BY KEVIN MAPASURE AFTER surviving a mighty scare on Tuesday against 16th ranked Namibia in the first of their five match T-20 series, the Zimbabwe national men’s cricket team will look to put up an improved show in the second match at Queens Sports Club this afternoon.
In the first match, Craig Ervine’s 55 not out and Sikandar Raza’s 37 laid the bedrock for their win, but the home side know that they will need more runs against this Namibian group, which showed that they have what it takes to cause an upset.
Zimbabwe is using this series to prepare for the T-20 World Cup qualifiers in July.
Ervine’s men did well with the ball, with Tendai Chatara using his experience to restrict the Namibians who needed 14 runs to win from the final over as Zimbabwe ran out winners by seven runs.
With international cricket having returned to Bulawayo after a long period, the local fans have a real treat in this series with Namibia showing that they can be a tough opponent.
With 153 runs on the board Zimbabwe could have fallen short on Tuesday and with that in mind the selectors could take out Donald Tiripano, who bowled a single over in that match and likely replace him with Tony Munyonga or Innocent Kaia.
Openers Wessley Madhevere and Regis Chakabva will be hoping to lay stronger foundations this time around.
The hosts are well aware that they are in a fight for places in the squad for the July World Cup qualifiers.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Zimbabwe will also be thinking about a plan on how to combat explosive Namibian opener Divan la Cock, who scored 66 runs from 43 balls, hitting five maximums and the boundary on three occasions.
Probable Teams
Zimbabwe: Regis Chakabva, Wesseley Madhevere, Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Brandon Mavuta, Tony Munyonga, Tendayi Chatara, Tanaka Chivanga
Namibia: Craig Williams, Divan la Cock, Gerhard Erasmus, Jan Nicole Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green, David Wiese, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jan Frylinck, Pikky ya France, Bernard Scholtz, Tangeni Lingameni
- Follow us on Twitter@NewsDayZimbabwe
