Zimbabwe ODI Squad Features Raza, Cremer and Taylor Against Australia
Zimbabwe have named a 15-man squad for their ODI series against Australia, and it reads like a collision of eras.
Sikandar Raza will captain the side, stepping in for regular ODI skipper Richard Ngarava, who is sidelined with a lower-back injury. Raza, already the heartbeat of Zimbabwe’s white-ball cricket, now carries the armband into one of the toughest assignments in the format.
But it’s the names around him that jolt the memory.
Cremer’s second act
Graeme Cremer is back.
The former captain, who last played an ODI in 2018, returns to the 50-over setup in a move that underlines Zimbabwe’s desire for experience and craft. The leg-spinner’s only ODI outing against Australia came at the 2011 World Cup, a reminder of just how long this story has been running.
Cremer has been edging his way back into international cricket. He reappeared in the T20I setup last year, featured at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, then turned out again in the Namibia T20I tri-series. Now he walks into a marquee ODI series, asked to reprise a role he once owned.
Taylor closes in on Flower
If Cremer’s return tugs at one thread of nostalgia, Brendan Taylor’s comeback pulls at another entirely.
Taylor, 40, is back in the ODI squad having briefly resurfaced for two matches against Sri Lanka in 2025 after a four-year break. He is already Zimbabwe’s second-highest run-scorer in ODIs and stands just 81 runs short of Andy Flower’s all-time national record.
The equation is simple. One good series against Australia, and Taylor can climb past the most iconic batting name in Zimbabwe’s history. Harare Sports Club has seen plenty over the decades; it may yet witness another landmark.
With Taylor in the mix, Zimbabwe also have a second wicketkeeping option in Tadiwanashe Marumani, who offers a younger, more contemporary profile behind the stumps.
Injuries bite the attack
Not all of the headlines are romantic.
Ngarava’s absence strips Zimbabwe of their frontline left-arm quick and their regular ODI captain. He is not alone in the treatment room. Tendai Chatara, a long-time pillar of the pace attack, also misses out with an Achilles tendon injury, leaving a noticeable hole in the seam department.
Clive Madande, who kept wicket in the previous ODI series against Bangladesh in July, has not been selected this time. His omission, despite recent involvement, underlines how sharply the selectors have pivoted towards experience for this contest.
Australia return to Harare
Australia’s arrival will stir more than just curiosity. Zimbabwe last hosted them for an ODI in 2014, during a triangular series that also featured South Africa. That tournament produced one of Zimbabwe’s most cherished modern wins, a shock victory over Australia at Harare Sports Club.
The stage is the same now, even if the stakes and faces have shifted.
All three matches of this series will be played at Harare Sports Club, on 15, 18 and 20 September. A familiar venue, a heavyweight opponent, and a squad that blends veterans chasing one last statement with a core of players trying to define Zimbabwe’s future.
For Raza, Cremer, and Taylor, it’s more than just another bilateral series. It’s a chance to bend the arc of Zimbabwe’s ODI story, again, against one of the game’s hardest measuring sticks.
