Almost all previous World Cup editions have seen at least one upset. In the last World Cup, there were a couple ufffd Ireland beating Pakistan and Bangladesh seeing off India which hit the subcontinent giants big-time
Almost all previous World Cup editions have seen at least one upset. In the last World Cup, there were a couple ufffd Ireland beating Pakistan and Bangladesh seeing off India which hit the subcontinent giants big-time.
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| John Traicos (left) and a teammate congratulate Duncan Fletcher (right) in Nottingham, 1983. PIC/GETTY IMAGES |
So, an upset cannot be ruled out when Australia meet Zimbabwe here today.
In the 1983 World Cup, Zimbabwe started their campaign with a 13-run shock win over Australia, who had the likes of Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Allan Border and Kepler Wessels.
Duncan Fletcher, who later coached England, was the architect of that historic win. His unbeaten 69 helped Zimbabwe recover from 94 for five to post a respectable 239 for six off 60 overs. Fletcher then took 4-42 with his medium-pace to restrict Australia's chase.u00a0u00a0
"That win was a stepping stone for Zimbabwe cricket. It gave us recognition and ICC's notice too," Zimbabwe's left-arm spinner Ray Price told
MiD DAY after a practice session yesterday. "I don't remember much about that win as it was a long time ago. I was in Grade I and probably must be bowling in my backyard. Some of the guys in the team were not even born when that happened. But we have spoken about it in the team meetings. We all appreciate that win," added the veteran cricketer.
"We are taking inspiration from our World T20 win over Australia (warm-up game in St Lucia, 2010). However, T20 is different than 50-over cricket. Australia is still a very good team and it will require a huge team effort to beat them," said Price.
