Chevrons Fail Again Against Dolphins

Chevrons lost narrowly to the Nashua Dolphins in Durban last night, leaving them propping up the Standard Bank Pro20 table - although the bottom three sides are only separated by Net Run Rate. Chevrons won the toss and uncharacteristically opted to bat first, and were quickly in trouble - openers Tatenda Taibu (1) and Hamilton Masakadza (14) fell quickly, and the rest of the batting order in general weren't much better. It was only a determined 55 from Brendan Taylor that save the side from embarrassment, helped by a useful run-a-ball 24 from Chamu Chibhabha. They did manage to bat out their overs, reaching 131/8, but that was always going to be a difficult target to defend. For Dolphins, Daryn Smit took 3/19.

Dolphins took the slow & cautious route in reply, reaching 2/66 without any serious problems. At that point they suffered a mid-innings wobble, losing 3 wickets for 20 runs, but that wasn't enough to stop them from reaching their target with 4 balls to spare. Doug Watson top-scored with 35, while Keith Dabengwa took 3/19 for Chevrons.

A closer match than Chevrons' previous two outings in the competition, but still a disturbing lack of consistency with the bat. Full scorecard below the cut. Next match is against Cape Cobras in Durban, on 9th April.
Zimbabwe Chevrons 131/8 (20/20 overs; Taylor 55, Smit 3/19), Nashua Dolphins 132/6 (19.2/20 overs; Watson 35, Dabengwa 3/19). Dolphins win by 4 wickets.

Zimbabwe innings (20 overs maximum)
H Masakadza 	b Abdullah 	                14 
T Taibu 	lbw b Louw 	                1 
S Matsikenyeri 	c Smit b Kent 	                8 
BRM Taylor 	c Khan b Smit 	                55 
CJ Chibhabha 	c Rowley b Kent 	        24 
E Chigumbura 	c de Bruyn b Kent 	        0 
KM Dabengwa 	c Kent b Smit 	                7 
P Utseya 	st de Bruyn b Smit 	        7 
RW Price 	not out 	                1 
    Extras 	(b 2, lb 6, w 6) 	        14 
    Total 	(8 wickets; 20 overs; 73 mins) 	131 

Did not bat: T Mupariwa, T Maruma

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Taibu, 1.6 ov), 2-22 (Masakadza, 4.4 ov), 
3-34 (Matsikenyeri, 7.2 ov), 4-92 (Chibhabha, 14.3 ov), 
5-93 (Chigumbura, 14.5 ov), 6-117 (Taylor, 17.4 ov), 
7-129 (Dabengwa, 19.3 ov), 8-131 (Utseya, 19.6 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
YA Abdullah 	4 	0 	16 	1 	4.00 	(2w)
J Louw 	4 	0 	20 	1 	5.00 	(2w)
JC Kent 	4 	0 	35 	3 	8.75 	
S Mlongo 	2 	0 	13 	0 	6.50 	
M van Vuuren 	2 	0 	20 	0 	10.00 	(1w)
D Smit 	4 	0 	19 	3 	4.75 	


Dolphins innings (target: 132 runs from 20 overs)
I Khan 	run out (Utseya) 	                8 
DJ Watson 	c Masakadza b Dabengwa 	        35 
AM Amla 	c Taylor b Maruma 	        22 
G Rowley 	st Taibu b Dabengwa 	        2 
D Smit 	        b Dabengwa 	                18 
JC Kent 	run out (Utseya) 	        5 
P de Bruyn 	not out 	                22 
J Louw 	        not out 	                9 
    Extras 	(lb 1, w 10) 	                11 
    Total 	(6 wkt; 19.2 overs; 70 mins)    132 

Did not bat: M van Vuuren, YA Abdullah, S Mlongo

Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Khan, 4.5 ov), 2-66 (Amla, 10.6 ov), 
3-77 (Rowley, 13.1 ov), 4-78 (Watson, 13.3 ov), 
5-88 (Kent, 15.4 ov), 6-111 (Smit, 17.6 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 	
E Chigumbura 	2 	0 	19 	0 	9.50 	(3w)
P Utseya 	3.2 	0 	13 	0 	3.90 	
T Mupariwa 	2 	0 	17 	0 	8.50 	(3w)
RW Price 	4 	0 	38 	0 	9.50 	
T Maruma 	4 	0 	25 	1 	6.25 	(2w)
KM Dabengwa 	4 	0 	19 	3 	4.75