Zimbabwe's opening batter Brian Bennett is the talk of the town after becoming his country's leading run-scorer at a T20 World Cup, and currently sits second on the overall charts. It caps off a breakthrough 18 months in which Bennett has debuted across all formats and scored centuries in all of them. On the eve of Zimbabwe's final match of the tournament, against South Africa, Bennett sat down with ESPNcricinfo to talk about his journey through the competition and his hopes for the future.
You've had an incredible run through this T20 World Cup. Can you tell us how it has felt to have these kinds of results?
It's been pretty amazing. I'm obviously super excited that we got to the Super Eight. We are the first Zimbabwean team to get the Super Eight in the T20 World Cup which was really special. I am just grateful for the opportunity for us to come here and play, especially in India as well. Overall, just very happy that we've been able to do what we've been able to do.
This is your first senior World Cup but you look completely at home and have only been dismissed once in five innings so far. How did you prepare and adapt so quickly?
I have been on tours to Sri Lanka before (in January 2024 and August 2025), so I knew what to expect from the conditions but it was still surprising that I didn't get out in the first three innings. I surprised myself as well. The main goal for me is to just hang in there, get a good start to the powerplay and carry on knocking it around during the middle phases to give us more wickets at the back end to sort of fire on and go to higher strike rates.
There's one game tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. But I'm very proud of not only my accomplishments, but also the team's. It's been different for us in India and many of us haven't played here. I've only been to India once when I was about 14 or 15 for with the Heath Streak academy but it was nothing compared to this.
"Everyone wants to play in the IPL. It's the main league, and there's lots of leagues going on now." Brian Bennett on his IPL prospects
Let's start with the India game. Though Zimbabwe lost, it was your best performance. There's been a lot of talk about you not getting to a century. How much was that on your mind?
I wasn't actually. I was more just trying to focus on what I can do and what I can do for the team. Obviously, 250 was always going to be a hard chase, so it was more about just thinking about what I can learn and what the team can learn in those situations. I wasn't really thinking about the hundred at all. Towards the back end, maybe the last two overs, I thought about it. But I had said to the guys behind me: "You do you. Don't worry about what I'm on. There's always going to be another time."
I'm still young. There might be another couple of times where I can get the 100. So, I wasn't too frustrated about that. I was more worried about giving guys, sort of the back-end guys, that chance to sort of experience what it's like. Because there's going to be times, special situations where we need to go and sort of go hard at the back end.
Do you think it could have caught the attention of some of the IPL franchises?
Everyone wants to play in the IPL. It's the main league, and there's lots of leagues going on now. You never know. I hope that does open doors somewhere. But I'll just wait and see what happens. Whatever happens, happens.
Was Jasprit Bumrah the toughest you faced?
He was very tough. It's the first time I faced him, so it was always going to be a challenge but if you play international cricket, there's no easy bowler or easy team that you're going to play. For me, it's just sort of soaking in the experience and trying to learn as much as possible, even whilst playing the game.
Let's go back a bit to how you came to cricket. We know you went to one of the best sporting schools in the country. Was it always cricket?
It wasn't always just cricket but we grew up playing cricket. Before I started going to primary school with my two brothers, my dad always bought us a net at home. It hasn't always been cricket. Throughout my school career, I played hockey, squash and I played a little bit of tennis as well. Cricket was probably the first one and maybe hockey, and a little bit of rugby every now and then. But I wasn't big enough for rugby. After school, I think hockey sort of had to go, because you can't really sort of make it a career out of it, especially. So cricket was sort of my dream from a very young age.
My twin brother, David, also played and we were together at the Under-19 World Cup in the Caribbean. He has decided to go to uni and study in England. He's actually in his third year now, so he's finishing in July. He plays every now and then on the weekends but he doesn't really play too seriously. We're different.
Your rise seems to have happened at speed. Have you had the time to reflect on it?
It happened very quickly. I'm sort of trying to still sort of soak it all in. I remember before I made my debut, after I came back from Kingswood, I was being coached by BT (Brendan Taylor) about four times a week. He said to me, 'It's going to happen quickly. Just make sure you're ready when it comes.' In a matter of six months, I was in the national team already.
You scored a hundred in your second Test and then another in England last May. At that time, we spoke to one of your school coaches, South Africa's Andrew Birch, when you scored your Test hundred and he said one of the things that stood out about you was that as a young batter, you were not scared of the short ball. How did that come about?
I'm not too sure. That's just probably one of my strengths, but I think it could also be one of my weaknesses as well. I just love the short ball because then I can just swing my bat and try to hit as far as possible. The main thing is just watching the ball and if it does come into my scoring areas and my strong zones, I'll try to catch it.
