Zimbabwe under-19s in the World Cup

The following reports are taken from those sent by manager Wyn Justin-Smith to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union on the matches played by the Zimbabwe Under-19 team in the Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka.

The team arrived safely after a long and very tiring flight on Friday 7 January. It was too late to have a proper practice.

FIRST WARM-UP GAME: v Colombo Division 1 Schools ZIMBABWE 170 (M L Nkala 47, T Taibu 31*). COLOMBO SCHOOLS 101 (G Ewing 4/18, M L Nkala 3/11). Zimbabwe won by 69 runs.

We lost the toss and were put in to bat on a slow damp track with a damp yielding outfield. The batting made a reasonable start with 43 in 10 overs before the first wicket fell. Thereafter wickets fell at short intervals with only Tatenda Taibu doing well and Mluleki Nkala providing the major runs, being last out in the last over.

The bowling was reasonable although C McMillan only bowled four overs before lunch and then not at all afterwards. Sean Ervine was called for many no-balls and wides and hence only bowled two overs. Mluleki Nkala bowled well, as did Gavin Ewing. The opposition were never in the game, losing two wickets in the first two overs, were 43 for four at lunch and continued losing wickets at regular intervals.

SECOND WARM-UP GAME: v Panadura/Moors Cricket Clubs ZIMBABWE 137 (C Brewer 22, S Ervine 20). PANADURA/MOORS 141/2. Zimbabwe lost by eight wickets.

The game had a late start, with 11/2 hours' delay because of steady overnight rain which left the wicket damp and the outfield soggy in places, although it was amazing how quickly it got relatively dry. No toss was made but it was agreed that Zimbabwe would bat first because Paul Strang, the coach, did not want to risk possible muscle injuries fielding on slippery surfaces. The game was reduced to 44 overs per side.

A feature of the game was the number of run-outs that our batsmen committed. After starting off running well with good singles, misunder-standings set in with four wickets being lost to run-outs. This should never happen at this level. One performance their batsmen scored 83 before being run out, not being afraid if necessary to hit the ball over the top. Travis Friend was the most economical bowler with Michael Sherren being the most expensive.

Friend captained the side as Nkala felt twinges in his ankle again and we did not feel he should risk playing before the first main game against West Indies on Tuesday 11 January.

1ST MATCH: ZIMBABWE v WEST INDIES

WEST INDIES 234/6 (G Ewing 2/20, M L Nkala 2/47). ZIMBABWE 92/9 (T Friend 39). West Indies won by 124 runs (Duckworth-Lewis).

Our pace bowlers had a very good opening stint and this was carried on by the spinners, especially by Gavin Ewing. Unfortunately four half-chances were put down and this enabled the West Indies to post a reasonable score with one of their batsmen scoring 83.

Their opening attack was very quick and we were soon three wickets down before Greg Lamb and Travis Friend put together a good partnership. Two run-outs did not help our batting. Eventually bad light stopped play with 11/2 hours left, but not before their opening bowler in the last over took a hat-trick in the poor light.

Because of the stoppage the Duckworth-Lewis calculations came into play. However, one good thing was that, because of the stoppage, our run rate will not be taken into account.

2ND MATCH: ZIMBABWE v THE AMERICAS

This report has not yet been made available to us.

3RD MATCH: ZIMBABWE v ENGLAND

ENGLAND 187/8 (G Ewing 2/27, T Friend 2/28). ZIMBABWE 184/6 (G Croxford 63*, M L Nkala 53). Zimbabwe lost by 3 runs.

The team really played well in this match and showed their true potential. The bowling was good with three wickets for 47 runs, then six wickets for 82 runs and eight wickets for 130 runs before England finally batted well, scoring 57 runs for the unbroken ninth-wicket partnership. A feature of their batting was the inclusion of no fewer than six left-handers - always a difficult situation to adjust to. The fielding was good, with one excellent run-out by Sean Ervine and some very good catches were taken.

A new opening partnership of Alester Maregwede and Ervine was tried, and they put on 29 together. Then a few quick wickets fell to reduce us to 49 for four. Guy Croxford and Mluleki Nkala came together to put on 103 for the fifth wicket when Nkala was run out (he had to use a runner for the latter part of his innings), but this really showed how our batsmen can perform. Nkala was very good, playing the ball into the gaps, while Croxford hit the ball harder and registered five fours.

With two overs to go we needed just eight runs, but scored only four due to some very good bowling by the England players and rather difficult light to bat in. As a result we will now play in the Plate event. Tomorrow we go to Galle with the next matches on Wednesday 19, Friday 21 and Sunday 23 January against opponents who will only be finalised today.

4TH MATCH: ZIMBABWE v KENYA

KENYA 162 (H Henderson 3/35, C McMillan 2/35, G Croxford 2/2). ZIMBABWE 165/4 (C Brewer 34, T Taibu 40, G Lamb 41*). Zimbabwe won by six wickets.

Zimbabwe won the toss and put Kenya in to bat on a good hard wicket. The opening bowlers, C McMillan and Travis Friend, bowled well with McMillan picking up two early wickets. Their third wicket put on 42 runs, followed by another two quick wickets. There were a couple of good catches by Friend and McMillan as well as an excellent run-out by Greg Lamb. Hilton Henderson was the main wicket-taker, although he bowled too many no-balls and wides. Guy Croxford sealed their innings with two wickets in one over off successive balls.

Our batting was much better, with most of the batsmen getting runs, although three of the wickets went to catches by the keeper. Conan Brewer batted well for his 34 before being bowled. Greg Lamb and Tatenda Taibu both batted well in putting on 73 for the fourth wicket, six and five fours respectively in their innings.

This was a good victory over a team which had a few useful cricketers. Next we play Namibia on Friday 21 January at Galle before heading back to play Bangladesh on Sunday in Colombo. That will complete the first round of the plate event before hopefully the semi-finals and final.