Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE senior men cricket team batting coach Stuart Matsikenyeri is satisfied with the way the Chevrons played across the five days in the first Test match against West Indies which ended in a draw at Queens Sports Club on Wednesday.
The Chevrons managed to fend a Windies side that had the game on their hands in the early stages. However, Zimbabwe managed to claw back into the encounter to get a draw which Matsikenyeri said they were happy with.
Matsikenyeri indicated that they are proud with a draw which was the next best result from victory.
“There was different spaces from day one, we played a lot under pressure and we played some phases were we were on top and such is the nature of Test cricket and this afternoon (Wednesday) once we saw that we could not achieve the win that we needed the best next result is a draw and we are absolutely proud of the way the guys handled themselves out there in particular Tafadzwa Tsiga and Wellington Masakadza, the way they played at the back end.
“We are pleased at the way the guys adapted to the situation even though we were not going towards a winning result,” said Matsikenyeri.
Zimbabwe had five debutants in the first match, Tsiga, Tanunurwa Makoni, Gary Ballance, Bradley Evans and Innocent Kai who all impressed Matsikenyeri in their first outing. Ballance was playing Test cricket for Zimbabwe for the first time having previously represented England 23 times in the longest format of the game.
He said he was impressed with the way they all played and hopes they carry on and is ever pleased with what they did for the team in the match.
Ballance scored his first century for Zimbabwe to become only the third Zimbabwean to score a hundred on Test debut after Dave Houghton and Hamilton Masakadza. The 33-year-old’s outstanding 137 runs not out made him just the second player in the history of the game to have scored Test centuries for two different countries, following in the footsteps of former Australia and South Africa international Kepler Wessels.
The 137 is the highest by a Zimbabwean in debut, better than the 121 by Houghton when Zimbabwe faced India in their first ever Test in 1992 and the 119 by Hamilton Masakadza against the Windies in 2001.
Among other notable performances from debutants was Kaia who scored 67 runs in the first innings after a brilliant first wicket partnership with Makoni who fell for 33 runs. In the second innings, Tsiga came to Zimbabwe’s rescue with an unbeaten 83 ball 24 runs which saw him, alongside Wellington Masakadza, save the match for the Chevrons.
“We are proud of what our debutants did and achieved in this Test match,” said Matsikenyeri.
Another player that impressed Matsikenyeri in the first match was leg spinner Brandon Mavuta who put in a brilliant all-round performance. In his first Test since 2018, Mavuta took a five wicket haul to finish with the figures of 5/140 in 41 overs and went on to score 56 runs.
“For me it’s just pleasing to see him (Mavuta) come out and do what he did in this Test match. Over the years he has been a guy that scored runs for the teams he has played for but it’s good to see him stand up at this stage and when it matters the most for his side. He dug us out of a tricky position and I am so pleased for him,” said Matsikenyeri.
West Indies scored a huge 447-6 (143 overs) declared in the first innings and Zimbabwe responded with a good fight back where they finished on 379-9 (125 overs) declared to give the visitors a lead going into the match’s third innings. Windies went on to call time on their second visit to the middle on 203-5, setting the Chevrons a target of 272 runs for victory which they did not reach as they finished on 134-6 to draw the match.
With the first Test having concluded in a draw, the two teams head into the second five-day contest which starts on Sunday knowing that whoever wins takes the series.. — @brandon_malvin
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter