(Cricket news) A former Zimbabwean cricketer was questioned if unrest had reached Bulawayo after the first turmoil in Harare that would lead to the coup that ousted former President Robert Mugabe from office. 

He laughed, “It takes time for anything that starts off in Harare to reach Bulawayo.” 

Life in Bulawayo continued as usual, with almost any increased military presence in the nation’s second-largest city, despite the fact that soldiers fenced off the Zimbabwean Parliament, armoured vehicles flooded the streets, and roadblocks encircled important government facilities in the nation’s capital. It doesn’t follow that something that occurs in Harare will also occur in Bulawayo.

Most of the time, that might be a damned annoyance, but four months after the coup, Bulawayo might have been grateful it wasn’t forced to watch another incident in Harare. Zimbabwe needed to defeat UAE, the weakest team at the 2018 Men’s World Cup Qualifier, at the Harare Sports Club in order to advance to the 50-over World Cup the following year, which was meant to be a lifeline for cricket in the nation. 

Harare prepared for the celebration that would undoubtedly follow the game when UAE scored 235. When it started to rain, a contentious DLS application made what had been an easy chase into a difficult one. Zimbabwe fluffed their lines and dropped out of the running for the 2019 World Cup as a frightened audience watched.  

Those eerie scenes eventually made their way to Bulawayo after half a decade. Zimbabwe’s quest to qualify for the 2023 World Cup was going wonderfully. Before upsetting the West Indies and thrashing the USA by a record-breaking margin, they had dispatched Nepal and the Netherlands. 

They narrowly defeated Oman and were now in position to secure a spot in cricket’s biggest competition, which would be staged in the sport’s biggest market, with just one victory from their final two games.

This was exactly how Zimbabwe’s previous qualification campaign had gone, but no one dared to mention it. Zimbabweans rejoiced in their victories, but no one was yet celebrating while they did. I texted my colleague in Zimbabwe, Firdose Moonda, shortly after the victory against the West Indies to say that I couldn’t wait to see how they would manage to fail to qualify despite their significant advantages. I wasn’t quite serious back then, and it now seems absurd.

There are few things as wonderful as a younger sibling being unexpectedly granted a right the eldest was denied. Therefore, Bulawayo was eager to revel in its good fortune as it prepared for the party that Harare had never enjoyed five years prior. At the Harare Sports Club, the throng were as dense and raucous as they had ever been. There is nothing quite like playing cricket in a tiny, crowded area where everyone is a cricket fanatic. Bulawayo can compete with any city in the world in this fashion.

However, Scotland has World Cup aspirations of its own and is not the UAE. The ICC’s inexplicably wise decision to limit the World Cup to ten teams for the second consecutive edition gives these Qualifiers an invariably macabre air, turning them into something akin to a cricketing Hunger Games with only two survivors remaining and many deserving candidates being eliminated along the way for no apparent reason. The teams below the top eight don’t really need extra encouragement to show up, but as the pieces that fall from the main table get smaller and smaller, the fighting gets crazier and crazier, and the repercussions of even the smallest error get more serious.

Scotland has been scrapped, boy. They defeated Ireland in the tournament opener in a result that was hardly believable. Before giving Sri Lanka a slight scare and then trouncing the West Indies, they easily defeated the UAE and Oman.

Scotland would have been eliminated with a victory for Zimbabwe, and elimination is an existential catastrophe. Zimbabwe’s withdrawal from the 2019 World Cup caused them to experience severe financial difficulties, and the ICC suspended them as a result.

The memories of that pain and those wasted years propelled Zimbabwe when they won the toss and bowled first. For 45 of the 50 overs, they managed to contain Scotland, but as soon as they relaxed their composure, they found their faces covered in blood. As Zimbabwe needed to score 235 runs to win, Scotland scored 55 runs in the final five overs thanks to a brilliant cameo from Michael Leask (48 off 34 balls). No one was alarmed just yet, even though it was the exact score UAE posted five years prior.

Even though this was a home crowd, Bulawayo’s weather defied their attempts to control it. There was a chill in the air, and the sky was cloudy. If this game were being played in Chris Sole’s hometown of Aberdeen, the bowling conditions could not have been finer, and the threat he posed to Zimbabwe was evident from the first ball. First up, Joylord Gumbie nicked off to an awayswinger, causing Scotland to pierce Zimbabwe’s skin for the first time. Gumbie has had such a challenging tournament that his moniker feels more and more like a misnomer.

Zimbabwe’s best had few responses as Sole reaches speeds of above 90 mph/145 kph, a rarity on the Associate circuit. An inswinger from around the wicket that was a worldie managed to get through Craig Ervine’s protection. Even Sean Williams, whose performance in this competition has elevated him to the ranks of the supernatural, was brought back to earth when Sole hit a fastball over the wicket and knocked back his stumps. Bulawayo was starting to have the terrible sense of impending disappointment. There was nothing but gloom; there were no blue skies in the distance.

Zimbabwe did what Zimbabwe has been doing to their fans for a long time: they forced them into the arms of destruction after dragging them through the agony of hope. Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl momentarily regained the initiative, and Wessly Madhevere even gave his team the advantage with a superb short innings. Burl appeared unbeatable at the other end, and as Zimbabwe reached 165 for 5, it appeared as though the ghosts of 2018 might finally be banished. In Zimbabwe, hope is the last thing you lose, and this group discovered that it was still very much alive inside of them.

However, Scotland ended that alliance and maintained composure while Zimbabwe lost it. Even with a valiant late rush by Burl, the objective was just too far away due to the oppressive strain, big stakes, and the distance between them. The final minutes of the game were reminiscent of those scary movies where you discover that the demon you thought you had exorcised is still alive. Spend, Zimbabwe finally gave up, doomed to another five years of ODI obscurity, with 2023 simply adding to their list of cricketing woes.

Compared to 2018, Zimbabwe cricket is in a much better position. Most athletes agree that the environment in the locker room is better than anything they’ve ever encountered. The performance and playing style of Zimbabwe’s cricket team under Dave Houghton have revitalised a nation that was on the verge of collapse only a few years ago. Compared to 2018, this setback is much more reversible, although on the night, it would be difficult to persuade anyone of that.

Ervine was clearly thinking about the Harare game during the post-game interviews, but he was also knowledgeable enough to put this performance in context and separate it from what transpired against the UAE.

“It’s always nice to put those demons from 2018 behind us and had we gotten over the line today, nobody would have been asking about that,” he said. “But unfortunately, we didn’t get over the line. Williams has been fantastic and we can take a lot of positives away. I’m extremely proud of the guys, and for the amount of work and effort. We’re really thankful for the crowd that has come and supported us, especially over the last few weeks. I think we are playing a very exciting brand of cricket and that is the reason the crowd are coming out to support us.”

Four of Tendai Chatara’s teammates from Tuesday’s game were also present in 2018, along with the last player to be cleaned up. Most people have been honest about the extent of their hurt from that day and how it has persisted for so long. They will undergo the same suffering as the millions of Zimbabweans who lived through 2018 and 2023. Redemption was a mirage, and that cusp was nothing more than a cliff.

Bulawayans may have been getting ready for a party on Tuesday. Instead, they embrace one other while holding Harare to share a sadness that they both well comprehend. Suddenly, it does not feel as far between Harare and Bulawayo.
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