Zimbabwe

The Chevrons recorded only their second T20I win against Pakistan in 18 meetings, despite setting a relatively modest target of 131.

A dramatic final over from Brad Evans (2-25) saw Zimbabwe clinch an unlikely victory, with Regis Chakabva running out Shaheen Shah Afridi off the last ball to leave Pakistan's semi-final hopes hanging by a threat after a dramatic loss to India.

After an opening stand of 42 from five overs, both Craig Ervine (19) and Wessly Madhevere (17) were out in quick succession, while Sean Williams was dropped on nine by Iftikhar Ahmed, before eventually departing for 31.

Pakistan took four wickets in six balls to leave Zimbabwe 95-7, but Ryan Burl (10 not out) and Evans (19) took them up to 130-8 - Mohammad Wasim (4-24) the pick of the bowlers.

Openers Babar Azam (and Mohammad Rizwan in the first five overs of the run chase, but Pakistan were in trouble on 94-6 when Shan Masood (44) departed after steadying the ship.

Masood was stumped off the bowling of the excellent  Pakistan-born Sikandar Raza (3-25) with his team still needing 37 runs from 29 balls.

Needing 11 from the final over, it looked like Pakistan were heading for the win, Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz taking seven off the first two balls.

However, requiring three from two,Nawaz (22) hit Evans straight to Ervine, and the incoming Afridi could only score a single off the final delivery, leaving Pakistan just short on 129-8.

Zimbabwe delight as Shaheens T20I misery continues

It has been a great start to Super 12 stage for Zimbabwe, sitting on three points from two games, albeit they were helped by the rain in securing a washout draw against South Africa.

Pakistan have now lost 11 T20I games since the beginning of 2022, only in 2010 have they lost more in a calendar year (12).

Pakistan bowlers did their job

Wasim (4-24) and Shadab Khan (3-23) took the bulk of the wickets, while Haris Rauf claimed great figures of 1-12 from his four overs.

Rauf conceded the second-fewest tuns by a Pakistan bowler in a men's T20 World Cup game of those to have bowled their full quota of four overs, behind Afridi - who took 4-11 against Netherlands in 2009.

Monday's contest was initially shortened to nine overs following a pre-match rain delay of over three hours, with another two overs being lost following a stoppage early in South Africa's innings.

Both sides open their Super 12 accounts with a point following a declaration of no result, which came with the Proteas requiring just 14 runs for victory following a fine innings from De Kock.

Inclement weather saw the teams exit the field after the national anthems, but South Africa looked set to begin their campaign with a win after starting well when play finally began.

Zimbabwe openers Craig Ervine (2) and Regis Chakabva (8) were gone within three overs, the former handing Wayne Parnell a routine catch before the latter feathered an edge through to De Kock.

When the former skipper made a spectacular one-handed catch to see off Sikandar Raza for a duck, Zimbabwe were faltering on 19-4, but eventually reached 79-5 thanks to Wessly Madhevere (35 not out) and Milton Shumba (18).

De Kock looked set to be the hero with the bat after the Proteas were set a revised target of 64. 

Fellow opener Temba Bavuma (2 not out) was a mere spectator as De Kock reached 47 by the end of the third over, but the weather came to Zimbabwe's aid as the rain began to lash down once more, leaving the officials with little choice but to stop play altogether.

Having seen Namibia stun Sri Lanka on Sunday, Scotland sealed a famous 42-run triumph against the two-time T20 world champions at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday.

It was the first T20I meeting between the teams and brought up Scotland's first win in the format this year. For the Windies, 2022 is now their worst year on record in terms of T20I defeats (14).

"Obviously it is a special win for us," said Scotland captain Richard Berrington, whose side snapped a seven-game losing run in T20Is. "It took a lot of work and has given us belief."

While the credit will go to Scotland's brilliant bowlers, opening batter George Munsey set the tone with an unbeaten 66.

Munsey struck nine boundaries as he stayed at the crease throughout Scotland's innings, guiding them to 160-5 as the Windies bowlers failed to get going.

Jason Holder was the pick of the bunch with 2-14 from three overs, moving him onto 48 T20I wickets, but Odean Smith (1-31) and Akeal Hosein (0-31) struggled to make the same impact.

Holder was the only Windies batter to step up and be counted, too, with his 38 the only score above 20 for Nicholas Pooran's team.

Watt was fantastic, claiming 3-12 – his first wicket, when he bowled the dangerous Brandon King, sparking a collapse as the Windies lost six for just 21 runs to fall from 58-2 to 79-7.

