Houghton aiming to win T20 World Cup Qualifier

Newly appointed Zimbabwe cricket team coach Dave Houghton says he has set himself the primary target of winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B 2022 to be played in Bulawayo from July 11 to 17.

Despite being low on confidence after a poor run of form under former coach Lalchand Rajput the Zimbabwe side will be expected to win the eight-team qualifying tournament for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 to be staged in Australia later in the year.

Zimbabwe will play Singapore in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B 2022 at Queens Sports Club on July 11 followed by other Group A matches against Jersey and USA.

Group B features the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Hong Kong and Uganda.

The teams that make it into the final will clinch the two remaining spots at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

“My expectation, as is the expectation of the whole team, is to win this qualifying tournament. Simple as that,” declared Houghton ahead of the qualifier.

The Zimbabwe cricket legend, who is rated amongst the finest players to come out of the country, will take charge of his first training session with the team on Thursday to officially begin his second tenure as national team coach.

Houghton was in charge of Zimbabwe during their memorable run to the Super Six stage of the 1999 World Cup in England.

And as he begins his new tenure he wants to ensure that the team is adequately prepared for the task at hand.

“It is vital that we are preparing in Bulawayo and at Queens. We will get used to the wickets, their pace and how much they spin etc,” he said.

“It’s also important to get a feel of the size of the boundary and pace of the outfield. So being here is an advantage.”

On their way to the host city, Zimbabwe players and technical staff spent a night over at Antelope Park in Gweru for team bonding activities that included game viewing.

The Zimbabwe national cricket team had a good team building exercise @Antelope Park in Gweru yesterday. 👇 pic.twitter.com/8OAtnW6lXX

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) June 29, 2022

“It was a good and very relaxing day and good time together, although a bit cold,” Houghton, said.

“We saw a fair amount of game, had a good braai together and had a team chat this morning for me to get our approach and style of play across.”

ICC MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER B 2022 MATCH SCHEDULE