EDITORIAL COMMENT: Something is wrong with our Chevrons

JUST four months ago, the Chevrons were the toast of the nation.

They were the national team everyone loved and they were playing the kind of cricket that is irresistible.

The whole nation was behind them as they battled for a place at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which was hosted by India.

Coach Dave Houghton appeared to have created a steam-rolling Chevrons side that played with both passion and courage and were a joy to watch.

The former Zimbabwe captain, one of the most influential men in local cricket, inherited a team which was low on both morale and confidence.

We were struggling on all fronts and a number of our players, who used to be the stars of the team, were struggling to live with the weight of expectations.

However, Houghton, who also gained a lot of experience coaching in county cricket in England, which is quite competitive, decided to shake things up a bit.

He told the players that they have to believe in themselves and enjoy the game rather than restrict themselves from expressing their talent.

He told them that they had to win their mental battles first before they could dream of beating their opponents.

He told them that they were good and their only challenge was that they had stopped believing in their talent.

Doubts had crept into their game and they were not doing the basics right.

And, at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, the true Chevrons came to the party and gave us a party we will never forget.

They began their campaign with a routine eight-wicket win over Nepal with captain Craig Ervine leading from the front with his unbeaten 121.

They followed it up with a polished performance in chasing a huge total set by the Netherlands, on their way to a six-wicket win, with Sikandar Raza scoring a century.

The Dutch had scored 319/4 but the Chevrons chased it down to reach 315/6 with Raza sealing the win with a six which gave him his century.

There were wins over the West Indies and a crushing victory over the United States in a game the Chevrons won by 304 runs.

This was our first score over 400 runs in ODIs.

But, it appears, the wheels have come off the Chevrons train.

Having missed the ICC Cricket World Cup in India, after losing their final two matches in the qualifier, the Chevrons have been in Namibia battling for a place at the next ICC Cricket Twenty20 World Cup.

They were odds on favourites, being the only Test-playing nation at the tournament.

But, everything which was supposed to go wrong has gone wrong for the Chevrons on this tour of duty.

To say they have been poor will be an understatement.

They have stumbled from one disaster to another with humiliating defeats at the hands of Namibia and Uganda.

Surely, this can’t be allowed to go on and something should be done to resolve the issues around the Chevrons.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *