The Zimbabwe national cricket team lost their one-off Test match against Ireland at home.
This comes after they also lost their Test series against Afghanistan also played at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
The defeat to Ireland was such a disappointment considering that Blessing Muzarabani had bowled the Chevrons to a position of strength after taking seven wickets in the first innings.
They then climbed down after struggling with the bat.
Zimbabwe were dealt a hammer blow after losing veterans Sean Williams and skipper Craig Ervine.
Ervine withdrew just hours before the Test and Jonathan Campbell had to step in to captain the side on his debut.
Sikandar Raza was also missing from the side leaving the Chevrons to field an inexperienced batting line up.
However, the absence of the trio should not be taken as justification for the failure to post positive results.
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Critics say losing the Test match against Ireland is inexcusable, even in the absence of batting stalwarts.
Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, they cannot make up for this defeat as there was only one-match scheduled.
Last week, Zimbabwe Cricket chairperson Tavengwa Mukuhlani was quoted by Cricinfo pointing out that the bigger sides should afford teams like Zimbabwe more opportunities to play against them.
It is a good point because top sides such as Australia, England and India rarely give teams like Zimbabwe Test opportunities.
However, it is up to the Chevrons to attract big sides. What value will the top sides add by playing Zimbabwe which they view as a walkover. The Chevrons need to prove on the field of play that they deserve to play more Tests against the big boys.
We hope they improve their results to demonstrate that they are competitive.
The white ball series will be coming up starting on Friday against Ireland.
This is an opportunity to restore lost pride by posting positive results in both the One Day International and T-20 series — redemption time.
ZC should be commended for organising a lot of competitions for the national team. The national sports association has tried its best to keep the players in shape.
Such a gesture must be rewarded by positive results to cheer up the fans who have stood with the team in good and bad times.
Players must reward cricket enthusiasts with positive results.
The younger players coming in to replace old horses on their way out can only benefit from playing a lot of cricket in all formats.
