T20 World Cup: Justin Sammons Urges Calm As Zimbabwe Eye Australia Clash

Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons supervised training in Colombo on Tuesday, two days after the Chevrons began their ICC T20 World Cup campaign with an eight wicket win over Oman.

The result handed Zimbabwe early momentum in Group B. Sammons, however, said the team remains focused.

“I thought we were superb against Oman,” he said. “The guys were on it, especially with execution. A lot of what we planned came off.”

After the first round of matches, Australia lead the group with two points following a 67 run win over Ireland. Australia posted 182 for six and bowled Ireland out for 115.

Zimbabwe, Australia and Sri Lanka all registered wins in their opening matches and are separated by net run rate. Australia lead with 3.350, followed by Zimbabwe on 2.702 and Sri Lanka on 1.000. Ireland and Oman are yet to win a match.

Zimbabwe will face Australia next, followed by Ireland and co hosts Sri Lanka on February 13 and 18.

Sammons said discipline and execution will be key against Australia.

“It’s going to come down to the execution of our skills,” he said. “We’ve done our homework. We’ve looked at their strengths and the conditions. We’ll have a clear plan. But it means nothing if we don’t execute.”

Zimbabwe’s pace trio of Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans led the attack against Oman. The three shared nine wickets for 54 runs. Each picked up three wickets, conceding 16, 17 and 18 runs respectively.

Muzarabani and Ngarava struck early in the powerplay to dismantle Oman’s top order.

Sammons urged his team to maintain focus.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said. “There’s a long way to go. It’s one ball at a time, one game at a time. We’ll take confidence from the Oman result, but we stay grounded.”

He also called on his players to seize the opportunity against Australia.

“It’s a big opportunity, playing one of the best sides in the world,” he said. “Australia have a strong World Cup record. This is our chance to show what we can do.”

Zimbabwe are awaiting clarity on Brendan Taylor’s fitness after he retired hurt during the chase against Oman.

“We’re waiting for confirmation from the scan,” Sammons said. “Once we have that, we’ll know how to move forward.”