zimcricketnews.com

The fixture list for next year's World Twenty20 tournament has been released. The draw hasn't been particularly kind to Zimbabwe, who have landed in group C along with South Africa and hosts Sri Lanka. The group fixtures are:

18 September 2012       Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe            Hambantota
20 September 2012       South Africa v Zimbabwe         Hambantota
22 September 2012       Sri Lanka v South Africa        Hambantota

Top two sides from the group will qualify for the Super Eight, played in two groups of four, with the top two sides from those groups then going on to the semi-finals. Full details on the Fixtures page.

Following the recent confirmation by the New Zealand government that they would not prevent Zimbabwe touring the country, New Zealand Cricket have posted an itinerary for Zimbabwe's scheduled tour, due to take place at the beginning of 2012. The tour includes one Test, 3 ODIs and 2 Twenty20 Internationals. Here are the dates:

26-30 January 2012     Only Test           McLean Park, Napier
3 February 2012        1st ODI             University Oval, Dunedin
6 February 2012        2nd ODI             Cobham Oval, Whangarei
9 February 2012        3rd ODI             McLean Park, Napier
12 February 2012       1st T20I            Eden Park, Auckland
14 February 2012       2nd T20I            Seddon Park, Hamilton

That'll be our first Test outside Zimbabwe in a loooong time...
[Source: New Zealand Cricket]

Just done a monster update to our Fixtures page, with full schedules for the following series:

Triangular 'A' Series (Australia 'A', South Africa 'A', Zimbabwe XI)
Australia 'A' in Zimbabwe
Bangladesh in Zimbabwe
Pakistan in Zimbabwe
New Zealand in Zimbabwe

That list includes three Test matches - 2 in Bulawayo, 1 in Harare - and I have to say it felt good typing them in.

Dates are in for the rescheduled MetBank Pro40 semi-finals - if you remember, the first attempt at finals weekend was completely washed out.

Friday 25 March: Mountaineers v Midwest Rhinos
Saturday 26 March: Matabeleland Tuskers v Southern Rocks

I assume the final will take place on the 27th, but that's not yet confirmed. Matches to be played at Harare Sports Club.

Zimbabwe U19 are currently in South Africa - they've been taking part in the franchise Cubs Week tournament (without much success), but they've also got a full schedule against South Africa U19 starting tomorrow. Here's the fixture list:

11 January 2011         SA U19 Invitation XI v Zimbabwe U19     Boland Bank Park, Paarl
13 January 2011         SA U19 v Zimbabwe U19: 1st Youth ODI    Northerns-Goodwood Cricket Club Oval, Cape Town
15 January 2011         SA U19 v Zimbabwe U19: 2nd Youth ODI    Stellenbosch University Ground
16 January 2011         SA U19 v Zimbabwe U19: 3rd Youth ODI    Bridge House School, Franschoek
18 January 2011         SA U19 v Zimbabwe U19: 4th Youth ODI    Boland Bank Park, Paarl
20 January 2011         SA U19 v Zimbabwe U19: 5th Youth ODI    Newlands, Cape Town
22 January 2011         SA U19 v Zimbabwe U19: 1st Youth T20I   Boland Bank Park, Paarl
23 January 2011         SA U19 v Zimbabwe U19: 2nd Youth T20I   PP Smit Stadium, Bellville, Cape Town

Zimbabwe Women will take part in the Africa Region World Cup Qualifier later this month - you can find the full fixture list for the tourney on our Fixtures page. South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and hosts Kenya will also feature, with all matches set to be played in Nairobi. Zimbabwe have named a 16-player squad for the competition:

Sinikiwe Mpofu, Nonhlanhla Nyathi, Ashley Burdett, Chipo Mugeri, Pellagia
Mujaji, Julia Chibhabha, Christabel Chatonzwa, Monalisa Chimutashu, Sharyce
Saili, Nyasha Gauzeni, Precious Marange, Ashley Ndiraya, Sarah Dambanevana,
Thandolwenkosi Mlilo, Sharne Mayers

Good luck to them. Zim's last outing in the competition wasn't exactly stellar - they failed to qualify for the next stage of qualifying - but ZC's preparations this year have apparently been somewhat more thorough.
[Source: ZC]

Zimbabwe head to Bangladesh at the end of the month for a 5-ODI series. Here's the fixture list:

29 November 2010	BCB XI v Zimbabwe	Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan Ground, Savar
1 December 2010		1st ODI			Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
3 December 2010		2nd ODI			Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
6 December 2010		3rd ODI			Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
10 December 2010	4th ODI			Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
12 December 2010	5th ODI			Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

The fixture list for this year's Stanbic Twenty20 has been released:

13 November 2010	Midwest Rhinos v Southern Rocks			10:00
			Matabeleland Tuskers v Mashonaland Eagles	14:00
14 November 2010	Southern Rocks v Mashonaland Eagles		10:00
			Mountaineers v Midwest Rhinos			14:00
16 November 2010	Mountaineers v Mashonaland eagles		14:00
17 November 2010	Southern Rocks v Matabaleland Tuskers		10:00
			Midwest Rhinos v Mashonaland Eagles		14:00
18 November 2010	Mountaineers v Matabeleland Tuskers		14:00
19 November 2010	Mountaineers v Southern Rocks			10:00
			Midwest Rhinos v Matabeleland Tuskers		14:00
20 November 2010	SF1: 1st vs 4th					10:00
			SF2: 2nd vs 3rd					14:00
21 November 2010	Play-off (Losers SF1 & SF2)			10:00
			Final						14:00

No Desert Vipers this year, which is a disappointment, but it seems that a decent lineup of big name players have been lured by the mighty ZC dollar again this year, so it should be a good spectacle. Word from ZC last year what that this edition would be played in Bulawayo - not so, as all matches will be at Harare Sports Club - while all matches appear to be daytime games.

Ireland have confirmed a 14-man squad for their upcoming trip to Zimbabwe, which includes an Intercontinental Cup fixture against Zimbabwe XI and three ODIs against the senior side. With Ireland currently ahead of Zimbabwe in the ICC ODI rankings, Ireland are keen to underscore their superiority against Zim, and coach Phil Simmons is hopeful of a good series:

"It's an important trip for a variety of reasons. We're currently ranked 10th in the world above Zimbabwe, and we want to not only keep our position but close in on, and possibly overhaul Bangladesh. We haven't given up hope of still qualifying for the final of the Intercontinental Cup. A full points win would keep us in with a chance, so we'll be striving all out to achieve that."

It's also a chance for the Irish players to prove form ahead of the next cricket World Cup. The full squad is: William Porterfield (captain), Andre Botha, George Dockrell, Allan Eastwood (Pembroke), Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wkt), Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert Van De Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson (wkt).
CricInfo - Porterfield back to lead Ireland in Zimbabwe

The preliminary schedule for New Zealand 'A's tour of Zimbabwe has been released, with on warm-up match and three 4-day matches against Zimbabwe 'A' featuring. Venues have yet to be confirmed, and the tour is subject to New Zealand Cricket carrying out a satisfactory security assessment beforehand. Here are the dates:

4-5 October 2010	TBA v New Zealand 'A'
8-11 October 2010	Zimbabwe 'A' v New Zealand 'A'
15-18 October 2010	Zimbabwe 'A' v New Zealand 'A'
22-25 October 2010	Zimbabwe 'A' v New Zealand 'A'

The New Zealand squad for the series is: James Franklin (capt), Graeme Aldridge, Brent Arnel, Nick Beard, Dean Brownlie, Daniel Flynn, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Jamie How, Peter Ingram, Tim McIntosh, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel, Bhupinder Singh, Reece Young.