Pakistan bid to extend dominance against Zimbabwe

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan would be bidding to extend their dominance over visitors Zimbabwe here at Pindi Stadium with first One-Dayer of the three-match series on Friday (tomorrow).

The three-match series will be part of the ICC World Cup Super League series as only three out of 13 countries have started their campaign yet.

England lead the table with 30 points, followed by Australia with 20 and Ireland with 10 points. The rest of the nations have yet to start their campaign for a place in the 2023 World Cup. Being a host nation, India will be a direct qualifier while seven other countries will join them.

England defeated Ireland 2-1 and then they were beaten by Australia by the same margin.

Featuring 13 teams — 12 Full Members and The Netherlands, who qualified by winning the ICC World League Championship 2015-17 — the Super League will see sides playing eight three-match series each, four at home and four away. The sides failing to qualify directly will get a second shot through a qualifier.

Each team gets 10 points for a win, five for a tie/no result/abandonment, and none for a loss. The teams will be ranked according to total points earned across the eight series.

Former world champions Pakistan are hosting Zimbabwe for an ICC World Cup Super League series in Rawalpindi from tomorrow (Friday) as the teams begin their qualification campaign for the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.

A record of losing just one out of 19 ODIs over six previous home series against Zimbabwe would give captain Babar Azam the required confidence ahead of their opening series of the Super League — introduced to bring context to ODI cricket and to confirm the top seven teams with direct spots for the World Cup.

Babar is the top-ranked player from either side in the ICC’s ranking. He is ranked third among batters and the only one in the series who is in the top 10 of either the batting or bowling rankings.

Left-handed opener Imamul Haq has a good chance of moving back into the top 10, as he is just two points behind England’s Jonny Bairstow and four others too are within 13 rating points. Fakhar Zaman is four places behind Imam in 15th position, while Haris Sohail (32nd) and Mohammad Hafeez (44th) will be others in the focus from the rankings perspective.

With Mohammad Amir not named in the squad for the series, fellow left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, a star of the Pakistan side that played in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2018 in New Zealand, is the hosts’ leading bowler in 24th position. Spinners Shadab Khan (28th) and Imad Wasim (33rd) follow in the list.

For Chamu Chibhabha-led Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza leads the batters’ rankings in 47th position, 11 places below his career-best 36th position that he attained five years ago. Brendan Taylor, who has been in the top 10 in the past, is in 50th place while Sean Williams is 57th.

Fast bowler Tendai Chatara is ranked 43rd among bowlers and would be looking to move back towards his career-best 23rd position in April 2015. Spinners Williams (64th) and Raza (70th) to have attained better rankings in the past.