AS a player, he represented Zimbabwe at three International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup tournaments, in a glittering career in which at one time, he was ranked as fourth best bowler in the world.
DANIEL NHAKANISO
Heath Streak, arguably the finest pace bowler Zimbabwe has ever produced, has very fond memories of his appearances at the ICC Cricket World Cup since making his debut at the global showpiece 22 years ago in the Indian subcontinent.
Many remember Zimbabwe’s memorable run at the 1999 Cricket World Cup, where the national team finished in fifth place in the Super Sixes and only missed out on a semi-final place due to having an inferior net run-rate to New Zealand.
Four years later, Streak was captain of the side when Zimbabwe yet again reached the Super Sixes stage at the 2003 World Cup which the country co-hosted with South Africa and Kenya.
He is also the county’s highest wicket taker in World Cup history with 22 scalps across three tournaments to his name.
“I was lucky to play in three World Cups and the best we managed to do was reach the Super Six.
I will always cherish those memories; I know how important and uplifting it is for the whole cricket community in Zimbabwe and the country in general,” Streak told The Sports Hub in an interview last week.
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“It’s not often that Zimbabwe sports teams compete in a World Cup, so for us it’s something that we know we can achieve and obviously I’m keen for the guys to be able to realise their dreams,” he said.
Having successfully managed to make the transition from being a player to coaching, Streak will next week face the toughest battle of his nascent coaching career when he leads the senior men’s cricket team in the make-or-break ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.
Two final spots at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup will be up for grabs in the 10-team qualifying tournament, which runs from next Sunday until March 25.
Zimbabwe are in Group B along with Afghanistan, Nepal, Scotland and Hong Kong, and will open their campaign against Nepal at Queens Sports Club next Sunday.
Streak was tasked with leading Zimbabwe to qualification for next year’s World Cup to be staged in England when he was appointed head coach in October 2016 and it has been a roller-coaster ride so far.
The former Zimbabwe captain has managed seven wins, losing 20 and drawing once in his 28 matches across all formats so far.
While during his playing career Zimbabwe automatically qualified for the World Cup, the national side faces a real danger of not being part of the global showpiece for the first time since 1983.
Despite a disappointing run of poor form in recent matches leading up to the qualifiers, 43-year-old Streak reckons Zimbabwe have what it takes to continue their proud record of having participated in every World Cup since 1987.
“We deserve to be at the World Cup and competing against the best side in the world, especially in the shorter formats.
Even going back to my time as a player, we’ve always been very competitive in the shorter formats of the game and obviously for us to go to a World Cup would be justification of our status in world cricket,” he said.
The Chevrons head into the make-or-break qualifier on the back of a dispiriting 4-1 ODI series loss to Afghanistan on neutral territory in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates [UAE] — their fourth successive series loss to the rising Asian side.
Zimbabwe had also lost 2-0 to the Afghans in the preceeding T20 series.
Afghanistan, together with two-time Cricket World Cup winners West Indies, will pose the biggest threat to Zimbabwe’s hopes of qualifying for the global showpiece.
The disappointing results drew the ire of Zimbabwe Cricket board chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani, who warned that failure to qualify for the global would be unacceptable.
“The results are deplorable, embarrassing, unacceptable and we are concerned,” Mukuhlani said.
“The board has done everything humanly possible to get them prepared.
We sent them to South Africa on a bilateral tour.
We sent them on a triangular series in Bangladesh and now they are playing Afghanistan.
We made sure they play the qualifier in Zimbabwe so they can enjoy home advantage.
We organised an A side tour so that they can see other players.
The players must play their part, the coaches and selectors should play their part,’’ Mukuhlani said.
While Streak admits that his charges were outplayed in the UAE, he reckons home advantage and playing in different conditions will work to his charges’ advantage during the qualifiers.
“The players were disappointed, they felt they had let down their supporters and they are going to be fighting hard to rectify that during this tournament,” he said.
“The conditions will be a bit better for us here and we feel we have to get over the hangover of those losses in the last three games.
That will be our challenge but I’m sure the boys will be up for it especially at home, where we will have home conditions and home support,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s Cricket World Cup Record
l Zimbabwe have appeared at nine editions of the Cricket World Cup and are currently ranked 11th in the ODI rankings.
l They have been regulars at the tournament, having played in every edition since their debut appearance in 1983, reaching the Super Six stage in both 1999 and 2003.
l Zimbabwe are currently facing off against Afghanistan — who will be their rivals at the CWCQ — in an ODI series in the UAE.
l They’ll be boosted by the opportunity to field quality batsman Brendan Taylor, who took a two-and-a-half-year break from internationals before returning to the fold in October 2017.
Captain: Graeme Cremer
Previous CWC best: Super Six (1999, 2003)
Top CWC run-scorer: Andy Flower (815)
Top CWC wicket-taker: Heath Streak (22)
