Story by Raynald Ngwarati
THE Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket team, the Young Chevrons are ready for their opening match at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup where they will face Sri Lanka in South Africa this Sunday.
It will be a stern test for the Young Chevrons who begin their World Cup campaign with a tricky assignment against Sri Lanka U-19 at the Diamond Oval in South Africa this Sunday.
The young Chevrons have faced the Young Cricketers once in 2018, with the Asian side getting the bragging rights after a five-wicket victory in New Zealand.
The Matthew Schonken-captained side will be hoping to avenge that defeat as the two foes square off this time around in familiar Southern African conditions.
“I believe we are ready, our preparations were really thorough. The warm-up matches exposed us to many challenges we may face in the tournament thereby giving us sufficient preparation. In the first two matches, we were able to bowl first. The last match we batted first in a rain-interrupted match which also helped us in terms of preparations and getting the positive result was even better for the confidence going forward,” said Zim U-19 team coach, Prosper Utseya.
The Young Chevrons are seeded in Group C alongside Australia, Sri Lanka, and regional rivals Namibia with head coach, Prosper Utseya wary of the looming battle.
“We just need to make sure we go through to the next round, we are taking every game seriously, I believe every team here is a challenge. For me, the target is to finish as high as possible.”
16 teams seeded in four groups are competing for honors at the junior world cup with three teams from each group progressing to the Super Six stage.
Two groups of six teams will clash to determine the semi-finalists and the subsequent finalists, while the bottom-placed teams meet in placement games to determine positions 13 to 16.
