The ICC have announced the groupings for the 2009 World Twenty20 tournament, to be held in England. The groups have been based on the results of the 2007 edition, and on paper Zimbabwe (seeded 9) seem to have been handed a reasonable draw, taking part in Group A alongside current champions India (seeded 1) and Bangladesh (seeded 8 ). Groups have been announced this early to allow the ECB to begin the scheduling process.
CricInfo - Groupings for World Twenty20 2009 fixed
Monthly Archive for October, 2007
Batting first, Zimbabwe went all to pieces against Sri Lanka ‘A’, collapsing to 146 all out with only 3 batsmen (Taylor, Taibu and Dabengwa) making double-figures. Rangana Herath did most of the damage, with an impressive haul of 4/19, and Sri Lanka were left with simple target to chase.
They didn’t get off to the best of starts, though, with Udawatte falling before a run had been scored and Perera departing with the score on 2/26 - both removed by Gary Brent, who was the best of the Zimbabweans on the day with 2/24 - but that was the end of the wicket-taking. From there, Dilshan (78*) and Warnapura (56*) again dominated the match and took Sri Lanka past the winning line with 20 overs to spare.
Very, very disappointing that Zimbabwe still haven’t sorted out their batting frailities - sometimes they fire and do a good job, but far too often they just capitulate almost en masse, as happened here. If Zim are to have any hope of competing at Test level, that’s going to have to be sorted soon.
Zimbabwe Select 146 (48.3 overs; Dabengwa 45, Herath 4/19), Sri Lanka ‘A’ 150/5 (29.2 overs; Dilshan 78*, Brent 2/24). Sri Lanka ‘A’ win by 8 wickets, win series 2-0 with 1 to play.
Next matches: 3rd ‘A’ ODI in Harare, and Zimbabwe Provinces against Easterns in Bulawayo. Both matches begin on Thursday (1st November). Full scorecard for this match below the cut.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ claimed a 52-run win in the first ‘A’ ODI in Bulawayo on Sunday, thanks largely to centuries by Malinda Warnapura (100) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (111) that helped Sri Lanka to a difficult total of 319/5 from their 50 overs. Zimbabwe’s bowling wasn’t the best, with even the usually-economic Prosper Utseya going for 6/over, but to their credit Zimbabwe didn’t roll over and made an effort to chase the total down.
The loss of Vusi Sibanda for 12 in the 5th over (1/19) didn’t indicate the best of starts, perhaps, but Brendan Taylor (50) and Chamu Chibhabha (44) then put on 91 for the second wicket, and the chase was on, with Tatenda Taibu and Stuart Matiskenyeri also contributing useful knocks. After Taibu’s dismissal in the 31st over, though, Sri Lanka began taking regular wickets, as the lower order did their best (with only Timycen Maruma failing to reach double figures) but were collectively unable to deal with the combined efforts of Dammika Prasad (2/63 & a catch to remove Utseya) and Sujeewa de Silva (3/36). Zim finished their innings on 267/9, which to be fair is one of their better recent batting performances. In the end, though, the head-start provided to the Sri Lankans by Dilshan and Warnapura was just too much for the home side to deal with.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ 319/5 (50 overs; Dilshan 111, Chibhabh 2/58), Zimbabwe Select 267/9 (50 overs; Taylor 50, de Silva 3/36). Sri Lanka ‘A’ win by 52 runs, lead series 1-0 with 2 to play.
Next match: 2nd ‘A’ ODI in Harare. The full scorecard for this match is below the cut.
Continue reading ‘Warnapura and Dilshan Lead Sri Lanka ‘A’ to Victory’
…and the twists and turns continue. Zimbabwe’s participation in the 4-day SuperSport series has now been ruled out by Cricket South Africa, following their board meeting on Friday, while their places in the MTN Domestic Championship and Standard Bank Pro20 competitions is still under review - although given the apparent reluctance of the South African franchise sides to play against / in Zimbabwe, I have to say it looks unlikely.
According to CSA, the decision was taken for “cricketing reasons” (over the extra fixtures and possible impact of Zimbabwe playing the competition, especially if the fixtures clashed with their international obligations), and that CSA would now look at other ways of helping Zimbabwe gain top-level match experience:
“Instead of them playing in the SuperSport Series, we are looking at the possibility of Zimbabwe playing some four-day matches in South Africa against composite teams. The decision has been taken. It is now a matter of sorting out logistics.”
Colour me disappointed, but not surprised.
CricInfo - Halt on Zimbabwe’s participation
Pakistan v South Africa: 5th ODI South Africa 233/9 (50 overs; Kallis 86, Shoaib Akhtar 4/43), Pakistan 219 (46.3 overs; Younis Khan 58, Morkel 4/44). South Africa win by 14 runs, win series 3-2.
Kenya v Bermuda: 3rd ODI Bermuda 167 (46.4 overs; Edness 72, Luseno 4/32), Kenya 169/9 (36.2 overs; Tikolo 89*, Trott 4/46). Kenya win by 1 wicket, win series 3-0.
Namibia v Canada: InterContinental Cup Match, Day Four Namibia 480/9 decl (B Kotze 163*, Dhaniram 3/58) & 102/2 (Burger 44*, Osinde 1/51), Canada 286 (Mohammad Iqbal 140, Snyman 4/63) & 295 (following-on; Mohammad Iqbal 88, Klazinga 4/55). Namibia win by 8 wickets.
A very quick update, this, as I have to be elsewhere shortly & don’t have time to post full articles just yet, but you should probably know that:
- Zimbabwe are out of the SuperSport Series, and their participation in the other two CSA competitions is still under review; and
- Sri Lanka ‘A’ beat Zimbabwe Select by 52 runs in the first ‘A’ ODI in Bulawayo, and by 8 wickets in the 2nd ‘A’ ODI in Harare.
More later.
Namibia v Canada: InterContinental Cup Match, Day Three Namibia 480/9 decl (B Kotze 163*, Dhaniram 3/58), Canada 286 (Mohammad Iqbal 140, Snyman 4/63) & 235/6 (following-on; Mohammad Iqbal 88, Klazinga 3/29).
Kenya v Bermuda: 2nd ODI Bermuda 183/9 (50 overs; Romaine 61, Odoyo 3/7), Kenya 187/7 (44.1 overs; Ouma 54, Leverock 3/28). Kenya win by 3 wickets, win series 2-0 with 1 to play.