Zim A still hold on into third day

Tinashe Kusema

DESPITE looking down and out for a huge chunk of the two days of the second three-day match at Takashinga Cricket Club, Zimbabwe A has simply refused to roll over and play dead.

The duo of Ainsley Ndlovu and Victor Nyauchi deserve a lot of praise.

The two have emerged as the chief tormentors of the visiting Durham County side during this particular match in which they contributed with both bat and ball.

During the first day, the two combined for a total of seven wickets as Durham was forced to declare at 196 for eight after a lot of overs were lost to Tuesday’s morning showers and bad light.

The two were then at it again yesterday, this time with the bat, as Zimbabwe’s struggles with the bat once again reared its ugly face.

The Zim A team yesterday were bundled out for a paltry 116 with the hosts’ innings lasting only 40.2 overs.

The top and middle order crumbled like a deck of cards as none of the top five batters managed to make double-digit figures, leaving the team reeling at 35 for six after only 17 overs.

Only five batters in total managed to make said double-digit figures with skipper Ndlovu and Nyauchi, who bat at number eight and nine, top-scoring with 35 runs off 40 balls and 21 runs off 43 balls respectively.

The other notable contributions came from the trio of Milton Shumba (11), wicketkeeper Tadiwanashe Marumani (10), and Michael Chinouya who finished unbeaten at 15 runs off 33 balls.

Zimbabwe’s 116 forced the visitors to bat again after which they declared again at 192 runs for eight.

Nyauchi and Ndlovu were again in on the act as the Zimbabwe A side’s bowlers pegged Durham at every turn.

A pair of half-centuries from the series’ danger-man Colin Ackerman (51 runs off 53 balls) and Ben McKinney (52 runs off 49 balls) turned out to be the difference-maker, giving the visitors a slight edge heading into the third and final day today.

Chinouya was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers with figures of three for 65 runs while Ndlovu and Nyauchi chipped in with two and one wicket respectively.

Set a target of 270 runs for victory and with roughly 19 overs left to navigate, Zimbabwe got off to a horrid start as they lost opener Tanunurwa Makoni early.

The 24-year-old Zimbabwean opener was bowled by Oliver Gibson for a nine-ball duck.

At stumps, Zimbabwe A were 10/1 and still need 260 runs for victory with nine wickets to spare.

The duo of Nkosana Mpofu and Hamid Ali were unbeaten on five runs each.