All About the Zimbabwe Cricket Team

The Zimbabwe cricket team, also known as The Chevrons, is governed by Zimbabwe Cricket. The ICC gave them Full ICC Member status on the 6th July 1992.

On this page you will find all the interesting bits regarding the history of Zimbabwe cricket, the colours they wear when playing, who their best cricketers are at the moment, how they have got on at previous ICC tournaments and against other teams, as well as how they are doing on the international stage at the moment.

The History of Cricket in Zimbabwe

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What is now known as Zimbabwe used to be known as the South of Zambezia before it was officially changed to Rhodesia in 1895 and then Southern Rhodesia in 1898. In 1922, South Rhodesia became a British colony and stayed that way right up until 1980 when they got their independence and changed the country's name to Zimbabwe.

When it comes to Cricket, Rhodesia has always been tied to their neighbours South Africa. The first recorded cricket game in the country took place in 1890. Come the mid-1890s, a domestic cricket season had been formed, with Salisbury v Bulawayo being the most important game of the season. The first English team appeared in 1898. First-class cricket did not appear in this British colony until the Rhodesian team started participating in the Currie Cup in 1904. Their first first-class game was played against Transvaal in 1905. They went on to lose the match by an innings and 170 runs. After this, they did not participate in the Currie Cup again until 1929. They took part in the 1931 competition too and went on to win four out of their five matches. They then did not play again until 1946, after which they started to play regularly.

From 1953 to 1963, David Lewis was the Rhodesian team captain and he got to captain talented players such as Chris Duckworth, Colin Bland, Percy Mansell, Godfrey Lawrence, Paul Winslow, and David Pithey. Come the 1970s, the team was captained by the talented Mike Procter and included the likes of Duncan Fletcher, John Traicos, and Robin Jackman. However, despite being able to call on these talented players, Rhodesia never lifted the Currie Cup. They stopped playing in the competition in 1980 when they officially became known as Zimbabwe.

The ICC made Zimbabwe an associate member in 1981 and they made their first tour to England the following year to play some first-class matches. They then went on to win the ICC Trophy later that year, paving the way for them to achieve test status. This win meant that they qualified for the 1983 Cricket World Cup, and they beat Australia in their opening match. However, they went on to lose their remaining matches and were eliminated in the group stage. Zimbabwe were given test status in 1992, and they played their first test against India. The match ended up in a draw, meaning that they became the first team to not lose their first test match since Australia won the very first test match in 1877. However, they won just one test match (against Pakistan in 1995) from the first 30 that they played.

Despite their early difficulties in the test arena, they were still producing fantastic players such as Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Heath Streak, Murray Goodwin, Alistair Campbell, Eddo Brandes, Neil Johnson, and Andy Blignaut. You can’t keep this type of quality quiet for too long and the wins started to appear towards the end of the 1990s. Unfortunately, though, the political situation in the country wasn’t good at all at this time and it soon had a huge negative effect on the national cricket team. Zimbabwe qualified for the 1999 Cricket World Cup and only missed out on reaching the semi-finals due to the fact that New Zealand had a better net run-rate. In 2003, the political situation got worse and a whole host of Zimbabwe’s best players ended their playing careers extremely prematurely. The players that replaced them were nowhere near their caliber, so they didn’t have much success on the international stage. This led to them being suspended from playing test cricket in 2005.

When they were reinstated later that year, they suffered a string of horrendous results. They lost two tests to South Africa by an innings and lost to a New Zealand side within two days. They then lost to India. At the beginning of 2006, they were suspended from test cricket once again and did not play another test match until 2011. During their test exile, there was a lot of financial issues with the Zimbabwe cricket team. Despite this, they still participated in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, but went on to finish at the bottom of their group. Their first test match back from exile was against Bangladesh, which they went on to win by 130 runs. Their next test win came against Pakistan in 2013, which was their first victory against a team that wasn’t Bangladesh since 2001. Since 2013 they have struggled in international cricket due to financial and political issues. In July, 2019, they were suspended from taking part in ICC competitions due to political reasons. This ban was lifted three months later. At this moment in time, their head coach is Lalchand Rajput, while Sean Williams is their Test captain and Craig Ervine is their ODI and T20 captain.

What Colours Do the Zimbabwe Cricket Team Wear?

Test Cricket

When they are taking part in the occasional test match, they have to wear traditional cricket whites like every other team. The national emblem, the Zimbabwe bird, can see found on the left side of the t-shirt, while the sponsor’s logo can be seen on the right. When they are doing their fielding duties, they wear either a white sunhat or a green cap with the Zimbabwe bird on it. When they are batting, the helmets that they use are the same colour.

ODI and T20 Cricket

When they are playing T20 or ODI cricket, you will see them wearing red t-shirts with yellow accents (the accents are sometimes black or green). When they are fielding, they will have a choice between a red sunhat or a red cap. The helmet, like when they are playing test cricket, is green. The Zimbabwe bird can be seen on the left side of the kit, while their sponsor’s logo can be seen on the right.

Who Are Their Talented Cricket Players At the Moment?

