Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK, Namibia 24 — Zimbabwe head coach Dave Houghton has expressed his disappointment and frustration following the team’s dismal performance against Namibia in their opening match of the Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier. Houghton described the loss as “embarrassingly bad” and “one of the worst games” he has ever been associated with.
Zimbabwe’s batting woes were evident from the start, as they struggled to put together a solid partnership and were eventually restricted to a mere 132 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs. The team’s fielding and bowling were also subpar, failing to put any pressure on the Namibian batsmen.
Houghton was particularly critical of the team’s lack of confidence and their inability to adapt to the wicket conditions. He pointed out that despite the wicket being favourable for batting, the team’s batsmen failed to capitalize on it.
“When you are not playing particularly well and when you have lost a little bit of confidence as we have, we see demons in the wicket when we bat, but when we bowl there are no demons in the wicket,” Houghton said. “So, I looked at that wicket and it looks a good batting strip and I would have thought we would score 170-180 comfortably.”
The Namibian batsmen, on the other hand, made light work of the Zimbabwean bowling attack, chasing down the target with 32 balls to spare. Namibia’s openers, Michael van Lingen and Nikolaas Davin, provided a solid foundation with an 88-run partnership, setting the stage for an easy victory.
Houghton acknowledged the team’s poor performance and called for a quick turnaround in order to salvage their chances of qualifying for the T20 World Cup. He urged the players to learn from their mistakes and put on a better performance in their upcoming matches.
“We can’t sort of rest on our laurels and think we are a bigger side than the rest. We’ve got to turn up and play proper cricket,” Houghton said.
Zimbabwe will face Tanzania in their next match on Thursday, with the hope of getting their campaign back on track and securing a place in the next stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers.
