Cricket World Cup Qualifiers: Zimbabwe people find something to 'truly love'
- Published
Zimbabwe have hosted the past two World Cup qualifiers but stand on the verge of eliminating the West Indies, Ireland and Scotland this time
Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton says the country has united behind his team as they bid to reach the World Cup because they have something to "truly love".
The southern African country is hosting the qualifiers for October and November's 50-over showpiece in India.
They face Scotland in Bulawayo in the Super Six on Tuesday, a winner-takes-all finale to join Sri Lanka as one of the two teams to qualify.
"It will be like winning a World Cup," Houghton told BBC Sport Africa.
"We've just got to make sure we get out there, play our best game and, if we do, we're going to be tough to beat. I can't think of it any other way."
West Indies and Ireland have already been eliminated from the closely contested qualifiers.
Sunday's defeat by Sri Lanka has left the host nation needing to overcome a Scotland side who, like Zimbabwe, overcame the Windies.
The qualifying tournament, the second that Zimbabwe has hosted consecutively, comes 20 years after the black-armband protests by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga against former president Robert Mugabe.
There has been huge political, economic and social hardship in the interim, but Houghton believes a new dawn awaits and the current qualifiers have brought the country together.
"I think Zimbabweans in general are just looking for something that they can really support and get behind it - and truly love," he said.
"Cricket has given them that, especially in the past 12 months. It started, I believe, at the qualifiers last year for the T20 (World Cup)."
'The public love them like their own children'
Following qualification for last year's 20-over showpiece in Australia, Zimbabwe hosted Bangladesh and India, beating the former in both the T20 and one-day international series, before then overcoming Australia in Townsville during their three-match one-day series.
"Each game the crowds got bigger and bigger," said Houghton. "You started going to shops to buy your groceries and people would greet you: 'Hi, coach. How you doing?' People I've never met before in my life.
"You could feel there was a swell of support coming on. We went to the T20 World Cup and you saw the group of people following us around in Australia.
"So it's just grown and grown and grown. The support has been outstanding - it was there but they really wanted to get behind and support a winning team.
"On a daily basis I am filled with pride for what these guys are doing - the love they are putting on the faces of the supporters.
"I never speak to our players at the end of the game and tell them to do anything, but every single time we play, win or lose, they go outside and sign autographs and have selfies. The public love them like their own children.
"If you could actually see the groundswell of support there is in this country now for the game of cricket, you would understand what this would do to our country.
"We've had our last two games now, the one in Harare against the West Indies and even the one here (in Bulawayo) against Sri Lanka - both were massively sold out. Admittedly they're not huge grounds, but if the ground capacity is 12,000, there was 18,000 in the ground - so you can imagine it's quite full in there.
"The game has captivated Zimbabwean people like nothing has ever captivated them before in any sport."
Houghton took charge in June 2022 with a clear aim to return Zimbabwe to a top-10 international team
Houghton, who played 22 Tests and 63 ODIs for his country, said his aim when taking over as head coach was to return them to the top 10 of the international rankings.
They sit 11th currently in both the T20 and one-day international standings, while they sit bottom of the eight-team Test table.
They did reach the Super Sixes stage of the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and, in 2027, they will co-host the World Cup along with South Africa and Namibia.
"It is a heck of a circle," said Houghton. "And I think one day I'm going to have to bring a TV crew out here and do a little documentary about how the game has developed over the last 20 years, where our players have come from.
"That [black-armband] protest was in 2003. Cricket has gone up and down in this country a couple of times [since then] with various different people running the show.
"There were times when they were short of money and couldn't pay the players in time, and then players boycotted, and it was up and down like a yoyo for a number of years.
"But the current chairman [Tavengwa Mukuhlani] and chief executive [Givemore Makoni] came into power here in 2015-16 and, together with some good support from the ICC [International Cricket Council], they put together really good financial plans and austerity plans to take Zimbabwe cricket out of debt.
"For four or five years we lived on austerity measures from the ICC and stayed within our budget and trimmed the company.
"The cricket actually grew while all this was happening, and the standard of domestic cricket grew, and now we've got full funding back and development going on in terms of new stadiums that have been lined up to be built between now and the 2027 World Cup.
"One of them will be in Victoria Falls. How fantastic that will be? Amazing.
"Everybody's in a good place. People are getting paid on time. The company is running. The cricket is flying.
"You have to take your hat off to Mukuhlani and Makoni. The job they've done has been unbelievable."
There is one more game to go in these qualifiers for Zimbabwe though, and it all hinges on the result for both teams.
Houghton's emotions seemed heightened given the journey his team and country have been on when asked about missing out now.
It was a rare moment of reflection and introspection for a coach who has dreamed big about Zimbabwe cricket's return to better days.
"It would be heart-breaking," he said. "I think there's a fair amount of sympathy about the fact West Indies and Sri Lanka might go through but having played the way we've played and got to where we've got to, it would now be heart-breaking."