Zimbabwe have managed to produce some very talented players down the years, so we will now have a look at three talented players that are currently playing for them.

Brendan Taylor

Taylor made his debut for Zimbabwe in 2004 and he hasn’t looked back since. In 2011 he became the first Zimbabwe cricketer to score back-to-back ODI centuries, and then he repeated the act at the World Cup in 2015. He has been the stand-out performer for Zimbabwe for most of his career.

In the 34 test matches that he has played, he has scored 2,320 runs (6 centuries and 12 half-centuries) at an average of 36.25. In the 202 ODI matches that he has participated in, he has scored 6,628 runs (11 centuries and 39 half-centuries) at an average of 35.63. He has played in 45 T20 matches and has hit 934 runs at an average of 23.94.

Tendai Chatara

Played his first game for his country back in 2013 and has become a regular in the Zimbabwe team. He can bowl at a very decent pace and troubles right-handed batsmen by moving the ball away from them. In the 9 test matches that he has played so far, he has taken 24 wickets (1 5-wicket haul) at an average of 27.62. In the 73 ODI matches that he has played, he has picked up 96 wickets at an average of 31.89. In the 24 T20 matches that he has been a part, he has picked up 28 wickets at an average of 23.82.

Craig Ervine

He began his international career in 2010 at the age of 25 and has been an important player for Zimbabwe ever since. In the 18 test matches that he has played, he has scored 1208 runs (3 centuries and 4 half-centuries) at an average of 35.53. In the 96 ODI games that he has played, he has scored 2,616 runs (3 centuries and 15 half-centuries) at an average of 31.90. In the 25 T20 matches that he has played, he has scored 502 runs (high score of 68*) at an average of 21.83.

How Have Zimbabwe Played at Different ICC Events?

ICC Cricket World Cup

Year Round Position
1983 Group Stage 8/8
1987 Group Stage 8/8
1992 Group Stage 9/9
1996 Group Stage 9/12
1999 Super Sixes 5/12
2003 Super Sixes 6/14
2007 Group Stage 13/16
2011 Group Stage 10/14
2015 Group Stage 11.14

*They did not play at the 1975 or 1979 Cricket World Cups as they were not eligible since they were not yet an ICC member. They failed to qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

ICC T20 World Cup

Year Round Position
2007 Group Stage 9/12
2010 Group Stage 10/12
2012 Group Stage 11/12
2014 Group Stage 11/16
2016 Group Stage 11/16

*Zimbabwe pulled out of the 2009 T20 World Cup due to political reasons relating to Robert Mugabe.

ICC Champions Trophy

Year Round Position
1998 Pre-quarter-final 9/9
2000 Quarter-final 8/11
2002 Group Stage 9/12
2004 Group Stage 9/12
2006 Qualifying Round 10/10

*They did not qualify for the 2009, 2013, or 2017 editions of the tournament as they were not in the top eight of the ODI rankings. The ICC did away with this competition in 2017 as they thought they had too many competitions on the go.

How Have the Zimbabwe Cricket Team Performed Against Other Cricketing Nations?

Are you wondering how Zimbabwe have performed when they have come up against the other Full Member nations? If so, you can cure your curiosity by taking a look at the tables below.

Test Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLostDrawTiedWin %
Afghanistan2110050
Australia3030000.00
Bangladesh187823038.88
England6033000.00
India11272018.18
New Zealand170116000.00
Pakistan193124015.78
Sri Lanka9081000.00
Sri Lanka200146000.00
West Indies10073000.00

* These stats are correct from the 28th October 2021.

ODI Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLostTiedNo ResultWin %
Afghanistan2510150040.00
Australia30227016.9
Bangladesh7828500035.89
England308210127.59
India6310512017.46
Ireland16771150.00
New Zealand389271125.68
Pakistan62454228.33
South Africa41238015.00
Sri Lanka5711440220.00
West Indies4810361122.34

* These stats are correct from the 28th October 2021.

T20 Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLosttiedNo ResultWin %
Afghanistan12111008.33
Australia3120033.33
Bangladesh165110031.25
England101000.00
India7250028.57
Ireland8350037.50
New Zealand6060000.00
Pakistan17116005.88
South Africa5050000.00
Sri Lanka3030000.00
West Indies3120000.00

* These stats are correct from the 28th October 2021.

How Have Zimbabwe Been Performing at International Cricket Recently?

Zimbabwe played their first cricket of 2021 in March with two Tests against Afghanistan, with the series ending in a respectable 1-1 draw. They then played Afghanistan in three T20I matches and lost all three quite easily. After this, they took on Pakistan in three T20I games, with the series ending 2-1 in the favour of Pakistan. They then played Pakistan in two Tests and were beaten by an innings in both of them.

Next up was a one-off Test against Bangladesh, which they lost by three wickets. They then lost a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20I series against the same opponents. Next up were five T20I matches against Ireland, and the Irish took the series 3-2, while a three-match ODI series against Ireland was drawn 1-1. Their last series was a three-match T20 series against Scotland, and they won that 2-1.

At this moment in time, they do not have any scheduled matches for the end of the year or the start of 2022.