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The full fixture list for the domestic Twenty20 competition - now known as the Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe T20 - has been released. You can find the full list on our Domestic Fixtures page. ZC had promised that an 'international side' would take part in the tourney, and true to their word Namibia have been named as the 6th side. The tournament will run from 12-20 February, with all matches to be played at Harare Sports Club.
[Source: ZC]

Zimbabwe 'A' head back home from Namibia with an unbeaten record - a definite improvement over the last time Zim 'A' visited the country, when Namibia won the series - after winning the 2nd ODI in Windhoek on Sunday. The win wasn't without it's problems, though, as the dreaded Zimbabwe Collapse™ reared its ugly head. Batting first, Zim were at one point reduced to 36/6 before captain Timycen Maruma arrived to steady the ship, making a patient 67 to consolidate the innings. Shingi Masakadza made 46, batting at 9th, to help bring some respectability to the score as Zim were bowled out for 189. Klazinga took 4/24 to lead the Namibian bowling figures.

Where Maruma stood up with the bat, Admire Manyumwa stood up with the ball, taking a hugely impressive 6/40 from 10 overs as Namibia were given a truly hard time of it in reply. Williams was the best of the bunch, but even he only managed 29 while six other batsmen failed to make it into double figures. At the interval, Zimbabwe would have been worried about defending their score, but in the end Namibia were bundled out in the 41st over, coincidentally 41 runs short of their target.

Full scorecard below the cut. That's 4 from 4 for Zimbabwe 'A', which will no doubt be seen as a boost to Stephen Mangongo's hopes of landing the national coach's position (God help us) - but it does also show that Zimbabwe are finally starting to develop some depth after the turmoil of recent years, with a few of the players here already knocking on the doors of the national side. That competition within the player base can only be a good thing.
Zimbabwe 'A' 189 (48.3/50 overs; Maruma 67, Klazinga 4/24), Namibia 148 (41/50 overs; Williams 29, Manyumwa 6/40). Zimbabwe 'A' win by 41 runs.

Another day, another win for Zimbabwe 'A' as they cruised to a 41-run win over Namibia in Windhoek. Batting first after Namibia won the toss and elected to field, Zim powered their way to 185/9 from their 20 overs - while there were no outstanding scores, a steady stream of decent knocks helped the side build a good total. Cephas Zhuwawo and Trevor Garwe both scored 33 in 22 and 19 balls respectively. For Namibia, Klazinga, Scholtz and Louw took two apiece.

Namibia had a harder time in reply, with wickets falling regularly and only Williams getting settled enough to build a decent innings - he ran up 49 runs off 37 balls, but for the mst part Namibia were well behind the required rate and the pressure to score didn't help their batsmen. Tafadzwa Kamungozi took 3/34 from his 4 overs as Namibia were bowled out for 144 in the final over.

That was two wins down with two to go for Zim 'A' (and they've since won thier 3rd match as well - this scorecard took a while to come through). Full scorecard below the cut, and news of the final match will follow shortly.
Zimbabwe 'A' 185/9 (20/20 overs; Zhuwawo 33, Garwe 33, Scholtz 2/26), Namibia 144 (19.4 overs; Williams 49, Kamngozi 3/34). Zimbabwe 'A' win by 41 runs.

Another good day at the office for Zimbabwe 'A' on Saturday, as they took a 3-wicket win in the first ODI against Namibia. Batting first, Namibia put on 235/9 from their 50 overs, with Jan-Berrie Burger's 108 being the difference between that respectable score and something far less worrying for Zimbabwe, as most of the rest of the Namibians failed to fire - the next highest score was Bjorn Kotze's 30. Admire Manyumwa took 4/31 from his 10 overs to lead the Zimbabwean bowling figures.

In reply, the Zimbabwean innings was much like the Namibian, with a few good performances helping to cover for most of the team not getting settled at the crease - this time around, it was Mark Vermeulen who led the charge with a fine 80, supported by Charles Coventry's 46 and a patient 44 from captain Timycen Maruma. There were no other scores above 20, but that was enough to do the job as Zimbabwe reached their target with 3 wickets and 9 balls in hand. Deon Kotze took 2/47 for Namibia.

