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Zimbabwe snatched victory from Canada in the 3rd Al Barakh Cup match this evening, after a tie after 20 overs each led to the match being decided through a bowl-out.

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field, and took early blood when Canadian opener Mulla fell to Elton Chigumbura on the first ball of the match. Rizwan Cheema then went to town on the Zim bowling, smashing 23 off 11 balls before being dealt with by Chigumbura (2/31 from three overs), with Mohammad Iqbal and Abdool Samad both chipping in to take Canada to 71/4 at the halfway mark, helped by some uninspired bowling decisions by Utseya who again places far too much trust in Keith Dabengwa (0/25 from three overs) and failed to use his in-form bowlers to full effect. Canada ended their innings on 135/7 - higher than they should have been allowed to reach, but within Zimbabwe's grasp.

In reply, Cephas Zhuwawo's international debut stuck all the wrong notes as he was removed on his first ball faced, but Hamilton Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha and Tatenda Taibu all played their part to help Zimbabwe get off to a respectable start, with Taibu's 37 being the best of the Zimbabwean scores. A typical Zimbabwe Collapse™ in the middle-order took the wind out of their innings, though, and left Canada in the driving seat. Elton Chigumbura's 30 put Zim back within a shot of the target, but the 10 runs required from the final over proved too much for Zim, who ended with their score level with Canada's - and they had a fielding error by a Canadian player to thank for even that.

This being Twenty20, ties aren't permitted, and so the match was decided on a bowl-out - Zimbabwe comfortable won that 3-1, but if truth be told Zimbabwe should never have allowed Canada to gain the upper hand in this match, and should never have allowed themselves to be taken to a bowl-out in the first place - the side is better than this, but poor on-field decisions (also pointed out by Alastair Campbell during his commentary on the match) saw Zimbabwe blow their advantage, just as they did against Sri Lanka. A very poor performance.

Full scorecard below the cut.
Canada 135/7 (20 overs; Jethi 24, Chigumbura 2/31), Zimbabwe 135/9 (20 overs; Taibu 37, Baidwan 3/27). Scores Tied; Zimbabwe win after bowl-out (Canada 1, Zimbabwe 3).

Zimbabwe snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the opening match of the Al Barakh Cup in Canada, as Sri Lanka were let off the hook courtesy of some poor decisions by captain Prosper Utseya.

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field after a wet outfield delayed the start of the match and saw it reduced to 17 overs per side. Opener Stuart Matsikenyeri saw the side off to a disappointing start, dismissed for just 1 run, but decent performances by Hamilton Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha and Tatenda Taibu steadied the innings, with Taibu putting problems back home behind him to top-score with 45 not out. From there, though, it was all downhill, as Mendis (at 3/15 the best of the Sri Lankan bowlers) dealt with the lower order to restrict Zim to 107 runs from their 17 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka got off to a flyer as Udawatte and Dilshan put on 36 for the opening wicket, as Utseya's decision to open the bowling with Chris Mpofu quickly backfired, with Mpofo going for 26 runs off his two overs bowled - needless to say he wasn't brought back. Tawanda Mupariwa (18/0) and Ray Price (2/9) reigned the scoring back in during the middle of the innings, with Price's wickets giving Zimbabwe the upper hand again, but once again a suspect decision by Utseya saw them throw away their advantage - with Sri Lanka needing better than a run a ball and with Chigumbura and Mupariwa still with overs in hand, Keith Dabengwa was brought on - a second-string bowler at best, and Sri Lanka quickly punished that decision, on their way to reaching their target with an over to spare.

On the plus side, Sri Lanka were made to work for their victory - but at the end of the day, they didn't win so much as Zimbabwe conspired to lose. They had this match for the taking, and bad captaincy lost it for them. Very disappointing.

