Utseya confident ahead of Kenya tour

Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwe's captain, has said his team are well-prepared for the tri-series in Kenya later this month which also features Ireland.

"They [Kenya and Ireland] will want to prove a point," Utseya told the Zimbabwe Independent. "We must take it as a challenge. We need to keep it simple. For the past three months we have been preparing hard for this. I can safely say we are ready."

Zimbabwe will also play a four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Canada before they head to Kenya. "The Canada Cup was on short notice so we are mainly focusing on the Kenya tournament. The Canada Cup will be good preparation for Kenya although the conditions will be different. But in terms of playing cricket it will be good."

With three key players - Brendan Taylor, Vusi Sibanda and Sean Williams - missing, Utseya said the other seniors needed to perform consistently if Zimbabwe are to put up a good show. "I think [the] guys need to be consistent and play to win all the time," he said. "If we can get all the senior guys averaging 40 plus in both tournaments we will come right."

Utseya was concerned about the lack of international cricket for Zimbabwe. "I think we've got guys who can play Test cricket," he said. "But we don't play as many games as we should. If we have a programme that's always full we won't have problems. Like now we last played international cricket in February. If we play more often then the guys will be ready (for Test matches)."

Utseya, 23, struggled with his form after he was first made captain in 2006 and talked about the challenges of leading a young side. "I've been trying to be consistent. But then we keep losing players and the team keeps changing, so it has been a little difficult. But on my part I've been trying to concentrate on things that I can control."

Zimbabwe leave for Canada on October 8. Their three league games are scheduled for the October 10, 11 and 12, with the final on October 13. They depart for Kenya on the 15th and will play two stages in the round-robin league, with the top two teams qualifying for the final.