Full scorecard below the cut. We're still waiting on the result of Friday's T20 match and will post that when we have it. The series closes with the 2nd ODI on Sunday - see you then.
Namibia 235/9 (50/50 overs; JB Burger 108, Manyumwa 4/31), Zimbabwe 'A' 236/7 (48.3/50 overs; Vermeulen 80, D Kotze 2/47). Zimbabwe 'A' win by 3 wickets.

Zimbabwe 'A' scored a convincing 9-wicket win against a Namibian Invitational side in Windhoek on Thursday. Namibia won the toss and elected to bat, and looked to make a decent go of it against some of Zimbabwe's up-and-coming young bowlers. Van der Westhuizen and van Schoor put on 48 for the opening wicket before Tendai Chisoro took his first wicket of the day - he would go on to lead the Zimbabwean bowling figures with 3/25 from 7 overs - but the Namibian middle order struggled. Williams' 41 was slow-paced but vital in steadying the ship, but the loss of 3 wickets for 26 runs seriously damaged the home side's prospects, and they were bowled out for 179 in the 47th over.

In reply, Zimbabwe were imperious. Bernard Chapungu was the only wicket to fall on the day, after putting on 36 runs from 31 balls, while Eric Chauluka (51*) and Timycen Maruma (100*) saw out the innings in some style, with Maruma's ton coming from 68 balls and including 12 fours and 3 sixes. The target was reached in the 25th over, with perhaps the only disappointment being that comeback kid Mark Vermeulen didn't get to bat, something many Zim fans are waiting eagerly to see.

Full scorecard below the cut. There are three more matches in the tour, all against the full Namibian side - a Twenty20 on Friday, followed by 50-overs matches on Saturday and Sunday.
Namibian Invitational 179 (46.5 overs; Williams 41, Chisoro 3/25), Zimbabwe 'A' 183/1 (24.1 overs; Maruma 100*, Klazinger 1/23). Zimbabwe 'A' win by 9 wickets.

Mark Vermeulen and Charles Coventry have both been named in the provisional squad for the upcoming trip to Namibia by Zimbabwe 'A'. Both men have been out of favour with ZC over recent years - Vermeulen over the Academy arson attack, Coventry over his falling-out with former coach Kevin Curran - but after good performances in the recently-concluded National League, and a new, softer attitude from ZC, both now appear to be back in the fold. In an interview on the ZC website, 'A' side coach Stephen Mangongo indicated that Vermeulen was making a contributiong to the side, and made an interesting comment about where ZC sees the 'A' side's role in the national side's development:

"[Mark's] fitness is fine and we are working with getting him the right technique so that he starts scoring runs for the side, something we believe he can do. If that happens, then our reconstruction of his career would be on the right path."

"The best way of judging our strength is, as a Test nation, our A sides should be able to beat the national teams of associate nations such as Namibia. I believe there is no reason our A side should lose to Namibia as it is the only yardstick we can measure our progress with. We are going to Namibia to win and if that does not happen it means we are not doing enough with our A squads."

It's amazing how a change in sports minister seems capable of producing a whole new attitude in some organisations, isn't it..? The provisional squad will be whittled down to a travelling squad of 15 following a practice match against the national team on Tuesday. The players named are:
Eric Chauluka, Mark Vermuelen, Regis Chakabva, Bernard Mlambo, Tafadzwa Ngulube, Mbekezele Mabuza, Peter Moor, Bothwell Chapungu, Tinashe Chimbambo, Malcolm Waller, Charles Coventry, Robertson Chinyengetere, Shigirai Masakadza, Trevor Garwe, Admire Manyumwa, Patiant Charumbira, Timycen Maruma, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, N Mushangwe, Tendai Chisoro. Reserves: Cephas Zhuwawo, M Chinouya, J Nyumbu, B Bala
Zimbabwe Cricket - Zimbabwe A squad for Namibia tour named

