Eddie Chikamhi-Zimpapers Sports Hub

THE sun eventually came out, and the brass band played on until the last ball in support of the Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket side, but the home comforts were not enough to carry the day for the hosts in an ICC Under-19 Men’s World Cup match against England at Takashinga yesterday.

The Young Chevrons fell short in an eight-wicket defeat, much to the disappointment of a passionate crowd from the surrounding Highfield high-density suburb.

England Under-19 skipper Thomas Rew led his side from the front with a brilliant batting performance as they chased down Zimbabwe’s 208/9 with relative ease.

The Somerset wicketkeeper-batter was named Player of the Match for his 86 runs, from 66 balls. Rew found able support from Ben Mayes, who was also unbeaten on 77 runs, having faced 72 balls.

The two featured in a commanding third-wicket partnership that yielded 167 runs from 128 deliveries.

The pair was unshaken even after Shelton Mazvitorera had given the hosts a glimmer of hope earlier on after dismissing openers Ben Dawkins (11) and Joe Moores (19) to leave England on 42/2 inside the powerplay overs. Still, England’s response with the bat was emphatic as they raced to 209 in just 28 overs, without losing further wickets.

Zimbabwe captain Simbarashe Mudzengerere, who top-scored for his side with an unbeaten 45 runs, lamented the defeat but believes the team will be able to bounce back if they improve their execution.

“We need to give ourselves a bit of time, avoid rushing, and stay at the crease. The moment you stay at the wicket, you win,” he said.

“The England batters attacked the cow corner region effectively and picked their shots well. We are close to doing well and we only need slightly better execution to turn things around.”

There were fears the match could be affected by bad weather because of the dark clouds that hung over the venue for the better part of the day, but the rain yesterday stayed away and the supporters came out in numbers.

England won the toss first and threw Zimbabwe in to bat under the overcast conditions. Unlike the first game against Scotland that was washed out by rain at the same venue last week without a ball bowled, Zimbabwe set a modest total of 208/9 in their allotted overs.

The Young Chevrons encountered early struggles in their innings, losing Nathaniel Hlabangana in the first over.

England bowled with discipline and found the breakthrough on the third ball when Alex French had Hlabangana caught by Joe Moores, with the scoreboard yet to tick. The recovery process was never going to be easy against the top-quality English bowlers.

Both openers were back in the pavilion with just 30 runs on the board at the start of the 11th over, after Kupakwashe Muradzi (8) was caught by James Minto off the bowling of Luke Hands.

Zimbabwe’s innings continued at a snail’s pace in the middle overs, and the hosts were always pegged back by the slow run rate.

The home team had 91 runs on the board and three wickets down at the halfway stage. The wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, and they slumped further from 107/3 to 153/7.

Kian Blignaut (33), Dhruv Patel (36), Tatenda Chimugoro (30) and skipper Mudzengerere put up some resistance but were unable to convert to big scores largely because of poor shot selection.

The pressure would be felt by the lower middle order, who had to dig deep in search of a competitive score. But the need for urgency resulted in more setbacks as England bowlers tightened the grip.

Wickets continued to fall around the skipper, Mudzengerere, who got in at number six. Brandon Senzere got stumped on 14 runs after facing 25 balls, and then Zimbabwe’s rising pinch hitter, Michael Blignaut (9), was taken by Manny Lumsden after attempting a maximum off the bowling of Ralphie Albert.

Zimbabwe’s hopes continued to dim when Leeroy Chiwaula became the stumping victim, leaving the score at 193/8 with under four overs remaining.

Right-arm medium pacer Lumsden was the pick of the England bowlers with figures of 3-38 in his 10 overs. Albert and Farhan Ahmed finished with two wickets apiece, while French and Hands had one each.

England Under-19 captain Rew hopes his team will continue with the momentum after also beating Pakistan by 37 runs in their first match last Friday.

On the other hand, Zimbabwe’s opening Group C match against Scotland Under-19 failed to take off the day because of a wet outfield and persistent rain.

As it stands, England leads Group C with four points, while Zimbabwe and Scotland are sitting on a point each. Pakistan are yet to take off and will face Scotland today at the same venue.