Full scorecard below the cut.
Zimbabwe 106/9 (17/17 overs; Taibu 45*, Mendis 3/15), Sri Lanka 107/5 (16/17 overs; Dilshan 33, Price 2/9). Sri Lanka win by 5 wickets .

brmtaylor.com provides the following results from this week's matches in the Vigne Cup:
Uprising (195; Mafuva 51) beat Takashinga 1 (73; Chinyengetere 5/19) by 122 runs
Royals beat Harare Sports Club by forfeit - HSC failed to field a side
Uprising 2 (271; Daniels 66) beat Centurions (187; Hwezha 58)

PCA's win in the 3rd one-day match against Zimbabwe Board XI handed them a 3-0 series sweep at Harare Sports Club yesterday. PCA opted to bat after winning the toss, posting 260/7 in their 50 overs. Fawad Alam anchored the innings with an unbeaten 100 runs, while Asad Shafiq chipped in with 49 runs before he was run out, and Umer Ameen added 35 before he fell to Prince Masvaure who had him caught by Regis Chakabva. Shingirai Masakadza, returning from injury, picked up 3/42 from his 10 overs and was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers.

As before, though, Board XI's batting simply wasn't up to scratch. Friday Kasteni top-scored with 45, with Regis Chakabva adding 37 and Timycen Maruma 31, but other than that there wasn't much resistance from the home side, who were bowled out for 197 in the 47th over.

Full scorecard below the cut.
Pakistan Cricket Academy 260/7 (50 overs; Alam 100*, S Masakadza 3/42), Zimbabwe Board XI 197 (46.2 overs; Kasteni 45, Majeed 3/41. PCA win by 63 runs.

While the match was closer than the first one-dayer, the result was the same, as Pakistan Cricket Academy scored another win to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Batting first, Pakistan were reduced 45/3 by Board XI's opening bowler Taurai Muzarabani. Fawad Alam top scored with 68 to lead PCA to a decent score as part of a 5th-wicket stand with Ali Asad, who carried on where Alam left off, scoring freely to take his side past the 200 mark.

Zimbabwe lost Friday Kasteni early to Junaid Khan, but they moved along quickly to 63 thanks to some agressive play from Cephas Zhuwawo. The dismissal of Chamu Chibhabha sparked a collapse, though, as the side fell to 103/6. Timycen Maruma wagged the home side's tail a little with his 50, the top score of the innings, but by then the damage had been done & Zimbabwe were eventually bowled out for 189.

Full scorecard below the cut.
Pakistan Cricket Academy 213 (49.3/50 overs; Fawad Alam 68, Muzarabani 4/38), Zimbabwe Board XI 189 (44.1/50 overs; Maruma 50, Mohammad Talha 5/43). PCA win by 24 runs.

Pakistan Cricket Academy continued in their winning ways yesterday, sealing a comprehensive 113-run win over Zimbabwe Board XI.

Board XI won the toss and sent the Academy side in to bat. They made 237 runs for eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Fahad Iqbal top-scored with 61 runs from 86 balls, five of them fours, before he was caught by Friday Kasteni off the bowling of captain Graeme Cremer. Anwar Ali chipped in with an unbeaten 54. Cremer finished with figures of 3/46 from his 10 overs, while Trevor Garwe took 3/50. Admire Manyumwa and Timycen Maruma picked up one wicket each.

Speculation over on the forums ahead of the match was that the Board XI's bowling line-up was decent, but that there could be problems with the batting, and so it came to pass as Zim managed to score just 124 before being bowled out. Rising star Regis Chakabva went for a duck with another bright prospect, Friday Kasteni, following soon after for just 2. Bonaparte Mujuru steadied the ship with his 45 but when he was caught by Asad Shafiq off Yasir Shah, things fell apart for the Board XI as the tail collapsed with the side well short of their target.

The next one-dayer between the ZC Board XI and the Pakistan Cricket Academy is at Harare Sports Club on Sunday. Scorecard below the cut.
Pakistan Cricket Academy 237/8 (50 overs; Iqbal 61, Cremer 3/46), Zimbabwe Cricket Board XI 124 (33.2 overs; Mujuru 45, Shah 3/23). PCA win by 113 runs.

Zimbabwe Board XI may have had the upper hand for most of this match, but Pakistan Academy put in a dominant performance on the final day to secure a 4-wicket win and with it an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

Board XI started well on Day One, scoring 300/6, led by 91 from new boy Tafadzwa Ngulube. The resumption of play on Day Two saw the first worrying signs, though, as Pakistan were able to bowl out the remainder of the Zimbabwean batsmen with just 25 more runs scored. Mohammad Talha was the pick of the visiting bowlers, taking 4/89. In reply, Pakistan picked up 366, with Cremer (4/83) and Garwe (2/78) making sure the visitors were kept within sight. Fawad Alam's 101 was the best score for PCA.

