Zimbabwe announce a 16 man squad for New Zealand Test series
Jan 6, 2019 at 3:51 AM
Zimbabwe announces a 16 man squad for the two-match home Test series against New Zealand on Thursday, 21 July.
Under the captaincy of Graeme Cremer Zimbabwe will play their two-match Test series at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club, with the first game scheduled to start on July 28. The second Test will begin on August 6.
This will be the first Test series for the Creamer, although the leg-spinner has some experience leading the side in shorter formats of the game.
The 16 man squad features four uncapped players Taurai Mazurabani, Chamu Chibhabha, Peter Moor and Prince Masvaure.
The young Zimbabwe team has only one experienced player in the top order batsman Hamilton Masakadza who has played 29 Test matches while Creamer played only 11 matches.
The two-match series will end the Test cricket drought for Zimbabwe as they last played a Test in 2014 against Bangladesh- a three-match series in which they suffered a whitewash.
The series means Bulawayo will see the Test match for the first time since November 2011 when the home team surfed a 34 run defeat to New Zealand.
The New Zealand under the captaincy of Kane Willaimson arrived in Harare on Wednesday and are set to play Zimbabwe A in a three-day warm-up match at the Harare Sports Club starting on Friday before playing to Bulawayo on Monday.
The squad: Graeme Cremer (capt), Sikandar Raza Butt, Regis Chakabva (wk), Brian Chari, Tendai Chatara, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Hamilton Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Peter Joseph Moor, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Taurai Muzarabani, Njabulo Ncube, Donald Tiripano, Sean Williams.