PROUD TO BE A ZIMBABWEAN CRICKET FOLLOWER

WOW, Boy!!!
Am I proud to be a part of the cricket set up in Zimbabwe!!!!!!!!
Well done to BT and his boys for that fantastic all round perfomance. To Allan Butcher, Steve Mangongo, Grant Flower and Heath Streak keep up the good work you made us proud as your fans and media practitioners of the sport.

THIS IS HOW IT TURNED OUT IN THE FEWEST WORDS...............

South Africa were hopeless in their demise as Zimbabwe capped a fine week to win the unofficial Twenty20 tri-series final by nine wickets at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Beaten by the hosts and Bangladesh earlier in the tournament, the Proteas' corrective measures - at the crease and in the field - were entirely inadequate.


Faf du Plessis was the mainstay with the bat, while Chris Morris' right-arm seam proved solid. The rest, though, have plenty of questions to ask of themselves at the end of a poor tour.
Sure not to buck the norm after winning the toss, visiting captain Hashim Amla duly opted to bat first. The decision brought his side a total of 146 for six, but really they would have wanted considerably more on either side of du Plessis' half-century.


However, Richard Levi's duck and Amla's three didn't oblige. Neither did Justin Ontong's five nor Justin Ontong's two. Were it not for Albie Morkel's late-innings cameo of 34 not out from 23 balls, the final tally might not have reached much more than 110.

Either way, it was not enough.

Zimbabwe promptly backed a fine showing in the field with more dominance with the bat. Vusi Sibanda perished at gully for 23 to afford the South Africans momentary hope, but that ambition was ultimately stifled by Hamilton Masakadza (58 not out) and Brendan Taylor (59 not out).
Man of the Match Taylor and Player of the Series Masakadza had formed the backbone of Zimbabwe's batting in the build-up to the final, and Sunday was no different.The duo were near faultless in their unbeaten 117-run alliance inside 14 overs that ensured victory with all of 17 deliveries to spare.


Taylor was particularly telling in his attack of spinner Robin Peterson, while Masakadza was happy to bid his time against Morris before attacking Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
The Proteas endured another substandard effort in the deep and, although they didn't drop any catches this time, will be questioned for their shoddy ground fielding.
While their preparations for the World Twenty20 were far from polished, Zimbabwe will feel pretty pleased ahead of September's limited-overs showpiece in Sri Lanka.

AMLA LEADS STARS IN BANGLADESH WIN

South Africa opened their account with Richard Levi and Hashim Amla, the duo immediately sank their teeth in. They posted 70 runs in a little over six overs, making Mushfiqur's hope of keeping South Africa below 160 seem nothing more than wishful thinking.

While Levi scored his runs through force, Amla, who hit his highest Twenty20 score, did it through finesse. Bangladesh had no answers. Ziaur Rahman gave them some respite when he removed Levi with a slower ball for 37 off 21 deliveries. Amla would have gone shortly after, but Mortaza put down a tough chance at short cover. Amla brought up his half-century with his first six of the innings, arguably the shot of the day, using his wrists to hit high over extra cover.

Albie Morkel was moved up to No. 4 but did not produce the expected fireworks. That Morkel did not deliver did not matter, because Amla continued to pepper the boundary. JP Duminy joined the plunder, pulling at will in the last over. Young Abul Hasan had little composure and sent down short ball after short ball to end a tough 20 overs for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh never looked up to chasing at a rate of 10.50 runs per over but did not disgrace themselves either. Mohammad Ashraful showed early intent against the short balls from Tsotsobe, cutting and pulling powerfully. Anamul Haque, who replaced the injured Tamim Iqbal, could not provide suitable company, getting caught at fine leg off a Marchant de Lange short ball.

Ashraful almost lost a second partner when Jahurul Islam edged a full ball from Morkel but the wicketkeeper Dane Vilas could not hold on as he dived to his right. After a 29-run stand in five overs, Ashraful eventually looked to force the pace but spliced a Tsotsobe short ball to a diving Amla at mid-on.

Bangladesh suffered a mini-collapse in the next over, when Jahurul tried to take on Robin Peterson but holed out to long-on, and Nasir Hossain top-edged to Morkel at third man. Peterson's double-wicket maiden contributed to his figures of 2 for 16.

At 49 for 4, it could have unravelled for Bangladesh but Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah did not allow that to happen. They had the luxury of facing the weakest bowler in South Africa's arsenal, Wayne Parnell, who bowled too short. The pair put on 61 runs before a Morkel slower ball accounted for Mahmudullah.

