Zimbabwe's Chevrons have failed to qualify for the 2023 International Cricket Council World Cup final after falling to Scotland by 31 runs in a nerve-wrecking match played at Queens Ground in Bulawayo.
The Zimbabweans needed nothing short of victory to make it to India but five wickets fell early and Ryan Burl’s 83 runs could not help the situation.
The local cricket side could not sustain the firepower of the Scottish side, which also needed to win the march to progress to the finals.
Scotland ended the match 234/8 and Zimbabwe 203 all out.
Soccer commentator, Nash Mkokwayarira, said Zimbabwe was let down by poor batting.
“This is similar to 2018 in which we needed only 2 points from 2 games but we didn’t make it to the finals. This time we were also looking for 2 points from Sri Lanka and Scotland and didn’t make it once again. There is something wrong here. We played well when we were fielding balls but our batting was pathetic.”
Asked to comment on the outcome of the match, former Senator David Coltart said, “I’m gutted …”
Popular artiste, Ntandoyenkosi Moyo, said team selection was a serious challenge for the Zimbabwe side.
“We are very disappointed that we didn’t make it to the finals. It’s all about team selection. Local players have been left out. They may have performed better than the current squad at Queens Sports Club since they are used to it.”
VOA Correspondent Joseph Njanji contributed to this article
Forum