Published: Feb 24, 2015, 07:37 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 09, 2015, 11:29 AM (IST)
Zimbabwe has leaked runs in the slog overs and that has been one of their major concerns. After their defeat in hands of West Indies in a crucial ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 encounter at Canberra, Zimbabwean skipper Elton Chigumbura spoke to the media about his side’s improvement areas and also how difficult it is to stop an in-form Chris Gayle.
Q: Elton, I will just mention some numbers: 81 runs against the UAE, 146 against South Africa, 152 today. That’s how many you’ve conceded in the last 10 overs. How much of a concern is that because you’ve been bowling really well the first part of an innings and then completely losing the plot?
Elton Chigumbura (EC): Yeah, it’s a big concern. We have to improve how we are bowling at the death. The sooner we do it, I think the better for the team. Looking at the games that we have played, it has cost us.
Q: I’m sure you talk about bowling to Chris Gayle in your team meetings and I’m sure it’s a big factor in your whole approach, but what do you actually do once he gets going like that? Do the plans still stay in your head, or what’s the approach once he starts batting like that?
EC: Yeah, for a guy like Chris Gayle, he’s a hard guy to bowl to when he starts hitting. Some of the plans you might try and put them into play, but maybe the way we bowled, our execution wasn’t right.
I think the percentage was maybe 80 percent out of 100 on execution. Like I said, it has cost us, and it’s not the first game that we are giving too many runs at the end, again, as the two games that we played early on. We just have to go and work out on our last 15 overs.
Q: Does it make it more frustrating that in all three matches you’ve done really well with the bat getting close to 300 on all three occasions?
EC: If we had bowled well, I think almost all the games that we have played we could have chased around 300 or just under 300. But it’s a good positive for the team that we are batting well, so it’s just a matter of polishing up one department, which is our death bowling, and if we can do that, hopefully we can have a good game with both ball and the bat.
Q: You must be feeling pretty unlucky that you could have had Gayle out in the first over and it could have been a completely different game having those two early quick wickets.
EC: It could be. It’s unfortunate that luck wasn’t on our side today. I think on another day, he could have been given out. But you can’t do anything about that. You just have to carry on with the game and make sure that you bowl well again. And yeah, it played a big part. Who knows if he had gone out.
Q: You’re probably still looking at Pakistan as a team that maybe you could probably get one over, and then you’ve got Ireland to come. Is the quarter-final still very much a reality? Are you still targeting that as something you think you could realistically achieve from this World Cup?
EC: Yes. There’s three more games to go. Obviously we’re going to take it one game at a time. Hopefully we can keep in the form that we are in with the bat, and like I said, we’re going to work hard on our bowling and give less runs than we have given so far, and then we’ll have a good chance of getting a positive result against Pakistan. But we have to play good cricket on the day.
All departments, even now fielding, I thought our fielding today let us down, as well, because I think with Chris Gayle there was one or two chances that we gave away, and we didn’t grab them. It’s going to be important to raise our game when it comes to fielding and bowling.
Q: You’ve played against both West Indies and South Africa now, and of course they play against each other on Friday. Do you want to give us your informed opinion on who might be the better team out of the two of them?
EC: It’s hard to comment about. I think both teams are good enough to win games, and it’s about the team that’s going to want it more, the team that is going to play the best cricket on the day. Like I said before, when it comes to World Cups, it’s also about handling pressure, so it’s about the team that is going to handle pressure well, and once you do that, I’m sure that team will win the game. It goes down to who’s going to play the best cricket on the day.
Q: Do you feel like Zimbabwe is getting back to that level it was before, I guess the unrest of a decade or so ago, and how big a role has Dav Whatmore played in that?
EC: We feel like we’re going towards the right directions, and with Dav, since he took over, up to now we’ve been playing positive cricket. He’s been sharing lots of positive stuff to the team. We just have to keep looking forward and keep improving. Obviously now before our batting used to let us down, but at the moment it’s the one that is actually being consistent more than the bowling. I think we can – like I said, just need to polish up on our bowling and fielding.
Q: Could you just talk a bit about Tinashe Panyangara? He seems to be an extremely confident guy even when he got taken to the cleaners a bit at the end there, but he comes back every time and still does well. What is he like as a character in the team, and what does he bring to the setup?
EC: He has played a big part in the opening pair. He’s an experienced guy, and he likes to have fun in the field. He enjoys the game. It drops off to the rest of the players too, so that they will be relaxed. Obviously he has played a big part, especially in our first 10 overs, getting those early wickets that we need. And yeah, hopefully he can carry on. His attitude has been good in the team. Everyone we look forward to when he steps to the ground. He’s a guy who brings, I think, banter; some of the banters, most of them, they come from him. So yeah, he just makes the changes – a lot lighter, and everyone will get to be relaxed, so yeah.
Courtesy: ICC