Leask claimed his two wickets – Pooran and Rovman Powell – as part of that run, and West Indies' defeat was confirmed when Chris Greaves plucked Holder's stray shot. 

"Tough loss for us, obviously disappointed," said Pooran, who must rally the Windies for matches against Zimbabwe and Ireland.

"We have to work hard and win two games. We have to take accountability and responsibility."

Raza, who was born in Pakistan, delivered a man-of-the-match performance with a three-wicket haul and a run-out to turn the tide in his side's favour for a shock one-run win in Perth.

The 36-year-old has been in excellent form this year, catching the eye of Ponting, who drew comparison to his former Australia team-mates Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

Speaking after Zimbabwe's dramatic victory on Thursday, Raza - who recorded figures of 3-25 - admitted the video clip, shown to him before the game, provided a little extra motivation to help his side record a famous upset.

"I know there was a small clip that was sent to me this morning, and it was Ricky Ponting having a small word," he stated. "I was excited. I was nervous.

"I was thrilled about today. Motivation was always there, but if I needed that little push, I thought that clip did a wonder this morning. So thank you very much to Ricky as well."

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, meanwhile, professed his frustration at his side's performance, but vowed they would deliver a response in their next Super 12 match against Netherlands.

"We were not up to the mark in the batting," he acknowledged. "We had a bad first six overs. Later on we finished well. We'll sit together and learn from our mistakes and come back hard next match."

Pakistan remain without a point after two defeats in Group 2 of the Super 12, while Zimbabwe have three points following their washout draw against South Africa.

Ervine's assured 58 set the platform for Zimbabwe to chase down Scotland's 132-6, which was anchored by 54 from George Munsey.

Zimbabwe reached their target with nine balls to spare, posting 133-5, with a key to their victory being a fourth-wicket partnership of 64 between Ervine and Sikandar Raza, who rattled to 40 from just 23 balls and took man-of-the-match honours.

Ryan Burl struck the winning boundary for Zimbabwe, whose opening bowler Tendai Chatara earlier kept it tight to stifle Scotland, taking 2-14 from his four overs.

Zimbabwe had beaten Ireland in their tournament opener before losing to West Indies, while Scotland beat West Indies but lost to Ireland, setting up Friday's game in Hobart as a winner-takes-all tussle.

The victory for Zimbabwe secured top spot in Group B of the first-round stage, earning a place in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, where they will face Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa.

Scotland go home, as do West Indies following their defeat to Ireland earlier on Friday.

Ireland, as runners-up to Zimbabwe, progress into Group 1 where Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka await them.

Zimbabwe will stay in Hobart for their Super 12 opener, an appetising clash with South Africa on Monday.

Opening batsman Tamim scored 158 off 136 balls to better his own benchmark for the highest ODI Bangladesh score, while he became the first player from his country to reach 7,000 runs in 50-over cricket.

His knock anchored Bangladesh's innings and big stands with Mushfiqur Rahim (55) and Mahmudullah (41) contributed to an imposing score of 322-8.

Zimbabwe were in trouble at 225-7 in the 42nd over when a big middle-order partnership between Wesley Madhevere and Sikandar Raza came to an end.

A brilliant eighth-wicket stand of 80 from Tinotenda Mutombodzi (34) and Donald Tiripano (55 not out) provided hope, but the visitors just fell short in Sylhet.

Tamim, whose knock included 20 fours and three sixes, put on 87 with Mushfiqur and 106 with skipper Mahmudullah before eventually driving Carl Mumba to Mutombodzi at long off.

Tinashe Kamunhukamwe scored a half century in reply before being bowled by Taijul Islam, who also ended the dangerous 80-run partnership between Madhevere (52) and Raza (66).

When the latter fell to Mashrafe Mortaza it appeared the game was up but Mutombodzi and Tiripano combined down the order to set up a thrilling finale.

However, Mutombodzi played a straight one to long on in the final over and Zimbabwe were unable to find the runs they needed to force a winner-takes-all encounter.

Pakistan landed a 26-run victory in the first game of a three-match ODI series, the first step for both teams on the road to the 2023 World Cup, inflicting on Zimbabwe their 500th international defeat.

The home side posted 281-8 before bowling out Zimbabwe for 255, but the visitors had been firmly in the hunt until wicketkeeper-batsman Taylor fell for a battling 112 to the penultimate ball of the 47th over. He had earlier taken three catches and played his part in a run out.

It was Shaheen who ended his stay on the way to figures of 5-49, while fellow left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz also claimed a priceless 4-41, wrapping up the win by bowling last man Blessing Muzarabani.

