Big picture: Zimbabwe receives Boxing Day test at home after 28 years
The last week of the year is like a Roman festival for Test
cricket fans, and this year’s Boxing Day promises delightful contests in Melbourne and Centurion, but look this way too, will you? Bulawayo will also host Zimbabwe’s first Boxing Day test in 28 years, and with unpredictable Afghanistan on the other side, expect a real fight between two teams, who despite their recent disappointing performances, would feel like favourites. After all, the last time either side won a test was against each other.
But that was back in 2021. Since then, they haven’t found a way to win. And a look at the Zimbabwe and Afghanistan teams for this two-Test series suggests both are looking to change that by heading in a different direction for 2025 and beyond. A host of Test debutants are expected (in theory, there could be up to 15 debuts in the two XIs) and this series could well be the one that gives rise to a new generation.
However, the keys to success will be best known to experienced bosses. Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Blessing Muzarabani, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah will be there but Rashid Khan was unavailable due to personal reasons for the opening Test. He had originally made himself available for both tests after recovering from injury; Teenage player AM Ghazanfar joined the team late on Tuesday to adjust to his absence.
However, unfortunately the weather could steal all the headlines. Like Afghanistan’s last encounter in Greater Noida, which was wiped out without the toss, this one could reach similar territory, although some action is promised every day amid forecasts of rain and thunderstorms every afternoon.
(last five matches completed, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLDLL
Afghanistan ALL
In the spotlight: Ben Curran and Ghazanfar
Zimbabwe have long been searching for someone to hold on to a position in their top order, and potential debutant Ben Curran could be one of those to calm the wobble. Left-handed batsman Curran, middle brother of England internationals Tom and Sam, and son of former Zimbabwe international Kevin Curran, has been rewarded for being the Logan Cup’s leading run-scorer this season, averaging 74.14 in seven innings with two centuries. and two fifty. However, he has had a difficult start to his international career, with scores of 12, 0 and 15 in the three ODIs against Afghanistan.
Could 18-year-old AM Ghazanfar get into the Test XI right away? A late addition to the team, Ghazanfar has not played any first-class
cricket but his T20 average of 11.62 and ODI average of 13.57 make him an interesting prospect for any form of
cricket. He has been the flavor of the season in T20 leagues around the world and spun a net in Zimbabwe with figures of 3 for 9 and 5 for 33 in his last two ODIs. Since teams are likely to race against time in this event, a spinner that can pierce through opponents is a deadly weapon.
Zimbabwe: 1 Joylord Gumbie (week), 2 Ben Curran, 3 Dion Myers, 4 Craig Ervine (captain), 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Brian Bennett, 8 Johnathan Campbell / Brandon Mavuta, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Newman Nyamhuri
Afghanistan: 1 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 2 Sediqullah Atal, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Bahir Shah/Riaz Hassan, 7 Zia-ur-Rehman, 8 Zahir Khan, 9 Fareed Ahmed, 10 Naveed Zadran, 11 am Ghazanfar
Bulawayo typically offers dry country conditions. The surface helps the fast bowlers greatly and helps the spinners later on, but with overcast conditions expected, the fast bowlers may have a bigger role to play over the five days. Rain is forecast for all five days, especially during the second and third sessions.
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