Nkomo: ‘I wouldn’t want to experience that again’

Josephine Nkomo arrived at the crease with Zimbabwe’s hopes in her hands.

It was the 16th over of their 2023 T20 World Cup Qualifier semi-final against Ireland. Zimbabwe were chasing 138 and were 99 for 4. Needing 39 runs in 29 balls, the pressure was building.

They lost two wickets in the next 14 balls and only scored nine runs. If they were going to get over the line, Nkomo would have to take them there.

She took two runs off the next ball and hit the one after that for four which made the equation 24 from 12 balls. Tough but not impossible. Nkomo found another four off the last ball of the 19th over which meant they needed 15 runs off the final six balls and she was not on strike. Her partner, Precious Marange, scored seven off the first four balls before Nkomo watched a wide and snuck one, leaving Marange to hit six off the last ball to secure victory.

It didn’t happen.

“What I remember is terrible, absolute loss,” Nkomo told ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. “I really thought we could get over the line. It was heartbreaking. I remember watching from the other end and there was nothing that I could do at that time. I was heartbroken. I was just shattered. And I also thought for my team-mates after all the effort, getting so close and not getting over the line. I felt that maybe if you don’t even get to the semi-finals, the heartbreak is much better than when you’re so close but you don’t get over the line. So I wouldn’t want to experience that again.”

Over the next 10 days, Zimbabwe have the chance to make sure Nkomo, and the 11 other squad members who witnessed that defeat first-hand in 2022 don’t go through that again as they play in the 2024 T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi.

They are grouped with Ireland, Netherlands, UAE and Vanuatu, and must finish in the top two to reach the semi-final, where they will face one of Sri Lanka, Scotland, Thailand, Uganda or the USA and must win that knockout game to qualify for the World Cup. Sri Lanka, who have won series in England and South Africa, and Ireland, who beat Zimbabwe to a place at the last T20 World Cup, are the favourites and Zimbabwe will want to top their group to avoid Sri Lanka in the semis. It’s a cut-throat event which rewards the sides that can handle pressure over five matches best. Zimbabwe now have some experience of that.

Last month, they won the inaugural cricket event at the Africa Games where they defeated South Africa in a Super Over in the final. Though their group matches were all against teams ranked lower than them and the final was not an official T20I because South Africa fielded an emerging side, Zimbabwe still took a lot from the experience.

“We really had a good time out there in Ghana. We had a successful tournament as a team and against South Africa and we got over the line,” Nkomo said. “It was an exciting game with so much adrenaline in it and we really had a lot of fun.”

Incidentally, it was Nkomo who hit the winning runs in the Super Over and taking on a leadership role in crunch moments has become part of her overall approach to the game. She is one of a handful of Zimbabwean players who has experience abroad and has played club cricket in both Australia and England, which have informed her game awareness.

“I got the opportunity to play with Elyse Villani and just by watching her and having conversations with her really helped me a lot,” Nkomo said. “She’s got so much knowledge to share. I used to watch her games a lot, especially when she played the Women’s National Premier League and afterwards I would go and ask things like why they had such fielding positions, why did they do this, why did they do that and I really learned a lot from just watching them. We used to play in the same club as well,” Nkomo said.

“In England, I got the opportunity to take responsibility a lot because, in club cricket, if you’re the pro there, it means all responsibilities are on you. So I took that back home as well. I know how to play my role more than before. And I know how to be responsible and to take responsibility for my own game.”

Now, Nkomo and the rest of the women’s team have to take responsibility for the relevance of cricket in their country. Zimbabwe’s men’s team failed twice last year in their efforts to qualify for a World Cup which means that the earliest they could appear at a global tournament is the T20 World Cup in 2026. The women’s team have two opportunities before that: this year’s T20 World Cup and next year’s ODI World Cup.

They understand that for now, keeping Zimbabwe present as an international quality side is up to them. They also recognise the opportunity it provides for them as a team: to be seen on a world stage.

“It would mean a lot because this is what we’ve been waiting for. This is what we’ve been learning for. And this is the time to grab that opportunity,” Nkomo said. “It will change our lives. For sure it will, in a positive way.”