Babar Azam, in his first ODI as Pakistan captain, was able to celebrate a hard-fought success - a seventh in a row for the team.

Pakistan's innings was built on half-centuries from opener Imam-ul-Haq (58) and Haris Sohail (71), but wickets fell at such regular intervals that there was no defining partnership. Indeed, the opening pair of Imam and Abid Ali put on more than any other pair. 

Imad Wasim clubbed a pair of late sixes late in the innings on his way to an unbeaten 34 from 26 balls, but Zimbabwe were still in the game. 

Shaheen accounted for openers Brian Chari and Chamu Chibhabha, bowling both to leave Zimbabwe wobbling on 28-2 in reply, but Craig Ervine (41) and Taylor put on 71 for the third wicket, and it was game on when Taylor and Wesley Madhevere produced a century stand for the fifth. 

Yet losing Madhevere (55) early in the 46th over was a major blow, with Wahab disrupting the established partnership and giving Pakistan the breakthrough they craved. 

Taylor was next to go, top-edging to Wahab at mid-off, and the Zimbabwe lower order was blown away, along with the prospect of a tight finish. 

It meant a success for Pakistan in their first ODI since October 2019, and in the first such match played at Rawalpindi since 2006. 

Having lost 17 of their previous 18 ODIs in Pakistan, it was a largely predictable outcome for Zimbabwe, with the teams due back in action in the second match of this series on Sunday.

After losing the first match, India are now 2-1 up in the series after three games having held out for a 23-run victory on Wednesday.

Shubman Gill settled straight back in after returning to the squad following their World Cup success, hitting 66 off 49 balls to set India on their way.

With Yashasvi Jaiswal (36) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (49) also finding their rhythm early on, India set an impressive target of 182-4.

Zimbabwe struggled in the field but also got off to a slow start with the bat until Dion Myers entered the fray, getting 65 not out to give the hosts some hope.

Washington Sundar's three wickets soon put a halt to their comeback as they fell short.

Raza was left to lament a frustrating game but was optimistic they could get back to their best.

"Think [the problem] is the fielding again," Raza said. "We are very proud of it, but the wheels are coming off again.

"We gave away 20 runs extra. We still have problems at the top [with the bat], but we are backing the boys. I know they are trying and once they do, we will come good again.

"It is time we players including me take the responsibility. I can accept some mistakes from the young side, but the seniors need to step up. But we need to back them.

"This is the best we have and this is the best that we can do. The game always rewards you, always does."

The fourth match will take place on Saturday, and a win for India would confirm their series win.

Data Debrief: India just too strong

Gll sped to his half-century in just 36 balls, earning his first 50 as India's T20I captain.

Despite their strong batting display, India were also the beneficiaries of 31 runs after Zimbabwe struggled to take their chances out on the field. The eventual win margin for India: 23. 

Sundar sustained a shoulder injury while playing for Lancashire against Worcestershire in the Royal London Cup last week.

The 22-year-old has been ruled out of the three-match series against Zimbabwe, which starts at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday.

Shahbaz, 27, could make his India debut after being given a late call-up for the tour.

VVS Laxman has taken on head coach duties for the series, with Rahul Dravid afforded a rest.

With the exception of productive cameos from Brathwaite and his opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the team’s last series against Australia proved to be a chastening experience, especially at the crease.

Over the course of two matches and four innings only Brathwaite, Chanderpaul and Roston Chase managed a half century.  In addition, the Australians won the first Test by a massive 419 runs, where the Windies were embarrassingly bowled out for 77 in the second innings.

“We didn’t get the big scores, we didn’t get the big first innings scores that I would have liked.  Going into Zimbabwe, especially at home, we know it won’t be a rollover,” Brathwaite told members of the media on Thursday.

“I really look forward to the batters spending time to get runs on the board.  I think that will be crucial for us setting up the game to win it,” he added.

“We have to show our worth, I think the batters need to come and show more fight because Zimbabwe will not be easy at home.  It’s not like we are going to show up and just get runs against Zimbabwe.”

Despite expecting a difficult task, the team can head into the encounter with some confidence having never lost to Zimbabwe in 10 encounters to date. 

Muhammad Javed of the ICC International Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanctions after the West Indies were ruled to be three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

Captain Shai Hope pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Ravindra Wimalasari, third umpire Roland Black and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar levelled the charge.

Captain Williams made 107 batting first time around and on Thursday he weighed in with an unbeaten 47 as Zimbabwe reached 241-7 in their second innings.

