Netherlands skipper likens Byo cricket fans to Barmy Army
WHEN Zimbabwe were on verge of being kicked out as an International Cricket Council Full Member in 2019, one of the things that made the world cricket governing body to be patient with the country is what they had seen when the country hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018.
Thousands of spectators thronged Queens Sports Club and Harare Sports Club to witness Zimbabwe’s matches in that tournament. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s group match against Scotland, originally scheduled for Bulawayo Athletic Club was shifted to a much bigger Queens Sports Club when ICC officials realised the amount of support the home team was enjoying.
Gates had to be locked when Zimbabwe faced the United Arab Emirates on that fateful day on 22 March 2018 when all the then Heath Streak coached side needed was to win and qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England, something they however, failed to do.
Zimbabwe were suspended by the ICC in July 2019 when the world cricket governing body deemed that the action taken by the Sports and Recreation Commission to suspend the ZC board constituted third party inference in the affairs of ZC. After months of engagement, Zimbabwe were accepted back into the ICC family but the suspension had come at a huge cost as they were eliminated from the 2019 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier held in the UAE, which saw them fail to qualify for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Making it to the last Men’s T20 World Cup would have given Zimbabwe an opportunity to secure an automatic slot at this year’s event to be held in Australia. Zimbabwe had to book a ticket to Australia via the qualifiers recently held in Bulawayo. The Craig Ervine led side won all the five matches, with all of Zimbabwe’s encounters well attended.
An estimated crowd of 8 000 attended last Sunday’s final in which Zimbabwe floored Netherlands by 37 runs to be crowned champions. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards believes the Zimbabwean cricket fans are up there with the best in the world. He compared them to England’s Barmy Army, which is considered the best cricket supporting group globally.
“This is definitely up there, we had the Barmy Army in the Netherlands a few months ago and this goes pretty close to topping that I think. They were amazing, they were loud and the atmosphere is pretty cool. I think they played a part in a couple of the run outs, it was pretty loud out here, it was tough to hear each other but we were out enjoying as much as Zimbabwe,’’ Edwards said.
What the fans in Bulawayo did in Zimbabwe’s five matches was to send a message to the ICC that cricket was truly alive in Zimbabwe. The country is hosting the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in less than 12 months’ time and the ICC can look forward to yet another well attended tournament with fans providing an electric atmosphere. — Follow on Twitter @Mdawini_29