Curran calls for patience

Kevin Curran, Zimbabwe's under-fire coach, has asked for patience in the build-up to March's World Cup.

In an interview with the Independent newspaper, Curran admitted that time was running out but said that critics needed to back the side. "We need to remember the team playing now is young and inexperienced," he said. "I can't think of any Zimbabwe team that has won two series in a year, but we've beaten Bangladesh and Canada and Bermuda before that. People tend to forget we've lost about 30 experienced players and we can't build a team overnight.

"We are playing the best sides in the world, not Uganda, and people have to see it in that perspective. Our soccer teams don't get to play England or Brazil, otherwise they would be thrashed.

"They are getting better with each game. It's not an easy task. If you look at Australia, your Shane Warnes and Ricky Pontings have not been stars overnight but they have been there for like 15 years."

And Curran maintained that the recent poor form which has seen them lose 12 ODIs on the trot does not necessarily bode ill for the World Cup. "We have Australia in a warm-up and we will see how we perform. We'll obviously have to beat Ireland in our group and then try to beat Pakistan or West Indies. We put up solid resistance against the Windies last year and it's possible to upset them. Pakistan are a tough side but in one-day cricket anything can happen. Hopefully we can catch them on their bad day.

"However, we mustn't expect too much too soon from the boys. They need everyone's support."