- Netherlands will play a three-match ODI series in Harare.
- Zimbabwe, ranked 12th in Super League with 45 points.
- Craig Ervine feels that the series is important.
Starting on March 21, the Netherlands will go to Zimbabwe to play a three-match ODI series in Harare.
The ODI tournament will be a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, which is the path to direct qualification for the tournament in India in 2023.
The top eight teams in the Super League, including the hosts India, receive direct qualification for the October Cricket World Cup. The ICC Men’s World Cup Qualifier 2023 in Zimbabwe will include the bottom five teams in addition to five Associate teams, three from ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 and two from the Qualification play-offs.
Two of these ten teams will participate in the international competition.
Zimbabwe, ranked 12th in the Super League standings with 45 points, and the Netherlands, ranked 13th with 25 points, are both out of the running for straight World Cup qualification.
Craig Ervine, the captain of the Chevrons, feels that the series was still crucial for his team despite this.
“I think the tour is very important for a couple of reasons,” Ervine said. “One being it’s a chance to look at some options ahead of the ICC Men’s World Cup Qualifier on home soil and what sort of team our selectors are looking at.
“Two, it’s an opportunity to keep the momentum going which has brought the crowds back to Harare Sports Club and which we want to carry through to the qualifiers. What we want to see again is the support we had during the 2018 qualifiers and we can only get that support by continuously winning games.” This will be Zimbabwe’s final outing in the Super League.
Tour fixtures: Mar 21: 1st ODI, Harare Sports Club
Mar 23: 2nd ODI, Harare Sports Club
