Zimbabwe v Australia ODIs: Ultimate series guide

1h ago Josh Schonafinger

Get the latest team news, start times and more for the three-match series

Zimbabwe have a new captain and Australia have some fresh faces as both sides get in some vital preparation ahead of next year's ODI World Cup.

Series facts

Who: Zimbabwe v Australia

What: Qantas Tour of Zimbabwe, three-match ODI series

When: September 15, 18, 20. First ball 9:30am local time (5:30pm AEST)

Where: All matches at Harare Sports Club, Harare

How to watch: Yet to be announced

Officials: Yet to be announced

News and reactions post-play: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app. The Unplayable Podcast will also be releasing regular episodes throughout Australia's tour of southern Africa. Josh Hazlewood and Beau Webster have already been special guests this summer and expect to see more players feature throughout the summer.

You can listen to the back catalogue of episodes below.

Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on iHeart Radio

Full series schedule

First ODI: September 15, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

Second ODI: September 18, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

Third ODI: September 20, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

The squads

Zimbabwe squad: To be announced.

The hosts are yet to select their squad for the series, which will be their first bilateral contest against Australia since 2022. The Chevrons recently announced a new captain in the format, pace bowler Richard Ngarava, and he begin his stint as skipper with a 2-1 win over Bangladesh in July.

Zimbabwe will be buoyed by the fact in their most recent ODI clash against the Aussies they pulled off an unlikely three-wicket win in Townsville.

Evans delivers Zimbabwe a famous ODI victory

Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa.

With the ODI World Cup essentially 12 months away and to be held in these conditions, Australia have brought a close-to-full-strength squad for the three one-dayers against each of Zimbabwe and South Africa. The notable absentees are captain Pat Cummins and strike bowler Mitch Starc, both of whom will link up with the squad after the Zimbabwe matches.

But there are still many questions left to answer for a side that has lost thousands of runs worth of experience following the retirements of Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. Beyond Mitch Marsh, who will again fill in as captain while Cummins rests, and his opening partner Travis Head, very little of the middle order is locked in. The six ODIs present a golden opportunity for the likes of Josh Inglis, Cooper Connolly, Mathew Renshaw and Oliver Peake to cement their spot in the XI with the showpiece event around the corner.

For the quicks, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson, Billy Stanlake and Xavier Bartlett will all be keen to prove they deserve a spot alongside Josh Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc in next year's World Cup 15.

Feature

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Local knowledge

The Harare Sports Club has hosted ODI cricket since 1992 and has been the hub of Zimbabwean cricket ever since. Earlier this year it hosted the final of the U19 ODI World Cup, with India defeating England in the final, and will next year host matches at the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Australia have a solid record in Harare with seven wins from 10 matches: Michael Clarke and Aaron Finch both hit centuries here in 2014 while Jason Gillespie took 5-32 in 2004.

Players to watch

Cooper Connolly (Australia): In Connolly's most recent ODI, the highly-rated allrounder peeled off a stunning 149 against Bangladesh, which proved to be a match-winning effort in the chase in Mirpur. That four-hour knock, which saw the West Aussie battling cramps throughout his innings, came as opener but given the returns of Mitch Marsh and Travis Head, it will be fascinating to see where he fits into the XI. Although he hasn't bowled since March due to a back complaint, Aussie selection chair George Bailey is confident he will be fit to roll the arm over in this series.

Free-flowing Connolly blazes maiden international ton

Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe): Measuring in at 203cm, Muzarabani is Zimbabwe's tallest-ever cricketer and the beanpole fast bowler has enjoyed some brilliant form across all formats in the past 24 months. In 2025, only Mitch Starc (55) and Mohammad Shami (43) took more Test wickets than Muzarabani's 42, and at this year's T20 World Cup only India's Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy (both 14) took more wickets than his 13. Crucially, he took 4-17 against Australia in that tournament, landing a knockout blow to seal the Aussies' early exit.

Form guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result

Zimbabwe: LWWLLWLWLLN

Zimbabwe have only played eight ODIs since the start of 2025 and only three this calendar year but all of those have been in Harare, where they will co-host next year's ODI World Cup. Their sole series this year was a 2-1 win over Bangladesh in July which also marked skipper Richard Ngarava's first time in charge.

Australia: WLLLWLLWWW

Australia lost both their most recent series 2-1, the back-to-back contests against Bangladesh and Pakistan in June. However, those matches featured Australia at far below full-strength and included a decent amount of experimentation. Before that, Australia knocked off India 2-1 in a home series in October.

Australia v Bangladesh | First Test | Day Four Highlights

Rapid stats

Mitch Marsh is the only Australian to have played an ODI in Zimbabwe - he played five matches in 2014 scoring 222 runs and taking three wickets.
Bowling allrounder Brad Evans was player of the series against Bangladesh in July - he hit two half-centuries and took five wickets in the three matches
The highest score by an Australian against Zimbabwe is Adam Gilchrist's 172 while the best average is held by Damien Martyn (472 runs at 118)

Qantas tour of Zimbabwe 2026