Zimbabwe to play in the SuperSport series

Posted by brmtaylor.com admin on October 24, 2007

Zimbabwe will be fielding a side in South Africa's top domestic competition, the SuperSport series. This is an important step for Zimbabwe, in their goal of resuming Test match cricket. Zimbabwe Cricket managing director, Ozias Bvute, said "... after the acquisition of Test status, this ranks as the next landmark for Zimbabwe cricket".

Zimbabwe are expected to field their best eleven in each of the six First Class matches they are due to play. They are scheduled to play at home against the Cape Cobras, Diamond Eagles, Highveld Lions, Nashua Dolphins, Nashua Titans and Supersport Warriors.

Zimbabwe will also play in South Africa's premier one-day and Pro20 (Twenty20) tournaments.

It is presumed that Zimbabwe's development squad, dubbed Zimbabwe Provinces, will continue to participate in South Africa's second tier domestic competition, including such sides as KwaZulu-Natal, Namibia and Eastern Provinces.

South Africa have been extremely good in helping Zimbabwe, their administration saying they feel obligated due to their geographic location.

There is a problem, in that Zimbabwe are scheduled to play Sri Lanka A at Bulawayo on the same day they are scheduled to play the Highveld Lions. Speculation at zimcricketnews.com is that the Sri Lanka A game could be rescheduled, or moved to a nearby venue to play against a Zimbabwe A team, perhaps the Zimbabwe Provinces team.

Zimbabwe's participation in South Africa's SuperSport series means they have a very full summer ahead of them, which will also include an ODI tour by West Indies. It is possible that the first eleven could be playing in excess of 25 matches.