
“Yes, we are looking forward to hosting both the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan in the coming months,” he said.
“Both tours should happen in April, although the actual dates are yet to be finalized. “All I can say, at the moment, is that both tours have been confirmed with the Chevrons expected host the UAE for a four match ODI series.
“The clash between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will be a five-match series.
“Our number one job is cricket, yes we are under austerity, but cricket should be played hence the frantic efforts to fill in the fixture gap,” Makoni said. Zimbabwe’s last ODI was away to Bangladesh in October 2018 while their last home series came in July 2018 against Pakistan. The forthcoming tours by UAE and Afghanistan bridge what could have been a nine-month period without any international cricket. Zimbabwe is expected to tour Ireland for a three ODI and T20 series in July as per the requirements of the Future tours program. “It has been tough, to be honest, but we are working flat out to ensure our cricket gets back to where it’s supposed to be,”went on Makoni.
“One of these efforts is to make sure we have plenty of international cricket,” he said. The Acting ZC general manager reiterated that the organization is committed to keeping the game afloat in the country.
“Our message to our staff has been ‘tough times don’t last, but tough people do’; and as this is our second year under austerity, we are making good progress.
‘’We are also hosting the women’s World T20 Africa Regional Qualifier in May; and we will also work, flat out, to make sure that we do so successfully.
“We have just completed our Logan Cup which we played around with the dates to ensure most of our national team players were around to improve the quality of the competition,” Makoni said.
UAE’s visit to Zimbabwe will be their first, since they broke the Chevron’s hearts with a three-run win last March 2018.
This was during the ICC World Qualifier match during Zimbabwe needed to win and book a place at this year’s World Cup in England and Wales.
Afghanistan won 3-2 during their last ODI series tour of Zimbabwe in 2017.