Have you ever been hit?
Definitely. I actually got concussed in the South African Test match (by Kwena Maphaka). I have been hit once or twice, also a couple of times in the nets as well, but I'm not too fussed.
You've got two of the tallest bowlers in the game in Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava in your squad. Does facing them help?
None of our batters really like facing them but I think that gets you ready when you come into the game. You have experience before of high pace already. So when it comes to the game, it's all about just reacting and your body will sort of take control of whatever comes your way.
The two of them made a big statement as soon as the tournament started with six wickets between them against Oman, but you took one of the great catches in that game. What do you remember about taking it?
I didn't know it was the ninth wicket as well, so I didn't even know they were going to be all out, I literally just threw the ball up. The wind was actually pushing it closer to me, so I thought maybe I could get to it. In the end, I just heard Burley (Ryan Burl) just say, "Benny, yours! I was like, "Okay, shucks, I need to get a move on."
And then at the end, I just literally just dived and fell down and the ball was in my hand. So I definitely surprised myself with that one as well. I think Tony (Munyonga's) is better than mine, actually. High pressure again against Australia, so…
And beating Australia must be the stuff of dreams?
Exactly. That's what we talked about and it came true.
Your innings in that match was much more of an anchoring one. Was that a deliberate tactic?
I don't think it was an easy pitch for new batters to just come in and then just start teeing off on the first ball. So it was more of trying to get your eye in and then, obviously, save some wickets for the back end. When we got 160, 170 or whatever [169] it was, I thought it was a decent score. It's not going to be easy for Australians, especially if we hit our straps, especially with our seniors. I was very, very happy to have beaten them.
You've been compared to Craig Ervine quite a lot, especially by Taylor, was he someone you looked up to?
It's a bit of a joke in the team. They call Craig my dad. He's been captain for a while, even before I started playing. He's always someone I looked up to, because he's the national team captain. He was definitely one of them. Sean Williams, BT, (Sikandar) Raza.
Who do you enjoy watching play?
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Have you met either of them?
No but when I was young, Trevor Penney was coaching India at the time when they came to Zimbabwe. I remember getting my two brothers and my mum and I and we were at the Indian team bus at (Harare) Sports Club and he walked up to us and gave us his shirt. I watch him all the time on the TV but it's not like I try to copy him. I just like watching him play.
At a young age, you seem to have mastered being able to switch between formats. How do you do that?
Test matches are a little bit different, because you don't not worry about the scoreboard too much. In the white-ball games, the game is evolving so fast and so quickly that you have to try and adapt to what's happening. T20 is a little bit more aggressive, but ODIs as well, I think, just to try and keep that positive mindset, be aggressive, especially in the powerplays. It's mainly just doing what I can do. If the ball comes in my area, I'm going to try and hit it. And if I go out, then so be it.
That hasn't always been the Zimbabwean way and especially in eras of more brittle batting line-up, guys would be a bit more conservative. What makes you so proactive?
I'd say probably coaching staff. There's a lot of backing in the batting department. So there's lots of talk that if it's in your area, if you go out or you hit it for six, so be it. Don't worry too much about the outcome. Worry about what your mind is saying and what you're trying to do out there. And if it doesn't come off, then it's fine. You've got another chance next game.
Are you a planner? Have you thought about where you want to be in five or ten years' time?
A little bit but not too much. I'm still trying to find my feet in the cricketing space. I'm still young, so I've still got a long time ahead of me. So I think maybe in a couple of years' time when I get a bit older, a bit mature, I can start thinking about that stuff. It's mainly just cricket and seeing how far I can go, how well I can play. I've just started. We're co-hosting the ODI World Cup, and then we've qualified for the 2028 T20 World Cup, so there's a lot of cricket to look forward to in the next couple of years for not only myself, but as well as Zimbabwe and youngsters coming forward.
What has been the highlight so far?
My Test hundred in England is probably one of the standout innings. That was absolutely special: a full-packed Trent Bridge against England and in England was amazing.I had my family there as well, both brothers and a lot of Zimbabwean fans in the crowd as well. So that was probably the highlight of my career so far.
Better than the last three weeks?
I'd say the last three weeks have been pretty close, but a Test hundred in England, tops the charts for me.
And what are you looking forward to when you return home?
Maybe a lot of golf. I don't think I'll touch my cricket bag for maybe a couple of weeks, but then we've got our domestic cricket going on at the moment. We'll have maybe one or two weeks off and then get straight back into that. Definitely a couple of rounds of golf and then maybe a holiday, if I can fit that in somewhere.