CHIFO HAPPY WITH ICC DECISION
LADY CHEVRONS coach Adam Chifo says the criteria used by International Cricket Council to qualify Bangladesh, West Indies and Pakistan for the 2022 Women’s World Cup was fair.
ICC qualified the three teams basing on their rankings prior to the Women’s World Cup qualifiers, which were taking place in Harare before being called off over the weekend over Covid-19.
Commenting on the criteria used by ICC, coach Chifo said:
“I think it was only fair for ICC to use the rankings before the tournament.
“Yes we had one or two teams who had done well during the tournament but not in the rankings but I personally think it serves to highlight the importance of having those bilateral series as a team where we can earn points as a team without the pressure of a tournament.”
Other than the three qualified teams, the other teams that were part of the cancelled qualifiers tournament were USA, Ireland, Thailand, Netherlands, Sri Lanka and hosts Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s chances of making it to the global event were now slim after they had won one out of the three games they had played. However, coach Chifo feels finishing off the tournament would have given them more experience.
“We obviously would have loved to play the full tournament, the experience that comes with playing with such big teams is valuable.
“Unfortunately this is beyond our control but however we are very grateful for the opportunity we were afforded to play at such a stage.
“Now we know first hand what is required if we are to be part of the women’s elite cricket group,” he said.
The coach still feels the tournament gave them the much needed exposure despite the premature ending.
“The exposure we had during the tournament can be compared to none.
“This is what we needed and we still need for the ladies as we progress into a fully fledged ODI team.
“It is easy to be among the best but there is a lot of work to be done on and off the field, if we are to be part of the elite group,” said Chifo.