Harare: With a few of the Zimbabwe players closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, Sikandar Raza, the 31-year-old batting all-rounder, wants a “last hurrah” for the team at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier and then, if all goes well, at the main event next year.
“A few us will be playing our last World Cup and I think the least we can do for each other is try and give everything we have in the tank for every game we play,” said Raza, who felt it was a blessing for the team to be playing the qualifier at home.
“If it happens, at least we can leave Zimbabwe Cricket with our heads held high. My first goal is to leave this beautiful game in better shape that I found it in.”
Zimbabwe has seen plenty of action recently, but their last outing didn’t go well as they lost a five-match one-day international series to Afghanistan 4-1 in Sharjah last month.
Afghanistan are in the same qualifying group as Zimbabwe – Group B, along with Hong Kong, Nepal and Scotland – and the game between the two sides could well be very significant in the first round.
Zimbabwe’s first match in the CWCQ is on March 4 against Nepal in Bulawayo.