HARARE (Zimbabwe): The captains of the eight teams in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B are determined to prove they belong on the big stage when the hotly anticipated tournament kicked off today.
Eight nations will duel for a spot in this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia as the hosts bid to book their place in the event for the first time in six years.
Jersey, Singapore and the United States will hope to topple Craig Ervine’s side in Group A while Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and the Netherlands make up the other half of the week-long tournament.
Zimbabwe did not participate in last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and captain Ervine hopes bouncing back on home soil can reinvigorate the cricketing nation.
The experienced left-handed batter, 36, said: “It has been many years since we’ve been involved in the World Cup, which is disappointing. There’s a lot at stake for us as a country and if we’re able to qualify again, all of a sudden the pieces of the puzzle start coming together again.
“It’s always very exciting to be playing at home in front of your home crowd and when you start to get results, you start to pull people together. That’s definitely something we need to find again – we want to start pulling Zimbabweans together, win some games and make it exciting for them to watch us.”
(ICC Media)
