Zimbabwe, Associate and Affiliate nations in 2015 - A Year in Review

What a year it was for Zimbabwe, Associate and Affiliate nations

It wasn't a fruitful year for Zimbabwe cricket. They played 42 games across formats but won just nine of them. The mismanagement of Zimbabwe Cricket, players not being paid on time and other factors have hampered the performance as well. Brendan Taylor decided to retire from international cricket because of the dearth of money. The Associate and Affiliate nations made giant strides in the year to show what they are capable of. The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland was a big hit with plenty of matches having a pulsating finish. Afghanistan capped the year with a memorable away series win over Zimbabwe, while the Nepal Under-19 team created history by qualifying for the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. Ireland Women and Bangladesh Women too booked a berth in the ICC Women's World T20 to be held in India in March and the teams will have plenty of opportunities to show what they are capable of. As for Zimbabwe, there's plenty of work needed to revamp cricket in the country.

Zimbabwe

Brendan Taylor's retirement

Brendan Taylor played 23 Tests, 167 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 26 Twenty20 Internationals for Zimbabwe and decided to call it a day after he signed a deal with Nottinghamshire. He played his last ODI against India in the World Cup and scored a 110-ball 138 but couldn't prevent a six-wicket loss.

Rare win against India

Zimbabwe didn't have a fruitful 2015 but showed glimpses of a team capable of doing much more. They won just one game in the World Cup, against the United Arab Emirates, but managed to defeat India in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) against India to square the two-match series. They posted 145 for 7 and then managed to keep India to 135 despite Robin Uthappa's 25-ball 42.

ODI win against New Zealand

New Zealand toured Zimbabwe for a three-match One-Day International series and Zimbabwe stunned them in the first game with a seven-wicket win over the visitors in the first match of the series. However, Zimbabwe failed to carry forward the momentum and conceded the series 1-2.

Zimbabwe stun Bangladesh in Bangladesh

Zimbabwe toured Bangladesh with bitter memories of the 2014 series, where they were whitewashed 5-0 just ahead of the World Cup. They lost the ODI series 3-0 but scripted a thrilling three-wicket win over the hosts in the second T20I. It was no more than a consolation win but it did act as balm after another disastrous series.

Associate and Affiliate nations

Ireland stun West Indies

With plenty of discussion ahead of the 2019 World Cup being reduced, Ireland showed just why the cricket faternity needs the Associate and Affiliate nations. In their first game of the World Cup, Ireland stunned West Indies with a four-wicket after West Indies posted 304. Ireland went on to win three of their six games in the tournament.

Kyle Coetzer's century

Scotland were up against Bangladesh, another Test playing nation. On the day, it was Kyle Coetzer's turn to show what Associate nations can do. The opener hammered 156 off 134 and took his team 318. Bangladesh did manage to win the match but not before Scotland had made a statement. Still thinking 2019 World Cup should be a ten-team event?

Shaiman Anwar's golden run in the World Cup

Shaiman Anwar, UAE's middle-order batsman, had a pretty good run the 2015 World Cup and scored 311 runs at an average of 51.83. To add to his more than impressive numbers, he went on to score 106 against Ireland in just 83 balls. He emerged as the highest run-getter for his team in the mega event.

PNG stun Ireland in Ireland

In the ICC World Twenty20 qualifier, Papua New Guniea went on to stun Ireland by two wickets at the Civil Service Cricket Club. The PNG bowlers did well to keep the hosts to 123. PNG huffed and puffed, stuttered but went on to win the game with seven balls to spare. However, they failed to qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 2016.

Namibia's heartbreak

It was the fourth qualifying play-off for the ICC World T20 2016 between Oman and Namibia. It was the last chance for the two teams to seal a berth for the mega event in India. Both teams refused to get rolled over and played out a thriller with Namibia going down by five wickets. The players gave it all but Oman won it with one over to spare.

Teams seal their berth in the ICC World T20 2016

After a pulsating ICC World T20 Qualifier 2016 in Ireland and Scotland, Oman, Afghanistan, Scotland, Ireland, Netherland and Hong Kong sealed their spot in the ICC WT20 to be held in India in March. The six teams will fight it out with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to earn the right to play against the top sides in the main round.

Nepal Under-19 to join the party

The Under-19 squad of Nepal won all their four group games and then went on to win the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier held in Kuala Lumpur by defeating Ireland Under-19 in the final by three wickets.

Afghanistan's series win in Zimbabwe

There's something about Afghanistan doing well in international cricket. Afghanitan travelled to Zimbabwe for a five-match ODI series and at one stage were 2-1 down in the series. The visitors registered a come-from-behind win and sealed the series 3-2. In December, at the time of this being writter, Afghanistan piled on the misery on Zimbabwe in the United Arab Emirates and were leading the five-match ODI series 2-0.

Ireland Women and Bangladesh Women set Bangkok on fire

It was a contest befitting of a final. Both Ireland and Bangladesh had already sealed their spot in the ICC Women's WT20 2016, they played a thrilling contest where Ireland won on the last ball with two wickets in hand to lift the trophy.

Best player - Sean Williams

In what turned out to be a dismal year for Zimbabwe, Sean Williams shone bright for them. The all-rounder picked up 24 wickets to go with his 1139 runs at an average of 36.74. He scored 102 against Afghanistan in Bulawayo but couldn't prevent his team losing from 73 runs.

Promising player - Shaiman Anwar

Shaiman Anwar had a dream run in 2015 and emerged as the highest run-getter for the United Arab Emirates. He averaged 47.58 and scored more than 300 runs from the second best batsman for his country - Swapnil Patil. Anwar's moment under the sun came in the 2015 World Cup when he scored a 83-ball 106 against Ireland, his maiden ODI century, but Ireland managed to steal a two-wicket win. However, he failed to come up with something special in the ICC World T20 qualifier and that was one of the reasons UAE crashed out of the tournament.

Worst player - Prosper Utseya

Prosper Utseya shook the cricket world when he laid racism allegations against Alastair Campbell. However, he failed to walk the talk in the limited opportunities he got. Utseya played ten matches across formats and scored just 49 runs and was able to bag just five wickets. He was reported for suspect bowling action.

What 2016 holds

With suggestions cropping up every now and then that the World Cup in 2019 should be reduced to a ten-team event, the Associate and Affiliate nations have done really well to show that they belong to the biggest stage. However, 2016 holds a lot of promise and the likes of Ireland, Scotland, Netherland and Oman need to build on what they've achieved in the last one year. The ICC World T20 gives them a very good opportunity. For Zimbabwe, things look bleak. A lot of work needs to be done both on and off the field for things to improve.