CRAIG Ervine has nearly 100 ODI caps, but in the complex world of parenthood, he is as fresh as any debutant. Last week, the 34-year-old welcomed his first child, Jake Rory Ervine.

"It is completely different, innings and lots of unknowns, but also lots of firsts and an exciting journey to be a part of," said the Zimbabwe batsman, who has 93 ODIs under his belt.

"Fortunately, I have a very supportive wife (Belinda). She is a great mother to my son, so he is in very good hands," said Ervine.

On the cricket field, Ervine has experienced all sorts of feelings. After all, he was the guy on strike for the last ball in that UAE World Cup Qualifier heart-break.

He also led Zimbabwe to a famous ODI win over New Zealand, finishing the innings with a six as Zimbabwe romped to a seven-wicket win, chasing 304 while achieving his best score of 130 at Harare Sports Club in 2015.

But all the emotions coming from the ongoing 'dark period' of payless months, Zimbabwe Cricket's suspension by ICC and missing out on World T20 Qualification, are nothing when compared to how Ervine felt when he became a dad. "Nothing can prepare you for what you feel when your child is born, after waiting anxiously for nine months. lt is an incredible feeling to witness the birth of your first child.

"We are still adjusting to parenthood, but it is so rewarding to wake up with the little guy next to us. There is so much love."

But while Ervine and Belinda were dealing with baby Jake's development in his mother's womb, Ervine's cricket life was taking a challenging twist. Fortunately, what was happening on and off the cricket field did not affect the little bun in the oven. "It was a difficult time because no one could really predict the outcome of the situation, planning ahead was out of the equation. "This made our situation extremely difficult. "Thankfully, we had no issues throughout the birth, all is well at the moment," said Ervine.

At 34, life after cricket is now Ervine's focus.

"It is always on the back of your mind, that cricket will not last forever. Sportsmen's careers are very short. "I have given it a lot of thought. I will play for as long as I am enjoying being on the field. "Sometimes it is hard to enjoy it with what goes on off the field. lt is easy to get affected by the politics.

"But later on in life, when I look back at my cricket career, I would like to know that I gave it everything. I am blessed to have achieved so much. I am grateful for the support, many people have been with me along the way, they have kept me going."

Zimbabwe are set to tour Bangladesh for a T20 tri-series featuring the hosts Bangladesh and Afghanistan in September.

It will be Zimbabwe's first action since the tour of Europe, which coincided with ZC's suspension by the ICC in July.

"After all the dust has settled, players have the right to know what really happened behind the closed doors. We are the ones that suffered the most in the whole situation.

"I look forward to the tour and hope that things will be resolved by the time of our departure to enable players to be in the right frame of mind when they represent their country. At the end of the day, the public only see the results, not what transpired beforehand. But that' is very important." Ervine has a heart for young players. In 2105, he played a role in getting the Chevrons to visit a local orphanage.

"We visited an orphanage called Eden Children's Village, where my parents have worked since the early 2000s. The orphanage is situated in Doma. lt is a very established organisation, which has over 150 orphans.

"My dad is involved in teaching them cricket. We decided, it would be a great day out if a few guys could get out there and show the orphans a few tricks. "I hope to arrange another trip soon. I' am sure the guys will be impressed to see how far the kids have come."

Recently, he rubbed shoulders with some young players in the Bonza Spar T20's in Bulawayo."I played the first round of the Bonza Spar T20's in Bulawayo and would have loved to carry on with helping the youngsters down there. Of late, my time has been taken up with family."