The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda in Kimberly, South Africa
WESLEY Madhevere picked up four wickets, went on to score a half century, his effort however not enough with Zimbabwe losing by 75 runs to England in an International Cricket Council Under-19 Cricket World Cup Plate League semifinal encounter at the Diamond Oval on Friday.
Zimbabwe will now play Scotland in an eleventh-place playoff in Kimberly on Sunday while England are through to the Plate League final against Sri Lanka in Benoni on Monday. It means that Zimbabwe cannot finish better than the eleventh place they secured in 2018, something they could have achieved had they beaten England.
Madhevere, an off spinner took four wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs as England posted 286 for nine in 50 overs. He went on to score 52 from 45 deliveries opening the batting only to be run out, Zimbabwe blown away for 210 in 40.3 overs.
The Zimbabwean vice-captain was not the only one to be run out, Taurayi Tugwete, the highest scorer for Zimbabwe with 58 runs also caught short.
Madhevere felt that they lost the game because the senior players did not come to the party by throwing away their wickets.
“Disappointing, I think it’s a matter of the senior players stepping up and making sure that if you in, you just convert, that’s where we lost the game, we had a couple of guys who got in and ended up chucking their wickets away in an easy manner so I think that’s where we actually lost it,’’ Madhevere said.
Man of the Match George Hill had earlier on top scored for England with 90 runs while Jordan Cox was second best with 59.
Requiring 5.7 runs per over, Zimbabwe were within reach with Madhevere maintaining his composure while wickets were falling on the other end, Madhevere was eventually run out with Zimbabwe still far off the mark. While Tugwete and Emmanuel Bawa put on 70 for the fifth wicket, the run rate kept on going up. Tugwete was also run out and his dismissal snuffed out any hopes that Zimbabwe had of winning.
@Mdawini_29