On a rain-affected day, the home side advanced from an overnight 62-1 to build their healthy lead, which seems certain to be followed by an early declaration on day five.

Sri Lanka's victory in the opening match of the two-Test series puts the onus on Zimbabwe to go hard for the win, and they unmistakably have the platform, but their cause was not helped by the weather.

A large chunk of the afternoon session was lost due to rain, while bad light and further rain brought play to an early close too.

Brendan Taylor top-scored for Zimbabwe with a rapid 67 before he was pinned lbw by Lahiru Kumara, while opener Prince Masvaure contributed 35 and Sikandar Raza made 34, sharing in a 70-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Williams.

The hosts lost the first match of the two-game series in Harare by 10 wickets but reached stumps on day one of the second at the same venue on 352-6.

It had looked as if it would be a difficult day for Zimbabwe when they were reduced to 49-2 inside the first 20 overs.

However, Brendan Taylor, who went for a run-a-ball 62, led a recovery effort alongside Kevin Kasuza (38), but it was Williams' partnership with Sikandar Raza that turned the tide.

Williams and Raza (72) put on 159 for the fifth wicket before the latter was removed by Lasith Embuldeniya (1-153), who endured an otherwise dreadful day with the ball.

There was no stopping Williams from reaching his hundred, which was brought up in 131 balls with a sweep through the gap between fine leg and deep square leg for four.

He faced six more deliveries before he was dismissed for 107 by Dhananjaya de Silva having struck 10 fours and three sixes, but Regis Chakabva (31 not out) and Tinotenda Mutombodzi (10no) are well set to push Zimbabwe past 400.

Now the attention switches the “big show” – the first Test against Zimbabwe, and the location moves to the Queens Sports Club, where the two teams will meet.

“We are confident that the areas that we wanted to address and spend some time on, we were able to do so. The facilities have generally been good and offered us enough to get through what we needed to,” Coley said.

He also expressed pleasure at the way the players have been responding to the training, noting that they have been putting in extra work in the nets and on fitness.

Regarding getting ahead and eventually winning the series, he is looking for consistency in all areas.

Wary that Zimbabwe are highly competitive at home, the West Indies will be eager to start the year right, having enjoyed some success in the longest format over the past 18 months and a series in South Africa to follow.

The first Test will begin on Saturday, February 4. First ball is 10am (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).

Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas and Jomel Warrican

The Jamaican, who led West Indies women’s to the semi-finals of the 2022 ICC Women's World Cup in New Zealand, where they lost to eventual winners Australia, will now aim to rewrite the history books by assisting Zimbabwe to a maiden World Cup appearance.

The Lady Chevrons are targeting one of two spots from the Women's T20 World Cup qualifiers, which begins in the United Arab Emirates on April 25.

Walsh, 61, who took 519 Test wickets in his stellar career, is assisting head coach Walter Chawaguta ahead of the tournament, and Givemore Makoni, managing director of Zimbabwe’s Cricket is delighted to have the legendary pacer on board.

"We count ourselves fortunate and privileged to be able to bring in Courtney as a technical consultant for our campaign in Abu Dhabi," Makoni said.

"He is one of the world's greatest cricketers and we believe his experience at the highest level of the women's game in particular will boost our chances,” he added.

A total of 10 teams will participate in the qualifiers in the UAE, which culminates on May 7.

The sides will be split into two groups of five, with the top two progressing to the semi-finals, from where the two finalists will secure berths to the Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.

Walsh and his Zimbabwe outfit will face the hosts, Ireland, the Netherlands and Vanuatu in Group B, while Sri Lanka, Thailand, Scotland, Uganda and United States, are set to lock horns in Group A.

Zimbabwe women won the gold medal at the African Games in Ghana last month, beating South Africa in a super over.

The Windies Women open their campaign tomorrow at 2:30am local time against Ireland in Harare and Taylor has warned against underestimating their opponents.

“That’s one thing you don’t want to do. Everyone’s here to win the competition. We’re not here to take any team for granted. We’re here to play hard cricket and come out on top,” said Taylor.

With the West Indies Women having completed a 3-0 series sweep against Pakistan prior to their arrival in Harare, Taylor says she hopes the team can carry their momentum into the tournament.

“I think we had a good series against Pakistan so I would love to see us continue where we left off from there. We’ve been playing some good cricket and getting some really good scores from our top players and even the lesser batting line up," she said.

Taylor concedes, however, that even with the team entering the qualifiers in good form there are still areas that need improvement.

“In our batting, it’s running the first one hard, turning twos into threes. In bowling, bowlers need to get early wickets and eliminate the wides,” she said.

