The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Sports Editor
THERE was pain and anguish for Zimbabwe’s national women cricket team when the Lady Chevrons failed to qualify for the 2023 International Cricket Council Women’s T20 World Cup.
Zimbabwe lost to Ireland by four runs at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in a semi-final encounter on Friday, a result which means the Lady Chevrons are not going to the World Cup to be held in South Africa in February next year. Bangladesh and Ireland, who meet in the final under floodlights tonight are instead going to the global showpiece.
The Mary-Anne Musonda captained Lady Chevrons clash with Thailand in a third place playoff before the final.
However, Musonda yesterday paid tribute to the fans who have stood with the team throughout the tournament.
“We salute you all for the love and support, regardless. So many lessons learnt and learnt the hard way. We can only go back home and work harder and smarter. Thank you all. We may be down, but definitely not out. Tinotenda,’’ posted Musonda on Twitter.
Opening batter, Sharne Mayers, one of the experienced players in the team posted “Still so proud to represent Zimbabwe and only up from here as we go back home to work hard on the lessons we have learnt. The support has been incredible and I am incredibly grateful this isn’t the end of our journey.”
There was a lot of expectation for the Lady Chevrons to finally qualify for the World Cup but it has ended in tears for the Gary Brent coached side and they will now watch on television when the tournament takes places across the Limpopo River next year.
Pain and anguish for Lady Chevrons
Zimbabwe started off brightly with two convincing wins over Papua New Guinea and Thailand before it all fell apart when it mattered the most.
They were beaten by UAE in their last Group B encounter but it did not matter since they still topped the pool. However, it did matter when they went down by just four runs to Ireland as the result means there is no maiden T20 World Cup appearance for the Zimbabwean women, with that honour left to their Under-19 counterparts who will make their first ever presence at the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup set for South Africa in January 2023.
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