da betsson： While Zimbabwe will be trying to prove the doubters wrong, Ireland may just want to enjoy their first World Cup appearance at Jamaica
Preview by Dileep Premachandran at Kingston14-Mar-2007
Stuart Matsikenyeri: the only member of the ZImbabwe squad who played the last World Cup © Getty Images
Every single World Cup since 1992 has seen a major upset, and Ireland andZimbabwe could be forgiven for looking too far ahead as they square off inGroup D’s battle of the minnows.These are heady times for Irish sport, with the rugby team having clinched their third Triple Crown in four years, and the team that Trent Johnston leads will fancy their chances against Zimbabwe, especially after they gave South Africa an almightyscare in a warm-up game at St Augustine.Dave Langford-Smith and Johnston himself did the damage with the ball inthat game, as South Africa slumped to 91 for 8. As Johnston said at thepre-match press conference on Wednesday, it was “just unfortunate thatthey had a guy with a Test hundred batting at No. 9 [Andrew Hall].”Will Porterfield, Andre Botha and Kevin O’Brien made runs in that defeat,and Johnston was confident that Ireland could trump Zimbabwe if they”executed the basics”. The team have also been aided by Phil Simmons, theformer West Indian opener who will take over as coach when Adrian Birrellsteps down after the World Cup.For Zimbabwe, it’s a question of proving the doubters wrong. Enfeebled byplayers moving to pastures new, and not helped by the continuinginstability back home, they’re desperate to avoid defeat to an associatenation. Such a reverse would be an almighty setback as they bid to regainTest status, but both Kevin Curran, the coach, and Prosper Utseya, thecaptain, were quietly confident that Zimbabwe could put pressure on themore fancied teams in the group.Of the squad, only Stuart Matsikenyeri played at the last World Cup, andUtseya admitted that his experience and inputs had been invaluable. Currancited Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura and Sean Williams as players with theability to make a mark at the highest level, and much will also beexpected from the likes of Utseya, Anthony Ireland and Brendon Taylor.The pitch had a smattering of grass and the captain who wins the toss willmost likely exercise the bowl-first option. And though the crowd isn’texpected to be anything like as large as it was for the opening game, afew hundred travelling Irish could well transform a stand or two into apond of green. And whatever the result, they’ll savour the experience.