NEW Zealand are not putting the cart before the horse, giving Zimbabwe the respect they deserve ahead of this afternoon’s T20I Tri Series encounter at Harare Sports Club.
The Chevrons anchor the table with no points after losing to South Africa in the opening match of the tournament.
New Zealand, on the other hand, are at the summit with two points, the same number as South Africa, but enjoy a superior net run rate.
The tournament is still in its infancy, but fans have already been treated to some cricket spectacle.
All the teams have had players lighting up the scene.
Zimbabwe boasts their captain Sikandar Raza, who scored a half-century against South Africa.
Opener Brian Bennett has had a good start, scoring 30, and Ryan Burl 29.
They will be looking to convert those positive starts into big scores.
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In bowling, Richard Ngarava took off to a blistering start, picking three wickets, and fellow seamer Trevor Gwandu was equally in devastating form, taking two wickets against South Africa.
The only missing link for Zimbabwe is to have their spinners come to the party and complement the seamers in taking wickets.
New Zealand has masterblaster Tim Robinson, who scored 75 not out against South Africa, and Bevon Jacobs, who weighed in with 44 runs with the bat.
Their bowling department is spearheaded by three-wicket takers Jacob Duffy and Matt Henry, but also boasts their captain Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.
Santner is aware of what Zimbabwe is capable of on their day, wounded or not.
“We’ve obviously seen how good they are, so it’s big for them, and I think they will treat this series as a good chance to beat us and South Africa and put them in good stead going forward for major events,” Santner said.
Raza believes the squad picked for the series can deliver the desired goods.
“Also, it is sending a nice message that we try to stick with a consistent process of selection. We try not to just bin you after a bad game or a bad tour. It takes a lot and a long time for a cricketer to come to the national team,” he said.
“So it’s very important that time is given to him in the national colours as well, and not just after one bad game or bad tour, he’s sent back to domestic cricket, because a lot of the time, we are learning on the job.”
The match kicks off at 1pm at Harare Sports Club.
