WITH the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 on home soil only a month away, Zimbabwe Cricket have named a strong Zimbabwe Select side to take on Pakistan Shaheens in six one-day matches at Harare Sports Club.
All but two players, who were part of the Zimbabwe squad which faced the Netherlands in March, have been retained for the 50-over series that gets underway today.
The Zimbabwe Select squad includes the experienced trio of Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Tendai Chatara.
Pacemen Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava have also been picked alongside spin bowlers Wellington Masakadza and Brandon Mavuta as well as all-rounders Ryan Burl and Wessly Madhevere.
Apart from the 14 named to face the Pakistani side, the hosts are also looking to give seven other players a run during the series.
ZC arranged the one-dayers to help Zimbabwe fine-tune for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 that will be staged across four venues in Harare and Bulawayo from 18 June to 9 July.
The event will see 10 teams competing for the two remaining places at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India later in the year.
Meanwhile, In a historic first, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) will broadcast live to global audiences all the six one-day matches between a Zimbabwe Select side and Pakistan Shaheens.
Until now, only matches involving Zimbabwe national teams in Test, one-day international and Twenty20 international series or International Cricket Council events had ever been televised.
After concluding the broadcast deal for the Zimbabwe Select-Pakistan Shaheens series, ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni said:
“We are pleased to announce that, for the first time since the game of cricket was first played on Zimbabwean soil back in 1892, we will be beaming live on television and other digital platforms action that is not part of a full international series.
“Televising the upcoming one-day series against the Pakistani side will be a massive boost for our game and this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our commercial and broadcast partners who continue showing confidence in our growing brand.”
In Pakistan, the series will be shown on Ten Sports, ARY and Tapmad and in India the matches will be available on Fancode.
Those in Zimbabwe can watch the games on ZBC TV, while the rest of the world can catch the action live on ZC’s Facebook channel.
ZIMBABWE SELECT SQUAD FOR ONE-DAY SERIES:
Burl Ryan, Chatara Tendai, Ervine Craig, Evans Brad, Kaia Innocent,Madande Clive, Madhevere Wessly, Marumani Tadiwanashe, Masakadza Wellington,Mavuta Brandon, Muzarabani Blessing, Ngarava Richard, Shumba Milton, WilliamsSean – zimcricket