A Castle in The Chevrons Corner: Zimbabwe cricketers’ family-like bond with fan group

By Agencies

NEW DELHI: Instead of heading back to the dressing room at the end of a gutsy but gruelling T20 World Cup campaign, Zimbabwe’s exhausted cricketers sprinted towards a corner of the spectators’ stands to thank half a dozen supporters who they consider family.

The supporters belong to the Castle Corner, a fan group that travels to cheer the Zimbabwe team.

Inspirational skipper Sikandar Raza was not part of the group that acknowledged the support from the loyal fans who secured last minute funding to travel to India for the Super 8 leg of the tournament after witnessing the team’s unbeaten campaign in Sri Lanka.

However, he ran towards the ‘Castle Corner’ after finishing a TV interview following his special all-round performance, albeit in a five-wicket loss to South Africa.

Castle Corner holds a special place in the heart of the players, so much so that every member of the team knows the fans and their family members by name.

For background, Castle Corner is the name of a stand at the Harare Sports Club back home.

With their infectious energy, members of the group also brought the neutral Delhi residents on their side during Sunday’s game.

Every dismissal was hugely cheered as Zimbabwe took three wickets in the powerplay after posting a below 153 for seven. Proteas eventually chased down the target comfortably.

The love and respect for Zimbabwe was because of their giant-killing run in the tournament. A team that was toiling in nondescript locations 18 months ago pulled off upsets against the mighty Australia and Sri Lanka.

“Like you said, not many teams or people gave us a chance (in the tournament). Most importantly, even if you look at it today, we were out, but I have huge respect for Delhi and the crowd.

“The way they were chanting Zimbabwe, the ultimate goal for me and for my team was to earn respect,” said Raza in his campaign-ending media interaction.

“And hearing Zimbabwe and the fans and the crowd coming up for this so-called dead rubber and support Zimbabwe, it tells you that we are going home with a lot of respect,” said the 39-year-old, who wishes to continue playing in his 40s.

The warmth in Raza’s voice was evident from the manner in which he spoke about his relationship with the Castle Corner.

“We have a personal relation with them. We know each member of the Castle Corner. We know their families, the kids, and everything. So they are not just fans for us. They are pretty much part of our cricketing family,” said Raza, who has been fasting in the holy month of ramadan.

“So our relationship with Castle Corner runs a lot deeper than just our relation with fans. And lastly, on the crowd to Delhi, I just want to say thank you very much. The chanting of Zimbabwe, the support you guys have showed us, and the respect and love you guys have shown us.

“I’m going home with a lot of very fond memories and I’ll forever be grateful to this Delhi crowd,” added the Pakistan-born cricketer.

For Castle Corner this tournament was never just about results. It was about visibility. About showing up.

“It’s always beautiful when you meet your countrymen. The bigger the crowd, the better. We’re making so much noise, we’re happy. The game has been competitive so far, so that makes it even better,” said Godwin Mamhiyo, an accountant by profession and one of the travelling fans.

What began as a plan to attend matches in Colombo – with savings pooled together – gradually extended into India. The six members were sponsored by a company to travel further after an ESPNcricinfo story on them went viral.

“Last year, a group of us came together and decided that it’s not every day you get a World Cup in Asia. Asia is a cricket hotspot – Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India – they all love cricket. We wanted to experience that.

“So we came together as a group, put money together, and managed to go to Colombo for the group stages. Then a company called Delta sponsored six of us to come to India. It’s been beautiful.”

By the time they reached Delhi, they already had the support and the numbers. What remained was organisation, and social media did the rest.

“Yes, mainly through social media,” Mamhiyo explains when asked how the group coordinated. “The embassy also reached out to some of the students here, and then we created a big group.”

For the six, it was their first visit to India. “Look, this is India – they live cricket, breathe cricket, they dream of cricket. As a cricket fan, to be in this environment is special.

“As you can see, the Zimbabwe fans and the Indian fans are together, having fun. I must say, the Indian people have been great to us; they’ve been lovely. We hope to come back with an even bigger crowd next time.”