Zimbabwe: Once Bitten Twice Shy, Chevrons Cautious As They ...

MEMORIES of 2018 - choking of Zimbabwe men's cricket team- still linger in heads of many as the Chevrons were beaten by minnows United Arab Emirates.

The defeat marked arguably the biggest disappointment by Zimbabwe as they failed to qualify for the World Cup that was staged in England and Wales 2019.

Chevrons buried their heads in shame, with their capitulation in the hands of minnows left a sour taste in mouths of fans that were vociferous that afternoon.

It marked an end to an impressive campaign that the Chevrons had embarked on as they had to clear the UAE hurdle to book a place in the world cup.

Five years later, Zimbabwe finds itself in a similar position, with an unblemished record in the world cup qualifiers.

Enroute to Super Six stage, Zimbabwe has dismantled every opponent that dared to stand in its way including two time world champions, West Indies.

Zimbabwe are approaching super six with four points, with World Cup destiny seemingly in its hands.

Chevrons senior player, Sean Williams said the squad is all aware of what is at stake to avoid a repeat of 2018.

"I think we have actually discussed that in the change room before the game against West Indies. We discussed how far we went in the last tournament and it just takes one game to take it away from you.

"I think being here before allows us to have learnt that lesson and to take a different approach towards that and have a better attitude towards certain things. I think again if we take it game by game going into each game as best we can and the intensity that we want to play, I think we will stand a good chance," said Williams.

Interestingly, from the team that did duty in 2018, five players form the core of Chevrons squad that is aiming to book a ticket to India.

Zimbabwe has changed since 2018 and an air of revival has been evident in the current crop of players.

Sikandar Raza, Williams, Craig Ervine, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara are a cog in the revival machinery of Chevrons, with Dave Houghton steering.

Zimbabwe cricket legend took over reins June last year and has brought back an aura of confidence in the Chevrons.

Houghton, who looks to lead the team into another World Cup after last year's T20 in Australia, said he is not reading much into the events that unfolded in 2018.

"We knew coming into this world cup there were going to be a lot of tough games, if we wanted to get to the world cup we had to beat Sri Lanka and West Indies. I just said to the guys in the changing room that we had a clear path in 2018, we had to win the last game and we messed it up and we want to make sure this win does get to our heads," he said.