Sibanda replaces Williams at ICC World Cup

Sport
BY Albert Marufu Zimbabwe might have sealed their fate at the World Cup with their 10-wicket loss at the hands of New Zealand on Friday.

The loss leaves Zimbabwe with what appears to be an insurmountable task, as they now have to beat log leaders Pakistan and second placed Sri Lanka if they still entertain hopes of achieving their Super Eight target.

 

In the game against New Zealand, the Zimbabwe batsmen offered a token resistance as they lacked composure on the crease with opener Brandon Taylor managing a notable 44 runs.

Going into the tournament, the Allan Butcher-coached side who lost their opening group A match by 91 runs to champions Australia, had before bouncing back to crash Canada in their second game, placed New Zealand as their prime target for a quarter-final slot.

Zimbabwe, who shared the same number of points with the Black Caps before their meeting, would now have to win their last three matches and their next assignment is against second placed Sri Lanka on March 10.

Four days later, Zimbabwe will take on current log leaders Pakistan before rounding off their group matches against fellow Africans Kenya on March 20.

Meanwhile Cricinfo reports that Sean Williams, the Zimbabwe left-hand batsman, has been forced to pull out of the rest of the World Cup with a fractured thumb and would be replaced by batsman Vusi Sibanda.

 

William fractured his right thumb during a training session on Thursday in Ahmedabad, a day before Zimbabwe’s clash with New Zealand. He missed the match, and after gaining the ICC’s approval, Zimbabwe announced Sibanda as his replacement.

Williams featured in Zimbabwe’s first two matches of the tournament, scoring 28 against Australia and 30 against Canada.

The call up for Sibanda means Hamilton Masakadza, one of Zimbabwe’s most experienced batsmen and a surprise exclusion from the original World Cup squad, continues to be ignored.