Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE all-rounder Wessly Madhevere’s penultimate over howler is likely to haunt him and his teammates for a long time after the Chevrons ruined what could have been a good chance to pull off a famous win over world champions Australia in the last match of One Day International at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
The home team were eventually punished as Australia sneaked to a one wicket win, with one ball to spare, in a tense finish to the contest and claimed a 3-0 series whitewash.
Australia’s tail-enders Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson ensured the Aussies crossed the line in the nail-biting final overs as they chased down Zimbabwe’s 271/8.
Australia were on the ropes for long despite a fighting ton from Josh Inglis. But they still finished their innings on 272/9 after benefiting from the hosts’ excesses late on.
The vociferous Zimbabwe fans were expectant after Australia’s last recognised batsman Inglis had departed for 103 from 102 balls, with 44 runs still needed and with just two wickets in the tail to deal with.
It got even better for Zimbabwe when fast bowler Brad Evans removed Adam Zampa (9) and Australia requiring 27 runs with one wicket in hand.
But the turning point came in the 49th over, taken by Ernest Masuku. Madhevere literally dropped the match for Zimbabwe in that penultimate over when he failed to hold on to what could have been a match-winning catch after Ellis skied his shot to present Zimbabwe with a grand opportunity.
With the stadium already on its feet, the ball somehow escaped from Madhevere’s hands, and the euphoria across the arena immediately turned to deafening silence.
Then, the bizarre decision to give him the crucial last over to defend nine runs proved the final nail in the coffin as his confidence gave in and the game slipped away from his fingers, after he was hit for a six the first ball by Ellis, who went on to finish with a career-best 36 runs.
Many unanswered questions lingered in the air as Madhevere broke down in tears. The crowd was left stunned by the heartbreaking end to this affair.
Skipper Sikandar Raza said Zimbabwe put up a good fight, only for the anti-climax. He also defended the decision to give the responsibility to Madhevere in the crucial last over when it had appeared his confidence was shattered.
“There are two ways to think about it, and I think cricket is only for the brave. I think he was in the right frame of mind; he wanted to win the game.
“I wanted him to win the game. These things happen. It takes a lot of courage to even raise your hand to say I’ll go the last over.”
“So, there’s one way to look at it, saying, “Oh, I want to run away, and I want to hide but Wessly put his hand up, and he said, “no I feel okay; I feel good to go this over.
“So, whether you can kick a man when he’s down or actually lift him up, for me he showed a lot of character and courage to even ask for the ball, and I back him. Having said that, I’ll back him again and again and again until he gets it right.
“We don’t leave a man when he’s down. These are the games, these are the moments you want to be part of to win it for the team, and I’m happy for Wessly; at least he was brave enough to try and win the game for the team.
“It could have gone either way, but before we even look at that, in the last hour we had plenty of chances to close the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t take those,” said Raza.
The Chevrons will know that they botched a good opportunity.
They looked on their way to claiming a consolation victory, after losing the opening two matches of the series. But the script took a sharp turn in those late moments.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first, putting on a competitive 271/8. There was much improvement with the bat yesterday as they batted through their overs for the first time in this series.
