Zimbabwe will host South Africa and New Zealand for a two-Test series as well as a T20I triangular series from June 28 to August 11. Zimbabwe will be competing in Test cricket against South Africa for the first time since December 2017 and hosting them for the first time since August 2014. They will also play Test cricket against New Zealand for the first time since August 2016, when New Zealand last toured Zimbabwe.
As quoted by ESPNcricinfo, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) managing director Givemore Makoni called this T20I triangular series and Test series “the biggest international home season we have had in years.”
The season will begin with the Test series against South Africa, scheduled to take place in Bulawayo from June 28 to July 6. Next, the T20I tri-series will follow, with each team playing against the other twice during the league phase, which will run from July 14 to July 24. The top two teams will then compete in the final on July 26. The entire T20I series will be held in Harare.
Following the T20I series, Zimbabwe will play a Test series against New Zealand, also in Bulawayo, from July 30 to August 7.
Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni expressed excitement about hosting South Africa and New Zealand, emphasizing that this major international home season would provide Zimbabwean players with valuable experience against top teams while also boosting the popularity of cricket in the country.
“This is the biggest international home season we have had in years, and it is an incredible opportunity for our players to test themselves against two of the world’s cricketing powerhouses. Hosting South Africa and New Zealand for both Test cricket and an exciting T20I tri-series is a fantastic development for the growth of the game in Zimbabwe,” Makoni said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The last time Zimbabwe hosted a T20I tri-nation series was in July 2018, featuring Australia and Pakistan, with Pakistan emerging as the winner.