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Tawanda Mupariwa and Prosper Utseya returned from injury to help Zimbabwe Chevrons pick up their first points in the MTN Domestic Championship - and not before time. Chevrons won the toss and chose to bat, and openers Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza saw them off to a decent start with an opening stand of 78 before Sibanda was caught behind. Elton Chigumbura (53) was the best batsman on the day, but there were enough other useful knocks along the way to see the side to 220/8 from their 50 overs - not a great score, but one that proved to be enough.

Cobras struggled from the off. Herschelle Gibbs was the first to go, LBW off Gary Brent, and a steady stream of wickets followed from there, broken only by a 53-run partnership between Henry Davids (35) and Justin Kemp (57*). Chevrons' bowlers were on unusually good form, though, and bundled the visitors out for 181, with 8 overs to spare, to secure their first points in the series.

Just goes to show the difference one or two players can make - Zimbabwe have really suffered in the bowling department without Utseya, and his return should hopefully signal a change in their fortunes for the remaining matches in the championship. Full scorecard for this game below the cut - the next match is against bottom-of-the-table Lions, in Potchefstroom on Tuesday (19th).
Zimbabwe Chevrons 220/8 (50 overs; Chigumbura 53, Kemp 4/16), Nashua Cape Cobras 181 (41.4 overs; Kemp 57*, Brent 3/22). Chevrons win by 39 runs.

Zimbabwe innings (45 overs maximum)
V Sibanda 	c Puttick b Kemp 	                33 
H Masakadza 	c Puttick b Kemp 	                39 
SC Williams 	c Puttick b Kemp 	                10 
T Taibu 	lbw b Kemp 	                        0 
RW Chakabva 	c van Zyl b de Lange 	                24 
E Chigumbura 	c Davids b Langeveldt 	                53 
KM Dabengwa 	c Telo b Kleinveldt 	                33 
P Utseya 	not out 	                        5 
GB Brent 	lbw b Kleinveldt 	                2 
RW Price 	not out 	                        6 
    Extras 	(b 1, lb 5, w 8, nb 1) 	                15 
    Total 	(8 wickets; 45 overs; 186 mins) 	220 

Did not bat: T Mupariwa

Fall of wickets: 1-78 (Sibanda, 18.3 ov), 2-79 (Masakadza, 18.6 ov), 
3-85 (Taibu, 20.2 ov), 4-98 (Williams, 24.4 ov), 
5-131 (Chakabva, 31.4 ov), 6-191 (Dabengwa, 41.2 ov), 
7-206 (Chigumbura, 42.5 ov), 8-209 (Brent, 43.3 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
CK Langeveldt 	9 	1 	39 	1 	4.33 	(1nb, 1w)
RK Kleinveldt 	9 	0 	36 	2 	4.00 	(3w)
JM Kemp 	7 	1 	16 	4 	2.28 	(4w)
CD de Lange 	8 	0 	39 	1 	4.87 	
PR Adams 	4 	0 	23 	0 	5.75 	
VD Philander 	8 	0 	61 	0 	7.62 	


Cape Cobras innings (target: 221 runs from 45 overs)
AG Puttick 	b Mupariwa 	                        26 
HH Gibbs 	lbw b Brent 	                        8 
FD Telo 	b Mupariwa 	                        4 
H Davids 	run out (Dabengwa) 	                35 
JM Kemp 	c Chakabva b Brent 	                57 
S van Zyl 	st Taibu b Utseya 	                11 
VD Philander 	c Mupariwa b Utseya 	                11 
CD de Lange 	c Taibu b Price 	                5 
RK Kleinveldt 	b Chigumbura 	                        1 
PR Adams 	c Utseya b Brent 	                4 
CK Langeveldt 	not out 	                        1 
    Extras 	(b 4, lb 5, w 8, nb 1) 	                18 
    Total 	(all out; 41.4 overs; 158 mins) 	181 

Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Gibbs, 3.2 ov), 2-35 (Telo, 8.2 ov), 
3-49 (Puttick, 12.4 ov), 4-102 (Davids, 25.4 ov), 
5-125 (van Zyl, 32.1 ov), 6-148 (Philander, 36.1 ov), 
7-170 (de Lange, 39.2 ov), 8-175 (Kleinveldt, 40.1 ov), 
9-179 (Kemp, 41.1 ov), 10-181 (Adams, 41.4 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
E Chigumbura 	9 	1 	48 	1 	5.33 	(1nb)
GB Brent 	6.4 	2 	22 	3 	3.30 	(1w)
T Mupariwa 	6 	0 	21 	2 	3.50 	(5w)
RW Price 	9 	0 	35 	1 	3.88 	(1w)
P Utseya 	9 	0 	34 	2 	3.77 	
SC Williams 	2 	0 	12 	0 	6.00 	(1w)