Zimbabwe announce 17-man squad for the Afghanistan Test series
Zimbabwe Cricket has announced the 17-man squad led by captain Craig Ervine for the upcoming two-match Test series against Afghanistan which starts on December 26 with the Boxing Day Test match. Both teams will then face off each other in the New Year's Test which is all set to be played from January 2, 2025. The Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo will host both the Tests.
As many as seven uncapped players have made the cut including opener Ben Curran - son of former all-rounder Kevin Curran and sibling of England Internationals Sam and Tom Curran - batter Johnathan Campbell, wicketkeeper-batters Nyasha Mayavo and Tadiwanashe Marumani, pacers Takudzwa Chataira Newman Nyamhuri and Trevor Gwandu.
This Test series holds great significance in the history of Zimbabwe cricket as it will be the first Boxing Day Test match to be hosted in the country since 1996 when they played England in a rain-affected drawn fixture in Harare. This will also be the first-ever occasion of a New Year's Test match involving Zimbabwe.
Here's Zimbabwe's Test Squad for the series against Afghanistan:
Craig Ervine (captain), Ben Curran, Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Takudzwa Chataira, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Nyasha Mayavo, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams.
Zimbabwe suffer 2-1 defeat in the T20I series
Afghanistan's all-format tour of Zimbabwe began on December 11 with the T20Is which they eventually won 2-1. Although the hosts registered a four-wicket win in the series opener, the visitors came back strongly to claim the second T20I by 50 runs.
With the series level at 1-1, Rashid Khan's men ensured they chased down the target of 128 runs in the final T20I in 19.3 overs at the loss of seven wickets to clinch the series in Harare. Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who picked up eight wickets in three matches, was adjudged the Player of the Series.
The focus then shifted towards the ODIs, with the opening contest ending in a no result due to incessant rain. In the second game, Afghanistan registered their biggest ODI win in terms of runs having bowled out the Craig Ervine-led side for just 54 runs after scoring 286 runs batting first.
The third and final ODI will take place at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday, December 21.