The Men's World Cup qualifying matches are set to go on as planned at the Harare Sports Club because of the quick response of firefighters to put out a fire at the stadium on Tuesday night. From Thursday to Monday, four Super Six games, and the championship game are all set to take place there.
Around 10 p.m. (local time), images and videos surfaced on social media that showed the fire roaring just metres from stands at the southern end of the field. The stand appeared to be covered in tall flames. Before the stand was damaged, the briefly towering inferno was put out. After surveying the area on Wednesday, an ICC security team was confident that there would be no danger to spectator safety for the remaining games at the venue. The area has been declared safe for the matches.
Zimbabwe Cricket said in a statement on Wednesday that "no damage was caused to any of the structures at the ground" and that Thursday's match between Nepal and West Indies "will not be affected and proceed as scheduled".
As with all of the home team's previous matches, the game was well-attended by a boisterous audience that significantly contributed to a spectacle that produced 634 runs and 10 wickets. And which, in the eyes of Zimbabwe's supporters, led to the desired outcome.
