Eddie Chikamhi-Zimpapers Sports Hub

ZIMBABWE were not entirely clinical, but positive sparks showed when they dismissed Netherlands by 29 runs in an ICC T20 Men’s World Cup warm-up match yesterday.

Fast bowler Richard Ngarava, who had a brilliant spell with the ball, and all-rounder Ryan Burl were especially impressive in the victory.

The Chevrons, playing their first game in over two months, came out with their guns blazing against the Dutch bowlers after winning the toss and electing to bat first at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After suffering the setback of losing opener Brian Bennett early, they took further blows in the middle overs but still found a way of staying competitive and taking the game beyond the reach of the Netherlands.

Hard-hitting all-rounder Burl played a crucial role in the innings with an unbeaten 50 runs as Zimbabwe put on 178/9 in their 20 overs.

The bowlers, led by Ngarava’s 3-11, also did their part when bowling out their opponents for 149 runs with the last ball of the match.

Skipper Sikandar Raza took the decision to bat first after winning the toss, and from the onset the Chevrons were aiming to take a go at the Netherlands bowlers.

But they were pegged back a bit when Bennett (1) returned a catch to Player of the Match Logan van Beek, who shone for the Netherlands with both bat and ball.

Bennett left with the scoreboard on seven runs. Fellow opener Tadiwanashe Marumani (28) held on for a 44-run partnership with Dion Myers for the second wicket. Myers followed next after a feisty innings of 32 runs from 14 balls that included two sixes and four boundaries, with 4.5 overs played.

Zimbabwe captain Raza also played a cameo, hitting two maximums and as many fours for his 20 runs from 13 balls.

Marumani also fell for 28 runs from 27 balls, to leave the Chevrons at 91/4 after 9.5 overs.

Then Burl, batting at number five, found no-one to complement him as wickets continued to tumble around him.

Clive Madande went for a duck, followed by Tashinga Musekiwa (3) in quick succession, and Zimbabwe slid to 115/7 when Bradley Evans was run out for 15 runs from the nine deliveries he faced.

Netherlands all-rounder van Beek was back to haunt the Zimbabweans when he claimed the wickets of Tony Munyonga (17) and Wellington Masakadza (0), to finish with bowling figures of 3-22.

Van Beek was also instrumental in the chase with his unbeaten 40 from 31 balls in the lower middle order helping the Dutch narrow the margin of defeat.

Ngarava dealt the Netherlands a massive blow when he claimed the scalps of Max O’Dowd (0) and Bas de Leede (0) with the first over that returned only one run. The Dutch batters could not recover from the upset and were four down by the end of the power play overs.

Ngarava led with three wickets in hand while Masakadza and veteran Graeme Cremer had two apiece. There were also wickets each for Raza, Tinotenda Maposa and Evans, who was targeted by the Netherlands batsmen yesterday, conceding 45 runs from four overs. The rust showed for the Chevrons, who had last played international cricket in a triangular series held in Sri Lanka last November.

Zimbabwe will also play Oman at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground tomorrow to wrap up their preparations ahead of the 2026 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The Chevrons are returning to the stage after missing the previous edition held in the United States and West Indies because of failure to qualify.

The last time they played at the tournament in 2022, they performed relatively well to reach the Super 12 stage where they unfortunately lost to Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

The structure of the tournament is different this year. Twenty teams, placed in four groups, are taking part in the competition, with the top two from each pool progressing to the Super Eight.

Zimbabwe are in Group B and will play former champions Australia, Ireland, Oman and hosts Sri Lanka.

The tournament will start this Saturday with the opening match featuring Netherlands and Pakistan at SSC Cricket Ground. The Chevrons will get their campaign underway against Oman at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo next Monday, ahead of a high-profile encounter against Australia at the R. Premadasa Stadium four days later.

The team will then travel to Kandy to face Ireland at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on February 17, before returning to Colombo to conclude their group fixtures against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium on February 19.