The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
DANGAMVURA-BORN bowler, Tendai Chatara, might have battled a bicep injury that troubled him last year, but his recent return to action has given him more hunger for success as Zimbabwe gets down to limited-overs series in Ireland and Scotland.
Zimbabwe and Ireland will lock horns in five T20I matches scheduled for today (Friday) and Sunday at Clontarf and September 1, 2 and 4 at Bready.
The two sides will face off at Stormont on September 8, 10 and 13 in a three-match ODI series that is part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
From there, Zimbabwe will proceed to Edinburgh to take on Scotland in three T20Is pencilled for September 15, 17 and 19.
The three ODIs against Ireland are part of the World Cup qualifiers, while the one against Scotland is a friendly match.
Be that as it may, Chatara, who is part of the squad that was recently announced for the encounters against Ireland and Scotland, is poised to be the fastest Zimbabwean bowler to reach 100 ODI wickets.
“I am fit now. I played against South Africa A recently and I felt good. I am coming to my best now. The lengthy injury induced absence is giving more impetus to perform much better with each passing outing.
“We all understand the importance of the matches which we will be playing and that is also enough motivation for us all to perform better even at individual level,” said Chatara, who is fondly referred to as Chats or TC by a legion of his homeboys in Mutare.
There is no doubt that his best could see him break some records.
Meanwhile, veteran batsman, Craig Ervine will captain Zimbabwe for the limited-overs series in Ireland and Scotland.
While Sean Williams is the substantive Test skipper, Zimbabwe Cricket has been rotating the captaincy in the shorter formats of the game, with Chamu Chibhabha, Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Williams himself taking turns to lead the team in recent one-day international (ODI) and Twenty20 international (T20I) series.
This time round Ervine — who has played 96 ODIs, 26 T20Is and 18 Tests —will be the captain.