We had been pondering on the forums whether Zimbabwe could fit the tour to Sri Lanka and an ODI series against Canada into March, along with their other match commitments (Deodhar Trophy, Logan Cup...). It seems that it was possible, but only on a very tight, busy schedule. Well, a speculative email to ZC by forum member dylan produced that very rare thing - a reply - that seems to clear things up somewhat, while bringing some new news to the fixture list:

The national team will tour India and then Sri Lanka beginning mid-March, while the A team will play Namibia and then Canada

The Canada tour had originally been set to be against the 'A' side, before reportedly being 'upgraded' to full ODIs - it now appears to be back to being against the 'A' side. The Namibia tour is new - the sides last met when Zimbabwe 'A' toured Namibia in 2005, when Namibia won a 3-match series 2-0. With Namibia being a stronger team now, with ODI status in their sights at this year's World Cup Qualifiers, a series against them now will be a good guide to how both teams are progressing.

UPDATE: CricInfo reports that the Namibia series will be in Namibia, with 3 'A' ODIs and possibly a Twenty20 match to be played between 28 February and 4 March.

Zimbabwe Provinces' SAA Provincial Cup match in Windhoek on Sunday was abandoned with no result after heavy rain forced the end of play. Batting first, Namibia scored 197/9 from their allotted 43 overs, Muzarabani, Mawhire and Kamungozi taking two each to restrict the hosts to a chasable score. Provinces seemed set on chasing it, too, before rain interrupted with Provinces on 26/0. And that was the end of that.
Namibia 197/9 (43/43 overs; Rudolph 55, Muzarabani 2/36), Zimbabwe Provinces 26/0 (8.4/43 overs; Mayoyo 9*, Chakabva 11*). Match abandoned - rain. No result.
Scorecard below the cut. Next SAA Provincial matches: Free State v Zimbabwe Provinces at Bloemfontein, 24-26 & 27 January.

Namibia may have fought back yesterday, but that man Mawhire - with a fair amount of help from Graeme Cremer - did it again with the ball on the final day to make sure Provinces will leave Windhoek with at least one win under their belt. The margin of victory also gives Provinces a points boost in the SAA Provincial Challenge table, taking them to 3rd behind Griqualand West and Easterns - although Northerns and Gauteng have games in hand.

Following on, Nambia held on to score 331, led by a fighting 120 from Botha and 43 from LJ Burger. Once Provinces reached the lower order, though, the home side's resistance melted away, leaving Provinces a target of 100 to win. Tino Mawoyo and Friday Kasteni started the chase, although both fell before the end of play, and it fell to Cremer and Nyamuzinga to finish the chase.
Zimbabwe Provinces 339/6 decl (Chakabva 118*, Klazinga 2/46) & 102/2 (Cremer 35, Klazinga 1/20), Namibia 107 (AJ Burger 23, Mawhire 5/11) & 331 (Botha 120, Mawhire 3/23). Zimbabwe Provinces win by 8 wickets.
Scorecard below the cut. Next match: Namibia v Zimbabwe Provinces, SAA Provincial Cup (1-day match): 13 January, Windhoek.
Previous days' reports: Day One | Day Two

Stumps: Zimbabwe Provinces 339/6 decl (Chakabva 118*, Klazinga 2/46), Namibia 107 (AJ Burger 23, Mawhire 5/11) & 218/3 (following on - DH Botha 104*, Cremer 2/64). Provinces lead by 14 runs.
The proverbial "game of two halves" in Windhoek today, as Zimbabwe started as they finished off yesterday by removing Namibia for a paltry 107 (led by an outstanding 5'fer by captain Blessing Mawhire, who conceded just 11 runs in 9.3 overs along the way). With the advantage firmly in their hands, Provinces enforced the follow-on and started well by removing opener AJ Burger for just 3. At that point, though, Namibia suddenly rediscovered how to play, and after digging their heels in saw out the day to end on 218/3 - still 14 runs behind Provinces' first-innings total, but in a position from where they could conceivably salvage a draw.

Suddenly, it looks like we're in for an exciting final day. Scorecard for today is below the cut.