The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
With the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers expected to start in a couple of days, a few of the teams expected to take part in the tournament got a little time in the sun to get a feel of the venues and conditions during warm-up matches played on Tuesday.
There were some confidence-boosting wins for Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe – four of the odds-on favourites for the tournament – during the five games that were played in Bulawayo and Harare.
The Netherlands did, however, get close to an upset win against one of the tournament giants, Sri Lanka, in Bulawayo.
Some friendly bowling conditions early on saw the Dutch side slip to 28/4, but a middle-order revival helped them to a total of 214 all out in 45.3 overs, with Teja Nidamanuru (41 runs from 62 balls), Scott Edwards (35 runs from 48 balls) and Saqib Zulfiqar (56 runs from 64 balls) being the main contributors.
Kasun Rajitha was the stand-out performer with the ball, taking 3/19 in seven overs, while Maheesh Theekshana bagged 2/36 from his 10, and Dhananjaya de Silva took 2/19 from four.
There were also wickets for Lahiru Kumara, Chamika Karunaratne and Matheesha Pathirana.
Harry Tector, the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for May, starred as Ireland won in a run-fest at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.
Set 312 to win, Ireland lost two early wickets to leave them in a spot of bother.
However, impressive knocks from Paul Stirling (55 runs from 53 balls) and Lorcan Tucker (68 runs from 59 balls) formed part of two crucial stands, both with the imperious Tector, who finished not out on 149 runs from 123 balls.
The West Indies spinners proved too good for Scotland at Harare Sports Club.
Yannic Cariah (four wickets for 46 runs) and Roston Chase (three wickets for 43 runs) did much of the damage as Scotland slumped from 54/1 to 173 all out in their chase of 264.
Brandon McMullen (38) and Matthew Cross (35) were the only Scottish batters to go past 30.
The outstanding Sikandar Raza was the star of the show for Zimbabwe, retiring on 109 runs from just 66 balls, as he helped the home nation smash 367 runs for six in Harare.
There were also half-centuries for Sean Williams and Ryan Burl, as Zimbabwe’s batters got some useful time out in the middle.
Oman gave it a good crack in reply, with Aqib Ilyas scoring a classy 113 runs and Ayaan Khan going close to a third ton in the match with his 92 runs.
But Raza shone with the ball, taking three for 42 runs as Oman fell just short.
Brad Evans and Blessing Muzarabani also impressed, finishing with figures of three for 47 runs and two for 44 runs, respectively.
Below are four key takeaways from those matches:
- A run-fest likely on the cards
If the opening warm-up matches are any indication, then one can only assume that big scores are on the cards, especially during the group stages of the tournament.
Of the five matches that were played on Tuesday, there were four scores in excess of 300 runs and two centurions and five batters who scored half-centuries.
Zimbabwe had the biggest score of the day with their 367 runs for six during their 28-run victory over Oman, who themselves put runs on the board as they finished on 339 runs.
The other high-scoring match featured the United States of America and Ireland, with the former posting 321 runs, while the latter made 315 during their five-wicket win.
While the day belonged to Raza and Tector for their unbeaten 109 from just 66 balls and149 from 123 balls, respectively, there were also a handful of meaningful contributions from a number of batters.
Among them is the quartet of Sean Williams, Ryan Burl, Paul Stirling (55 from 53) and Lorcan Tucker (68 from 59) from the Zimbabwe and Ireland wins.
This on top of Shai Hope (57 off 65 balls) during the West Indies’ 91-run win over Scotland, as well as Nepal’s Mohammad Asif Sheikh’s 76 runs off 104 balls in their three-wicket loss to the United Arab Emirates that featured two half-centuries from Muhammad Waseem (50 off 49 balls) and Rohan Mustafa’s 77 runs off 56 balls.
- The toss and the batting first
Still tied to the run-fest, winning the toss will definitely be crucial as nothing short of 300-plus can guarantee success.
Of the five matches played on Tuesday, only Zimbabwe and the West Indies managed to win after batting first and both teams had powerful bowling line-ups.
Yannic Cariah’s four wickets for 46 runs and Raza’s three for 42 powered their teams to victory, and Zimbabwe had the luxury of having an on-song Raza.
His quick-fire 109 off 66 balls, before retiring, was the backbone of the hosts’ innings.
- Has Raza found his groove back?
After an indifferent campaign against the Pakistan Sheehans, which he joined late, Raza seems to have found his groove back.
The 37-year-old’s all-around performance against Oman was everything that many seem to associate with the Zimbabwe Chevrons’ talisman.
With the bat, Raza scored a quick-fire 66-ball 109 runs that featured seven boundaries and seven maximums, with strike rate of 164 percent.
He then capped it off with three wickets that pegged Oman’s run chase back a little.
- Chevrons’ Opening Woes Continue
Zimbabwe’s performance against the less-fancied Oman side was vintage Chevrons.
The hosts were made to sweat it out as Oman threaten to chase down the 368-run target, only be get bowled out with two balls remaining.
Granted, by the time the Middle East nation went into the final over, the game was more or less wrapped, but they should not have come close as they did (28 runs) in the first place.
Another disturbing trait was Zimbabwe’s openers failing to give the hosts a good platform, as Innocent Kaia and skipper Craig Ervine lost their wickets for 0 and 24 runs, respectively.
While Ervine did show glimpses of potential during the six-match series against the Pakistan Sheehans, he still needs a reliable opening partner.
With the openers losing their wickets, it took the heroics of Wesley Madhevere (47 runs off 57 balls), Sean Williams (64 runs 53 balls) and Raza’s unbeaten century to give the host’s score some respectability and the Zimbabwe bowlers something to defend.
Talking about Zimbabwe’s opening woes at the point feels more like crying over spilled milk.
One can only continue to pray and hope that the Chevrons’ middle-order and tail continue to come to the party, or, at the very least, Ervine, Kaia and the other openers raise their game, and fast.
