zimcricketnews.com

Zimbabwe Chevrons fell to their second successive defeat, as a poor day with the ball allowed Nashua Titans to claim a 7-wicket victory at Centurion last night. After being put into bat when Titans won the toss, Zim got off to a strong start, with Vusi Sibanda (49) and Hamilton Masakadza (56) putting on 107 for the first wicket - an unusually good start by recent standards. Their stand was interrupted by showers, which saw the match reduced to 39 overs per side - and once Sibanda fell, he was followed by a steady procession of wickets that saw Zim's early advantage largely wasted. Chevrons finished their innings on 195/9 - although the Duckworth Lewis calculation saw Titans set a target of 199.

While Titans' reply hardly set the world alight - for most of the innings they were at or slightly below the required rate - with Zimbabwe's bowlers seemingly unable to take wickets, there was never any real pressure on the home side, and that's what likely cost Zimbabwe the match. Gulam Bodi (66) and Francois du Plessis (87*) did most of the work, with Chevrons largely unable to stem the flow of runs - even the usually frugal Ray Price was knocked for over 7/over. Price, Gary Brent and Hamilton Masakadza claimed the wickets that did fall, while Graeme Cremer was the one bowler who managed to be economic, conceding 28 runs from his 8 overs (3.50/over). With Titans never pressured, though, it was only a matter of time, and a few expensive overs from Masakadza and Taurai Muzarabani saw Titans home with an over to spare.

Chevrons now go on to meet the Gestetner Diamond Eagles in Kimberley today (13th February), desperately needing to put some points on the board - if they can't be competitive at this level, there will be serious questions raised about the side's place in international cricket. Full scorecard below the cut.
Chevrons 195/9 (39/39 overs; Masakadza 56, van der Merwe 4/24), Titans 201/3 (38/39 overs; du Plessis 87*, Masakadza 1/24). Titans win by 7 wickets

Zimbabwe innings (39 overs maximum) 
V Sibanda 	c Kuhn b van der Merwe 	                49 
H Masakadza 	b van der Merwe 	                56 
SC Williams 	st Kuhn b du Plessis 	                27 
T Taibu 	lbw b van der Merwe 	                2 
BRM Taylor 	c Reddy b du Plessis 	                12 
E Chigumbura 	b van der Merwe 	                0 
RW Chakabva 	b van Jaarsveld 	                20 
AG Cremer 	run out (Behardien/Kuhn) 	        15 
GB Brent 	c Morkel b Reddy 	                0 
RW Price 	not out 	                        5 
T Muzarabani 	not out 	                        1 
    Extras 	(lb 2, w 6) 	                        8 
    Total 	(9 wickets; 39 overs; 157 mins) 	195 

Fall of wickets: 1-107 (Sibanda, 18.2 ov), 2-114 (Masakadza, 22.1 ov), 
3-122 (Taibu, 24.1 ov), 4-152 (Taylor, 29.6 ov), 5-152 (Chigumbura, 30.2 ov), 
6-156 (Williams, 31.2 ov), 7-178 (Cremer, 35.1 ov), 8-178 (Brent, 35.4 ov), 
9-193 (Chakabva, 38.2 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
BL Reddy 	7 	0 	32 	1 	4.57 	(2w)
NE Mbhalati 	8 	1 	45 	0 	5.62 	(2w)
D Wiese 	3 	0 	27 	0 	9.00 	(1w)
P Joubert 	6 	1 	30 	0 	5.00 	
R van der Merwe 8 	0 	24 	4 	3.00 	
F du Plessis 	3 	0 	16 	2 	5.33 	
M van Jaarsveld 4 	0 	19 	1 	4.75 	(1w)


Titans innings (target: 199 runs from 39 overs)
HG Kuhn 	c Taibu b Brent 	                17 
GH Bodi 	c Sibanda b Masakadza 	                66 
F du Plessis 	not out 	                        87 
M van Jaarsveld c Chigumbura b Price 	                1 
JA Morkel 	not out 	                        20 
    Extras 	(lb 2, w 8) 	                        10 
    Total 	(3 wickets; 38 overs; 156 mins) 	201 

Did not bat: F Behardien, P Joubert, D Wiese, R van der Merwe, 
BL Reddy, NE Mbhalati

Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Kuhn, 11.1 ov), 2-161 (Bodi, 30.6 ov), 
3-165 (van Jaarsveld, 32.4 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
E Chigumbura 	8 	0 	39 	0 	4.87 	(3w)
GB Brent 	8 	0 	32 	1 	4.00 	(3w)
T Muzarabani 	5 	0 	33 	0 	6.60 	
RW Price 	6 	0 	43 	1 	7.16 	(1w)
AG Cremer 	8 	0 	28 	0 	3.50 	(1w)
H Masakadza 	3 	0 	24 	1 	8.00