Zimbabwe win ICC Spirit of Cricket Award 2023 for consoling West Indies star in World Cup qualifiers

Zimbabwe were honored with the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award 2023 for their sportsmanship during the Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Zimbabwe displayed sportsmanship as they consoled the West Indies star Akeal Hosein, who was shattered, as the Men In Maroon missed out on qualifying for the ODI World Cup.

The West Indies had a disappointing performance in the competition, finishing fifth on the table with just one win in five games during the ‘Super Six’ stage. They secured a victory against Oman but faced losses to Sri Lanka, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe also fell short of securing a spot in the ODI World Cup held in India, finishing in third place on the table with six points. Despite having the same points as the Netherlands and Scotland, Zimbabwe failed to qualify due to their lower Net Run Rate (NRR).

The International Cricket Council (ICC) took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce Zimbabwe as the winner of the Spirit of Cricket Award 2023 for their sportsmanship during the Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

“Consoling the opposition This heartwarming moment from the Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier wins the ICC Spirit of Cricket award for 2023,” wrote the caption.

Consoling the opposition 🫶

This heartwarming moment from the Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier wins the ICC Spirit of Cricket award for 2023.https://t.co/I8ie5Vgs8s

— ICC (@ICC) January 25, 2024

Zimbabwe Beat West Indies By 35 Runs In World Cup Qualifiers

Zimbabwe and West Indies faced off in the 13th match of the World Cup Qualifiers in Harare on June 24, 2023. The Zimbabwe team emerged as the winner by defeating the opposition by 35 runs. The Windies team fell short in the 269-run chase during the match

The West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match. Joylord Gumbie and Craig Ervine added a 63-run partnership for the first wicket. However, the Windies bowlers bounced back, picking wickets at regular intervals and restricting the opposition to 112/4.

Sikandar Raza (68) and Ryan Burl (50) steadied the innings by adding an 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket. However, they faced a collapse, resulting in a score of 243/9. Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani added a crucial 25 runs for the last wickets in the innings.

The West Indies lost their wickets of Brendon King (20) and Johnson Charles (1) inside the first powerplay. However, all-rounder Kyle Mayers smashed a half-century, scoring 56 runs off 72 deliveries with the help of eight boundaries and a six during the run chase.

Shai Hope (30 off 39), Nicholas Pooran (34 off 36), and Roston Chase (44 off 53) made contributions in the middle order, but none of them managed to convert it into a big score. The team was bowled out for 233 runs, with Alzarri Joseph being dismissed in the 45th over.

This spirit is described in the preamble to the laws of cricket: “Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its laws but also within the spirit of the game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself.”

The preamble goes on to say: “The spirit of the game involves respect for:

• Your opponents
• Your own captain and team
• The role of the umpires
• The game’s traditional values

Also read: SL vs ZIM: Walter Chawaguta Appointed As Interim Zimbabwe Head Coach After Dave Houghton’s Exit