Johannesburg - Step aside, India and Pakistan, have a swim, Australia and New Zealand with your Trans-tasman whatever, Monday is cricket’s biggest game, the “Limpopo River Dance”, “The SADC Derby” – South Africa vs Zimbabwe – a six pack of Castle Lager to the winner.
It’s not as sexy as all that, unfortunately. However, it’s a quirky bit of fun that’s been provided to cricket aficionados in both countries, who for different reasons have been suffering about the relative lack of success of their respective men’s national teams lately.
Zimbabwe have battled to get stability and thus earn spots at ICC tournaments recently, while South Africa can’t win them.
But now, tomorrow, in Hobart, Tasmania, for a couple of hours they get to dominate world cricket talk. Zimbabwe earned their place in the main draw/ Super 12 section of the T20 World Cup with wins over Scotland and Ireland in the first round of the competition.
Zimbabwe looked good doing it too – with Sikandar Raza starring with both bat and ball, while the lanky, 26-year-old Blessing Muzarabani looks a handful.
South Africa, understandably, will be favourites. The Proteas are a more experienced group, with a number of players operating in the biggest franchise leagues around the world, and the historic record between the two countries is weighted in their favour, albeit that the teams have only met five times.
The Proteas have won all of those, with just one being a close encounter, in Bloemfontein in 2010, when the hosts sneaked home by eight runs.
Not that any of that actually matters tomorrow. Zimbabwe have been in Australia for almost two months, have actually beaten the Australians in an ODI in that time, and will believe they have momentum and a feel for conditions.
They played all three of their first round matches at the Blundstone Arena (aka Bellerive Oval) and are thus comfortable with the surroundings. South Africa, not so much. The Proteas only headed to Hobart yesterday, having had their training and preparations in Brisbane hampered by rain.
Crucially, the under-fire captain Temba Bavuma wasn’t able to get any match time under his belt, after sitting out the first warm-up match with New Zealand to give him more time to recover from illness he picked up in India, while the second game against Bangladesh was rained out on Wednesday.
The convenor of the selectors, Victor Mpitsang, who is accompanying the squad in Australia, said last week that Bavuma looked good in the nets, but a decision on whether he would start would only be made at the weekend.
The selectors might be swayed by the fact that following the first round, South Africa’s group suddenly looks a lot easier than it could have been. That could mean they will feel more comfortable giving Bavuma a chance to find some form and confidence in the Proteas’ first two matches, against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
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