HAMILTON The national cricket team wraps up their disappointing tour of New Zealand today, hoping to restore lost pride with a better performance in the second and final Twenty20 International (T20I) at Seedon Park in Hamilton.
Zimbabwe have been repeatedly destroyed and demoralised as they brace themselves for the final match of their New Zealand tour which would be their last chance to save face.
It is quite tragic that Zimbabwe have lost all matches as they are perfectly capable of coming up with some good performances with the bat or the ball.
Brendan Taylor has been the ideal captain by leading from the front, scoring two half-centuries from three ODIs (total of 127 at 42,33) while key batters Elton Chigumbura, Regis Chakabva and Tatenda Taibu have all failed to come up with decent performances for Zimbabwe.
Their bowlers too have consistently failed with the New Zealand batters taking them for a plenty of runs. In the ODI series, none of the Zimbabwe bowlers had an economy rate of less than 5 per over.
While the likes of Shingi Masakadza, Kyle Jarvis and Prosper Utseya did manage to pick up some wickets in the ODIs, they also gave away a lot of runs. It was no different in the opening T20I as the bowlers were again scored off for a plenty.
Whatever openings the Zimbabweans have managed to find at any juncture in a match, they have failed to capitalise on the opportunity. There is nothing much that can be said about the Zimbabweans except that this will be their only chance to show some nerve and put up a show that they will be remembered for.
A Zimbabwe win seems highly unlikely, but one could expect them to put up a defiant show in the last match of the tour. New Zealand, however, will just have to maintain their game and look to romp home to another win before they gear up for a much more competitive South African side.
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The Black Caps cruised to a seven-wicket win over the out-gunned Zimbabweans at Eden Park last Saturday night and since then the Black Caps focus has been on the South Africans, whose tour begins on Saturday.
Despite resting Martin Guptill and Jacob Oram, the Black Caps assistant coach Trent Woodhill said they were wary of the wounded tourists, wholl be looking to head home on a high.