The captain also provided some insight into the confidence of the team coming off some good results before the tournament.

“The morale is pretty good, especially seeing batters getting runs. I think that’s something that we’ve been working on because we’ve been relying on the bowling department for quite some time now so it’s really nice that the batters have been scoring those runs,” she said.

The West Indies other group games will be Saturday, November 27^th against Sri Lanka and Monday, November 29^th against the Netherlands with both matches beginning at 2:30am local time.

The Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers feature nine teams divided into two groups.

West Indies Women are in group A alongside Ireland, Sri Lanka and The Netherlands while group B comprises Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the USA.

Papua New Guinea were also supposed to be in the field but had to withdraw after a Covid-19 outbreak within the team before boarding their flight to Zimbabwe.

The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super 6 phase and the top three teams at the end of that phase will qualify for the 2022 World Cup alongside Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and England.

The West Indies had resumed from their overnight score of 112-0 with both batsmen on 55.

In the 48 overs possible on Sunday because of a wet outfield caused by heavy downpour on Saturday, the 26-year-old Chanderpaul, playing in only his third Test, progressed to score 101 not out.

His 100 came up off 296 balls and included 10 fours and a six. It was the first time since 2013 that a West Indies opener other than Brathwaite had scored a Test century.

Brathwaite, meanwhile, had scored yet another century to be unbeaten on 116. His ton that included only seven fours came from 226 balls.

The 221-run opening stand marked the first time West Indies has put on a double-century opening partnership since 2012 and was just the 10th double century opening partnership in West Indies history and the seventh pair to do so.

The partnership was also the highest ever opening stand against Zimbabwe.

The 150-run stand came up in 67.2 overs while the 200-run partnership was achieved in 83.2 overs.

The Australians had already secured the series victory by winning the opening two matches, but they still played a full-strength side in the dead rubber.

After the Aussies had won the toss and opted to bowl in both of the first two fixtures, it was Zimbabwe's turn to send in their opposition to bat first on the tricky Townsville wicket.

Wickets fell early and often, with opener Aaron Finch falling for five, Steve Smith being trapped LBW on one, Alex Carey caught behind on four, Marcus Stoinis caught behind on three, and Cameron Green caught on three.

David Warner was the one shining light for the Aussies, making his way to 94 from 96 deliveries before he became one of Ryan Burl's five wickets, finishing with figures of 5-10 from three devastating overs.

Glenn Maxwell (19 from 22 deliveries) was the only other batsman to score more than five runs as the home side was bowled all out for 141 in 31 overs.

In response, Zimbabwe built a platform of 38-0 to launch from, and despite a few quick wickets from Josh Hazlewood to make things interesting, the efforts of Tadiwanashe Marumani (35 from 47 deliveries) and Regis Chakabva (37 not-out from 72 deliveries) put the visitors in too strong of a position to fail.

The historic winning runs came off the bat of Brad Evans, delivering Zimbabwe their third ever win against Australia, after previous successes in 1983 at Nottingham and 2014 in Zimbabwe.

Starting on 352-6, the hosts ended an impressive first innings on 406 all out as they bid to bounce back from their 10-wicket defeat to the tourists in the series opener last week.

And Zimbabwe's attack was economical in restricting Sri Lanka to 122-2 from 54 overs in their reply.

After Sean Williams' century on day one, Zimbabwe returned to the crease on Tuesday in a strong position, though they had added just 10 to their overnight total when wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva fell for 31 to Lasith Embuldeniya, who ended with figures of 4-182.

Debutant Tinotenda Mutombodzi (33) did most of the work in ensuring his side moved past the psychological 400 mark before falling to Dhananjaya de Silva (3-71).

Embuldeniya took care of the last two wickets and Sri Lanka made a solid start to their first innings, captain Dimuth Karunaratne and fellow opener Oshada Fernando combining to produce a disciplined 94-run stand.

But Sikandar Raza took the pivotal wicket of Karunaratne, who was trapped lbw for 44 while trying to sweep a full delivery, before Fernando's 168-minute innings came to an end as he also fell for the same score as his skipper, Donald Tiripano getting him caught behind.

Kusal Mendis against Raza produced an entertaining duel, the Sri Lanka number three smashing him for six while he was also dropped by Prince Masvaure, fielding at forward short leg, and a diving Tiripano at deep mid wicket either side of that maximum.

Having scored 80 in the opening Test, Mendis will return to the crease on Wednesday on 19 not out, partnered by Angelo Mathews (4no), with Sri Lanka still 284 runs adrift.