Board XI's second innings got off to a promising start, too, with the side working their way to 201/3 before bad light stopped play on Day Three. The next morning saw a repeat of the first innings though, with Pakistan making early headway and eventually bowling Zimbabwe out for 304, leaving a target of 266 for the visitors to chase. With Zimbabwe's bowlers showing poor form, and captain Khurram Manzoor reaching 115, it turned out to be an easy target to reach. Prince Masvaure was the best of Zim's bowlers, but was only able to contribute 2/30.

Full scorecard below the cut.
Zimbabwe Board XI 328 (Ngulube 91, Talha 4/89) & 304 (Maruma 60, Raheel Majeed 4/80), Pakistan Academy 366 (Fawad Alam 101, Cremer 4/83) & 267/6 (Manzoor 115, Masvaure 2/30). Pakistan Academy win by 4 wickets.

Pakistan Academy cruised to an easy win over Zimbabwe Board XI in Harare yesterday, as the Board XI's 2nd innings ended just before tea on the final day with the side just over 200 runs short of their target. The writing was already on the wall by the end of the first day, when Pakistan eased their way to 330/6, lead by Ahmed Shehzad's 76. Prosper Tsvanhu had scored an early scalp when the visitors' captain Khurram Manzoor was caught behind on just 7, but that was pretty much the highlight of the opening day for the home side. Pakistan when on to reach 482/7 before declaring on day two to give the Zimbabweans their turn with the bat.

They managed to reach just 189 before succumbing, with only Bornaparte Mujuru (90*) putting up significant resistance. In their second innings, Pakistan again declared at 103/2 leave the Board XI to chase a target of 397, but their inexperienced side wasn't up to the task. Tafadzwa Kamungozi top-scored in the 2nd innings with 37.

Full scorecard below the cut
Pakistan Academy 480/7 decl (Ali Asad 100*, Garwe 2/75) & 103/2 decl (Khurram Manzoor 51, Staddon 1/20), Zimbabwe Board XI 184 (Mujuru 90*, Anwar Ali 4/41) & 194 (Kamungozi 37, Yasir Shah 5/70). Pakistan Academy win by 205 runs.

Zimbabwe's Under-15 side were on impressive form at the Ekurhuleni Cricket Festival in South Africa last week, ending the tournament unbeaten, while the Under-13's won seven out of their nine matches. Full details of the matches aren't available, but the U15 results were as follows:

30-over matches
Zimbabwe 148/8, EJCCA 123 all out. Zimbabwe won by 25 runs
Zimbabwe 176/5, Easterns 143/6. Zimbabwe won by 33 runs
EJCCA 187, Zimbabwe 188/7. Zimbabwe won by 3 runs
Namibia 148, Zimbabwe 150/8. Zimbabwe won by 2 wickets

Twenty20 matches
Zambia 51 all out, Zimbabwe 52/1. Zimbabwe won by 9 wickets
Northerns 98/6, Zimbabwe 100/1. Zimbabwe won by 9 wickets
SE Gauteng 88, Zimbabwe 89/7. Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets
Griqualand West 128/9, Zimbabwe 131/5. Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets
Zimbabwe 187, Easterns 167. Zimbabwe won by 20 runs.

The final match of this year's Faithwear Series was also the most important - a winner-takes-all match between Easterns and Northerns. Easterns won the toss and elected to bat, and after an early wobble with the loss of opener Timycen Maruma with the score on 13, they powered thier way to 249/9 from their 50 overs. Stuart Matsikenyeri claimed another half-ton (55), while Forster Mutizwa and Shingirai Masakadza both score 49. Graeme Cremer's 3/47 was the pick of the Northerns bowling.

In reply, Northerns went to pieces early on, with Tatenda Taibu (7), Tinashe Chimbambo (0) and Regis Chakabva (3) all falling early to leave their side struggling. Ishmael Senzere (36) and Cephas Zhuwawo (41) both made efforts to give their side a fighting chance, but Northerns were clearly missing a number of key players and weren't able to keep the required pace, eventually being bowled out for 157. That gave Easterns a 92-run win, and made sure they retained the Faithwear Series title. Full scorecard below the cut.
Easterns 249/9 (50 overs; Matsikenyeri 55, Cremer 3/47), Northerns 157 (39.4 overs; Zhuwawo 41, Steady Musoso 3/14). Easterns win by 92 runs.