At Harare Sports Club, 2023 World Cup qualifying matches will go on as planned 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 pm (local time), images and videos were shared 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.
According to sources cited by Cricbuzz, the thatched covering that had been removed from a structure that was undergoing renovation and laid at floor level served as the fire’s fuel. The cause of the thatch’s fire is unknown.
Harare Sports Club: Key Aspect for 2023 World Cup
Robert Mugabe lived in Zimbabwe House shortly after becoming prime minister in 1980. It is a tightly guarded and significant government structure across Fifth Street from HSC. It is now utilised for important meetings where President Emmerson Mnangagwa occasionally participates, which undoubtedly contributed to the Harare Fire Brigade’s quick response to the situation.
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 HSC. The area has been made playable.
The fire raged near a well-liked pub called Castle Corner, which had a thatched roof before current renovations, in the part of the stadium that is busiest and loudest during games and where the fire first started.
However, no spectators were present when the flames were spotted jumping around six hours after Zimbabwe defeated the Netherlands by six wickets and with just under ten overs remaining after chasing down a total of 316.
It would have been cruel and unreasonable to have moved HSC’s games to another location in order to put out the supporters’ fire. It probably would have affected Zimbabwe’s prospects of reaching the 2023 World Cup in India, which is the award for the winners of both qualifiers.
Zimbabwe, encouraged by their ardent fan base, has won both of their group games and is preparing for a confrontation against West Indies on Saturday at HSC.
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