"This tournament came at nice time...": Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine on Zim Afro T10
Jul 23, 2023
Harare [Zimbabwe], July 23 : Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine said the Zim Afro T10 tournament has come at the right time as it would take the players' minds away from the disappointing ICC World Cup 2023 qualifiers, in which they failed to seal qualification for the showpiece event in India later this year.
Zimbabwe displayed great skills in the World Cup qualifiers, but could not make the cut as Sri Lanka and Netherlands qualified for the tournament.
Craig said the tournament would help players get over the failure of the Qualifiers and shift focus to this event.
"I think this tournament has come at a nice time because it has taken a bit of a focus from all the players but so many international players that have come here to play the T10 tournament. It has probably helped guys digest that and take their mind away from qualifiers and concentrate on Zim Afro T10," he added.
"After that there is quite a bit of a break and they have a bit of cricket towards the end of the year but when you look back at the qualifiers, it is disappointing that we didn't qualify and we look back at the cricket that we played, you know it was exciting and entertaining cricket and that's what we need to carry on going forward," Craig added.
Craig is leading the Durban Qalandars, which have been one of the finest performing teams in the inaugural edition of the Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10. He said he was extremely excited about the tournament.
"It's extremely fast. I think it is extremely exciting and you just got to stick with the plan and go for it as you got minimal time out there especially when you are batting. Like I said earlier that you got one ball to look at and go from there. So, a lot of us are down to ball striking and I think as a bowler all the change-ups. You don't really want to two balls in the same place. So, it is very exciting," he said.
"We are looking forward to that you know we are going to qualify I think in Namibia in November in African qualifiers so we got a really good chance of qualifying there and going to West Indies to play the T20 World Cup and I think that will be our next focus going forward," he added.
Asked to name his favourite for the ICC World Cup 2023, Craig picked Pakistan.