Mushfiqur hung around until the end as South Africa's bowlers seemed to interest and gave away runs, failing to control their lengths. He further irritated South Africa when he offered Tsotsobe a catch that the fielder let through for four. Mushfiqur reached 50 off the last ball of the innings, a full one from Parnell, which was driven for four. Bangladesh had seen out 20 overs, but it was a mismatch.

TAMIM OUT OF ENCOUNTER, SA IS IN IT TO WIN IT

  After Hamilton Masakadza's half-century blitz and a superb all-round performance with the ball afforded Zimbabwe a eleven run victory over Bangladesh in the first match of the T20 tri-series at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

Bangladesh have a tough task tomorrow as they face South Africa at the same venue. The Tigers will be without star batsman Tamim Iqbal the opener, who has been ruled out of Tuesday's Twenty20 triangular match,  due to a thigh injury he picked up in the tournament's opening game. Anamul Haque, the 19-year-old Khulna batsman, will be his replacement.

"Yes, I injured my quads, the physio says it's a grade-one tear. So I'm definitely not playing tomorrow's game," Tamim told OFF THE CREASE. "It is still a 50-50 call whether I will play the next game, because I don't want to aggravate the injury. But I will definately be staying here for the rest of the series."

Tamim endured the grade-one tear on his left quadriceps while batting against the hosts on Sunday, and he is reported to have had a similar injury earlier this  month.

MEANWHILE

Former Mountaineers coach Allan Donald now South Africa's bowling coach  has promised an entertaining game of cricket in tomorrow's encounter."We have come here to win it and also enjoy the game. l am very confident we will do well although for us this for preperatory purposes for our up coming tours and the T20 World Cup later on this year" he said.

The  Hashim Amla captained South African team has however been tight lipped on their final eleven for tomorrow's encounter. "We obviously have set goals here and there but we want to try by all means possible to observe some individuals in the team. We also are bearing in mind that the team will be going for the T20 World Cup" Donald added

The match starts at 12:45 at Harare Sports Club tomorrow morning.

OFF THE CREASE: BOTHA OUT OF SERIES AS BANGLADESH ARRIVE

OFF THE CREASE: BOTHA OUT OF SERIES AS BANGLADESH ARRIVE: SOUTH AFRICA spinner and stand in Proteas captain Johan Botha will not be part of the T20 series here in Zimbabwe. The series that also feat...

BOTHA OUT OF SERIES AS BANGLADESH ARRIVE

SOUTH AFRICA spinner and stand in Proteas captain Johan Botha will not be part of the T20 series here in Zimbabwe. The series that also features Bangladesh who arrived in the country last night gets underway on the 17th of this month. Botha suffered a knee injury at training in Johannesburg early this week, but is hopeful of a return against England this August. He was set to captain the side in the series in the absence of AB de Villiers. Botha told Cricinfo: "I got a ball to the knee and didn't think much of it but I was told to go for an MRI when I got home. "The damage got all the way to the patella [knee cap] and although I can cycle and do most things, the South Africa management was concerned that if I got hit on the knee again or was injured during fielding, that would prolong the recovery [period]. Hashim Amla will replace Botha as skipper on the trip, and a disappointed Botha added: "Even though I was only captaining because AB wouldn't be there, I was really looking forward to it. "The Zimbabwe series is important, but for me it may have been a little far out in terms of time. Hopefully, I'll play in England and get some cricket in there before Sri Lanka. "In terms of team combinations, it is disappointing to miss the Zimbabwe series, but I'll still play before [the World Twenty20]." MEANWHILE The Mushfiqur Rahim-captained side is expected to take on the hosts’ select side in a warm-up match which has been slated for Country Club tomorrow. Bangladesh open the series against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club this Sunday. The Tigers will have very bitter memories of their last visit to Zimbabwe after losing the one-off Test and the ODI series in August last year. In a clear sign that the Tigers are taking the series seriously, Richard Pybus told OFF THE CREASE that there would not be banking too much on the series’ “unofficial” tag. " “We are playing against Zimbabwe and in their backyard. We don’t have fond memories of the last tour because we lost both the Test and the one-day series, so it’s an opportunity,” said Rahim. “And playing South Africa so early before the World Cup is an opportunity as well. Definitely we will play for a win and try to give 100%.” The upcoming 12-day tour will be a first tour with the Tigers for six individuals in the touring party: new coach Richard Pybus, all-rounder Ziaur Rahman, batsman Anamul Haque, left-arm spinner Elias Sunny, paceman Abul Hasan and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen. While both South Africa and Bangladesh have already finalised their squads, the identity of the 15 players who will form part of the Zimbabwe team remains a closely guarded secret.