Zimbabwe U23 fall short as Namibia U23 secure narrow 10-run victory in Pretoria
Hope
Zimbabwe U23 suffered a narrow 10-run defeat to Namibia U23 in the High Performance Cricket Quadrangular tournament played in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe were restricted to 185 all out in pursuit of 195, after Namibia U23 posted 195 for 6 in their innings.
Namibia were sent in to bat and made a strong start, with an opening stand of 104 between Dylan Leicher and Zacheo Jansen van Vuuren. Jansen van Vuuren was dismissed for 34, but Leicher anchored the innings superbly, finishing unbeaten on 115 as Zimbabwe’s bowlers worked hard to contain the scoring.
Zimbabwe’s bowling attack shared the wickets, with Ryan Simbi taking 2 for 46 and Wishnanzy Chapfumo finishing with 2 for 33. Despite regular breakthroughs, Zimbabwe were unable to stop Leicher from carrying his bat through the innings.
In response, Zimbabwe U23 began their chase with intent but lost momentum as Namibia’s bowlers applied consistent pressure. Zimbabwe were reduced to 139 for 9, with Ryan Kamwemba top-scoring with 42 runs.
A late resistance came from Newman Nyamhuri and Ryan Simbi, who added 47 runs for the final wicket partnership. Nyamhuri fell for 44, bowled by Jack Brassell, as Zimbabwe were eventually bowled out for 185, falling just short of the target.
For Namibia, Jack Brassell led the bowling with 3 for 48, while JC Balt impressed with 3 for 12 and Kyle van Santen claimed 2 for 10.
Zimbabwe U23 will look to recover in their next fixture after a narrow defeat in a closely contested match.
