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ON FIRE . . . Ryan Burl’s inspired form provided the platform for Zimbabwe’s victory yesterday

Jeffrey Murimbechi
RAYAN BURL’s half century and Patrick Mlambo’s four-wicket haul gave Zimbabwe a comfortable six-wicket victory over Namibia in the ICC Under-19 World Cup ninth place play-off quarter final at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium Nursery 2 in Abu Dhabi at the weekend.The toss went in Zimbabwe’s favour and the Namibians were sent in to bat, managing to score 194 runs for eight wickets off their allotted 50 overs.

Zimbabwe replied with 197 runs for the loss of four wickets in 45,1 overs. Zimbabwean skipper Malcolm Lake was excited by the win.
Lake said he was spoilt for choice for all-rounders and this allowed his team to secure an easy victory.

“The team has a lot of all-rounders hence I have the pleasure of changing my bowlers whenever I feel like. I like it as it gives me a lot of options.”

“The bowling was excellent. We managed to restrict Namibia to a very gettable target. My batsman were never troubled at all as we managed to get the target with a lot of balls to spare and only six wickets down,” said Lake.

Xander Pitchers opened the batting for Namibia and was the top contributor for the dessert teenagers, coming off with 76 runs from 116 deliveries. He formed an 87-run partnership for the sixth wicket with SJ Loftie-Eaton (45).

Patrick Mlambo was the pick of the bowlers, starring with disciplined bowling that rewarded him with four wickets for 31 runs in seven overs, having Pitchers stumped in the 46th over.

Namibia started off well in defending their achievable score when Tinashe Kamunhakamwe was caught behind for a duck in the second over.

Ryan Burl was the mainstay of the run chase, scoring 55 runs from 101 balls in which he built two matching milestone partnerships, firstly amassing 66 runs for the fourth wicket with Kieren Geyle (37) and then a 72-run unbeaten fifth wicket stand with Lake (39) to finish the match

Lake, however, expressed disappointment in his batsmen who have not stood up to his expectations.
“The top order has not fired up to now, the middle order has done better though, but I expected it to do much better when we left home.”
Zimbabwe are preparing to face Bangladesh in the ninth-place playoff semi-final in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Matabeleland Tuskers captain Sean Williams said he cannot ascertain the true intrinsic capabilities of his new-look team ahead of today’s Logan Cup cricket match against the Mountaineers at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Tuskers beat a full-strength Mountaineers side by 10 runs in a Pro50 match on Saturday with Williams leading from the front with 39 runs from 36 balls and taking four wickets for 34 runs off 8.4 overs.

The Bulawayo giants are the two-time defending champions of the four-day game, but Williams fears that a player exodus can no longer guarantee the same disposition that previous teams had.

“Considering that we have lost so many players such as Charles Coventry and Craig Ervine, it is difficult to really say how strong the side is with so many new faces in the side. I am not expecting the world from them right now except for them to try their level best.”

“There is a possibility that the team can give a performance as strong as the one from Saturday where we managed to beat them (Mountaineers).

“If the guys can give off the same fight then there should be a chance, but we will see how things lay off,” said Williams. It will be an almost evened out contest in the four-day game due to senior players being unavailable as the national team will be in camp for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

Tuskers will be without Williams and Chris Mpofu, whose availability is not yet confirmed for the match, while Mountaineers will miss out on Tendai Chatara, Natsai Mushangwe, Shingirai and Hamilton Masakadza and Timycen Maruma.

Williams also reckons that the pitch conditions will suit slower bowlers such as John Nyumbu and Keith Dabengwa and home advantage could even out the odds.

“The pitch is a little bit dry and there is quite a bit of grass on it which makes it easier for our spin bowlers. It is a slow pitch which looks to turn a bit if the grass is cut finer and hopefully our guys will use this to our advantage,” said Williams.

Meanwhile, Southern Rocks are on a high note as they face the Mashonaland Eagles at Masvingo Sports Club, coming from a five-run victory in the pro50 round on Saturday, courtesy of 69 runs coming from Richmond Mutumbami and four wickets from Tinashe Panyangara.

Unfortunately for the Masvingo side, both stars in their victory will be part of the national teams as well, while the Eagles will not be having Sikander Raza, Prosper Utseya and Elton Chigumbura.

Despite home advantage, it will be a colossal task holding off the likes of Nathan Waller, who is oozing with confidence after a five-wicket haul on Saturday and the likes of Chamunorwa Chibhabha and Cephas Zhuwawo, who both missed out on World Cup spots.