Lehmann points direction for minnow nation
ODIs Zimbabwe's path to Tests
Darren Lehmann’s overriding memory of his previous visit to Zimbabwe a decade ago is that it yielded his career-best international bowling figures at one of the cricket world’s most picturesque venues.
The 4-7 he captured in the second match of Australia’s three-game whitewash at the Harare Sports Club in 2004 included the deployment of what the current Australian coach facetiously described as the ‘Boofra’.
A slow, left-arm skidding delivery that the home team’s batsmen attempted to punish but invariably ended up gifting to a fielder – on three of the four occasions, that being Glenn McGrath.
But 10 years later, Lehmann will lead his team back to the HSC against a radically re-shaped Zimbabwe tomorrow (Monday) in a form of the game that he believes offers the maligned nation its best hope of returning to an over-subscribed and highly competitive Test cricket roster.
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Lehmann told cricket.com.au today he feels that if Zimbabwe is to return to the regular ranks of Test-playing nations it must first show that it is consistently and reliably able to not only hold its own in the 50-over arena, but push the world’s best teams in the process.
Asked as to which avenue offered Zimbabwe – virtually excluded from meaningful Test cricket since Australia’s chaotic and ultimately truncated tour to the African nation in 2004 was prematurely abandoned – the surest return to international credibility, Lehmann was unequivocal.
“As coach, my opinion would be this format for them at the moment, the one-day format where they play multiple international teams in a tri-series set-up,” he said a day before Australia tackles the home nation in an ODI tri-series in Harare that also features South Africa.
“And once they start playing that well enough and actually start winning games and making finals etcetera, then they can start developing the next phase of their cricket which is getting back into Test cricket more regularly against decent opposition.
“The hardest thing for all teams is the (international) program, which is very difficult for all nations to find room in.
“So at the moment, I think their (Zimbabwe’s) challenge is to play at a standard that’s really high so they’re forcing the other Test playing countries to want to play Test cricket against them again.”
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Lehmann and Australia captain Michael Clarke, who also carries enduring memories of his 2004 tour to Zimbabwe having scored his maiden ODI century at the Harare Sports Club in the game that followed Lehmann’s destructive bowling spell, echoed his coach’s sentiments.
Clarke said that the his team’s return to Zimbabwe after a decade’s absence, during which Australia instead sent development teams to tour, represented an important step forward for a nation that had faced myriad (non-cricket related) challenges over the past 10 years.
“I think we understand as players that a big part of playing international sport is continuing the development of the game and getting as many boys and girls playing as possible,” Clarke said following his team’s pre-tournament training session at the Harare Country Club yesterday.
“So I think that's a big part of us being here.
“We've got to make the most of our time here and get around to as many kids as we can and try and support the game in this country and also have success.
“It’s another tough tour in conditions that not many (Australian) players are accustomed to, playing against good opposition so there's probably two sides to this tour for us.”
Lehmann acknowledged that, in light of the fact it will be a year next Wednesday since Zimbabwe last won a one-day international against a Test playing nation (Pakistan), his team should rightly be expected to canter to victory on Monday.
But given that Zimbabwe has been involved in hard-fought Test and ODI series against South Africa in recent weeks, while most of the Australian players are contrastingly returning from a rare break from cricket during their home winter, there remains a chance the home team might pull an early surprise.
Regardless of the coming results, Lehmann was keen to dismiss any talk that his team’s involvement in the upcoming tri-series was born from any motivation other than to play a role in the ongoing development of cricket in a struggling nation.
“We're not playing politics here,” Lehmann said.
“We're here to play a sport and grow the game and that's really important for us.
“We're custodians of the game and got to make sure we're growing it worldwide.”