Zimbabwe is convinced its clash with Ireland in Hobart on Saturday is the “crunch” game of its World Cup campaign.
The Africans have won just one of their four games and are sixth in Pool B, but victory against William Porterfield’s side will put them back in the hunt for a quarterfinal place.
“It’s a crunch game for us, and it is for them too,” Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor told reporters on Friday. We certainly targeted this game. We’re not taking them lightly. They’re a quality side when the game gets going.
“So we need to win this and try to push for India as well. But we’re just not looking too far ahead. We’re just focused on tomorrow, and hopefully the result will take care of itself.”
An out-of-sorts Pakistan is in fourth on the table on four points, the same as Ireland, but faces a fired-up South African side in Auckland also on Saturday and could be struggling if it loses that match.
Pakistan faces Ireland on March 15 in Adelaide, so the match at Bellerive has ramifications for all three sides heading into the final week of pool play.
“Every game is pressure. If you are in a World Cup, you want to win everything. You want to be competitive at least,” Taylor said. “But I think there is always pressure. I think they’re going to feel a lot of pressure. They also need to win this game.”
Zimbabwe’s performances have been mostly productive, though it has not been able to get over the line when in a position of strength.
It let South Africa off the hook in its opening game when David Miller and J-P. Duminy put on a 256-run partnership to drive it past 300.
Pakistan also was pushed all the way before Zimbabwe fell 20 runs short of the victory target.
Taylor, who will replace injured captain Elton Chigumbura after the all-rounder tore his quadricep muscle while fielding against Pakistan, said its failure to convert opportunities had been discussed at length this week.
“We’ve been playing some good cricket,” Taylor said. “Eighty per cent of the games we’ve been playing winning cricket and probably just letting it slip that other 20 percent.
“So if we can just sort of narrow that gap a bit, we’re going to be a lot more consistent and get over the line more often. We know we need to win this game. There are no grey areas there. We need a good performance.”
The teams (from):
Ireland: William Porterfield (capt.) Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson and Craig Young.
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Panyangara, Brendan Taylor (capt.), Prosper Utseya and Sean Williams.
Umpires: Paul Reiffel (Aus), Ruchira Palliyaguru (SL).