Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
NATIONAL Under-19 cricket captain Simbarashe Mudzengere feels Zimbabwe lost to England on Sunday because they did not do the basics.
He spoke shortly after the hosts returned to full training following Sunday’s eight wicket defeat, a result that has tightened the noose in Group C of the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup and left Zimbabwe with no room for another slip.
Zimbabwe posted 208 for nine in their 50 overs, a total Mudzengerere insists should have been enough on a surface that didn’t offer much for the batters. Instead, England chased it down with eight wickets to spare, making it look easier than it should have been.
“Our score was defendable on that wicket,” Mudzengerere said. “The wicket wasn’t bouncing much, and I think the bowlers could have bowled more wicket to wicket balls.”
For him, the damage wasn’t in the scoreboard, it was in the execution. Zimbabwe’s bowlers missed their lines, leaked freebies, and England punished the soft stuff without needing to take risks.
“If we had done that, then we could have succeeded more in getting wickets,” he said. “Most of the bowlers were bowling down leg and the England batters were waiting for that one ball to go for a six to the leg side.”
The defeat was Zimbabwe’s first completed match of the tournament after their opening fixture against Scotland was abandoned last week due to a wet outfield, and it immediately changed the mood in the camp. One point from two games is not the start a host nation wants when Super Six qualification is on the line.
The loss also handed England control of the group. The Europeans have been the surprise package, unbeaten after two rounds, and they sit top with a maximum four points. Pakistan have now moved into second place on two points after beating Scotland by six wickets yesterday.
That leaves Zimbabwe and Scotland at the bottom, both on one point, split only by net run rate. In a group that has already been shaped by weather and one heavy result, Zimbabwe’s margin for error is basically gone.
England play Scotland tomorrow, while Zimbabwe face Pakistan on Thursday to close the preliminary rounds. It is a match that comes with history, and a reminder of how quickly Pakistan can shut a team down.
Zimbabwe’s batting will again be judged hard, but the England match at least showed there is something to work with. Mudzengerere led from the front, top-scoring with an unbeaten 45 off 63 balls, holding the innings together when Zimbabwe needed calm more than flair.
He was not alone. Kian Blignaut made 33, Dhruv Patel struck 36, and Tatenda Chimugoro added 30, but Zimbabwe never got the one innings that turns 208 into 250. The starts came, the finish didn’t.
“We were in a good position when I came in and just tried to just stay for as long as I could to give myself time to put a decent score up,” Mudzengerere said. “The most important thing was that I try bat the 50 overs and take the responsibility of giving us a good score to defend.”
He felt the total was enough, but admitted the pressure of the moment crept into their game once England began the chase.
“I thought 208 was a decent and defendable score,” he said. “In the end, I think we were a little bit nervous and that got in our way. We need to improve on our execution, going forward.”
Now the captain is spelling it out clearly. Beat Pakistan and Zimbabwe go through. Lose, and they are at the mercy of other results, net run rate, and the kind of tournament maths that usually ends in regret.
“If we win our game against Pakistan on Thursday, we will qualify for the Super 6,” he said.
“Yeah, there are a lot of scenarios that are in our minds, but the long and short of it is that we just need to win the game against Pakistan.”
