Zimbabwe will begin their three-match one-day series against Sri Lanka without regular captain Craig Ervine after the left-hander pulled up with a calf problem on the eve of the opener in Harare.
An MRI scan, Zimbabwe Cricket said in a brief release, “confirmed that Craig Ervine had suffered a Grade II strain in his left calf as well as a chronic and resolving Grade I strain in his right calf.” The upshot is a spell on the sidelines for the 40-year-old and a return to the armband for Sean Williams, who only recently shook off a back complaint of his own.
Ervine’s injury arrived during Thursday’s training session and, given his recent stop-start run with fitness, the medical staff did not hesitate to rule him out of the entire series. It is another interruption for a batter who has amassed 1926 runs in 128 ODIs at 33.78, including that memorable 130 not out against New Zealand a decade ago.
Williams – 120 caps and counting – has captained before and knows the drill. His task is to steer a side that suddenly looks a touch light on experience, even with Brendan Taylor parachuted back in after serving a three-year corruption ban. Taylor’s record remains formidable: 11 hundreds in 203 ODI innings, most of them compiled when Zimbabwe’s batting stocks were thinner than they are now.
Coach Dave Houghton, pragmatic as ever, sees opportunity in the disruption. “Losing your skipper on the eve of a series isn’t ideal, but it gives someone else a chance to step up and take responsibility,” he said. The obvious beneficiary could be youngster Wessly Madhevere, who is likely to move up a spot in the order.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have travelled with a full-strength attack and will fancy exploiting any uncertainty early in the Zimbabwe innings. Harare Sports Club tends to offer a touch of seam on day one before flattening out, so batting first and getting through the new-ball spell could be decisive.
If all goes to plan, Ervine should be able to resume light training in a fortnight. Whether that is soon enough for October’s short T20 tour of Namibia is still up in the air, but Zimbabwe will not rush a player so central to their 50-over plans.
Key numbers
• 128 ODIs for Ervine, four hundreds, average 33.78
• 11 ODI hundreds for Taylor, the most by any Zimbabwean
• Williams has captained Zimbabwe in 25 limited-overs matches
The series starts on Friday, with matches to follow on Sunday and next Wednesday. All three games are day-nighters, first ball scheduled for 1 pm local time.
