Zimbabwe, who qualified for Ireland after they won the Africa zone qualifiers, know pretty well that hopes of the whole continent now lie heavily on their shoulders. Zimbabwe Cricket have been generous enough to give the team two months in camp to help fine-tune their game ahead of the competition.
They were drawn in a tough group that includes Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and the hosts. The seven teams will play each other in a round-robin basis, with the top four set to qualify for the finals, where hosts Bangladesh and holders Australia are already guaranteed participation.
The other two teams with automatic qualification are powerhouses England and the West Indies, who secured qualification by virtue of their places at the last finals. Team manager Caroline Nyamande said they would go through rigorous training that included playing matches against a number of men’s junior teams, before they leave for the qualifiers.
Zimbabwe should only be wary of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who have a proud playing record. The locals should be able to roll past the Netherlands and Ireland. They will pray though, that either Japan or Canada slips-up for them to make it through.
Post published in: Football