zimcricketnews.com

The remaining fixtures in the current Intercontinental Cup competition have been released, and you can find the full list on our Fixtures page. Zimbabwe's next match won't be until August 2010, when the side travel to Canada and Netherlands, while the final two matches against Ireland and Scotland are currently billed as "home" games - although I suspect they may well end up being played on neutral territory.

That's not entirely a tongue-in-cheek comment - with captain Vusi Sibanda responsible for over half of Zimbabwe XI's runs in this match, it's fair to say there would have been a very different result in this match. With him, though, Zimbabwe eased to a 5-wicket victory - but not before a second day that left Zimbabwean nerves frayed to the bone, and Kenyan supporters cursing the Zimbabwean captain.

Zimbabwe won the toss and put Kenya into field on a pitch which traditionally tends to be quite batsman-friendly, and sure enough Kenya made the best of their first innings. At the close of Day One they were on 327/9, with Steve Tikolo (61) and Alex Obanda (51) leading the scoring. Early Day Two saw the Kenyans bowled out for 333, though, with Timycen Maruma taking 3/82. So far, so uneventful.

Zimbabwe XI, though, threatened to collapse horribly, though - Chamu Chibhabha fell without a run on the board, and while opened Vusi Sibanda proved a rock at one end of the pitch, regular wickets by the Kenyans were leading to a procession of batsmen at the other. Zimbabwe were in real trouble at 178/7 - and the Regis Chakabva joined Sibanda at the crease, and finally provided the captain with a partner who had staying power. The pair saw the rest of the day through, and early on day three took Zimbabwe past the Kenyan total to secure first-innings points. Chakabva fell shortly afterwards, for a well-earned 67, but Sibanda hung on a while longer, eventually being the last wicket to fall with the score on 352, having amassed a personal best of 209 and, after a long period of poor form, finally showing the talent that we all knew he was capable of. For Kenya, Thomas Odoyo took 3/44, but any Kenyan performances were far overshadowed by Sibanda's heroics, which gave ZimXI a fighting chance again.

In the second innings, Zimbabwe took the get-out-of-jail card they'd been offered and ran with it. Kenya failed to really get going in their second innings, with only the pairing of Maurice Ouma (54) and Obanda (34) making and real headway against a Zimbabwean side that scented victory - Kenya were bowled out again for 254, leaving ZimXI chasing 236 to win the match and secure all 20 points on offer. After some early wobbles, it was the arrival of the crease of that man Sibanda, this time batting at #4, that settled Zimbabwean nerves as he took control of the match - after putting on 156 with Chamu Chibhabha for the 3rd wicket, Sibanda went on to steer ZimXI past the winning line, scoring his second century of the match in the process, ending on 116 not-out.

One man made all the difference, then, and Zimbabwe will have to do some thinking about their batting performance in this match. A win is a win, though, and at the end of the day the margin of victory for Zimbabwe was quite convincing - and demotion to the 'A' side seems to have been just the kick that Sibanda needed. Full scorecard below the cut.
Kenya 333 (92.3 overs; Tikolo 61, Maruma 3/82) & 254 (74.3 overs; Ouma 54, Rainsford 2/25), Zimbabwe XI 352 (103.5 overs; Sibanda 209, Odoyo 3/44) & 238/5 (62.5 overs; Sibanda 116*, Odoyo 1/18). Zimbabwe XI win by 5 wickets.

In case you missed it, Vusi Sibanda has been having a dream of a knock in the Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya in Kwekwe - after having been at the crease pretty much all day today, he's on 185 not-out and, with some help from Regis Chakabva, has saved Zimbabwe XI from what would otherwise have been a humiliating scoreline, instead leaving ZimXI just 13 runs short of claiming 1st-innings points in the match. So here is the man of the hour marking his 100 with Chakabva:

Keep an eye on our Twitter feed tomorrow for regular updates from the match.
Image © ZC

ZC have confirmed both the Zim XI squad for the Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya which got underway this morning (regular updates on our Twitter feed), and for the ODI series against Kenya and Bangladesh.

First up, the Zimbabwe XI squad:
Chamu Chibhabha, Regis Chikabvha, Kyle Jarvis, Friday Kasteni, Timycen Maruma, Shingirai Masakadza, Forster Mtizwa, John Nyumbu, Edward Rainsford, Vusi Sibanda (captain), Gregory Strydom, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Samuel Mwakayeni
While Sibanda has been named captain, though, early indications from Kwekwe are that he's not playing - seems rather strange, and I'll clarify that if I can. Meanwhile, the inclusion of Kyle Jarvis is a surprise, mainly as he has yet to make his first-class debut and is not playing cricket domestically.

Next up, the ODI squad:
Elton Chigumbura, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Trevor Garwe, Kyle Jarvis, Raymond Price, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Forster Mutizwa, Tatenda Taibu (for Bangladesh tour only), Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya (captain), Mark Vermuelen, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams
Again the inclusion of Jarvis is a surprise, while Trevor Garwe gets what it probably an overdue call-up. It's possible that the squad will be revised before the trip to Bangladesh, depending on performances.
Source: ZC Media Release

The Scotsman carries and interview with Cricket Scotland Chief Executive Roddy Smith that indicates that the Intercontinental Cup match between Zimbabwe XI and Scotland is set to take place on neutral territory:

An inter-continental cup clash with Zimbabwe is also on the cards with the setting Dubai while qualifying for the next world twenty:20 competition will be held in February.

While the political situation has improved in Zimbabwe over the past year, there's still doubt about the willingness of the British government to allow Zimbabwe to play in the UK - it's this uncertainly that will likely be behind the shift. It'll be interesting to see where the fixture against Ireland ends up being played...
Scotsman - Edinburgh to host England clash with Saltires

ZC have issued the revised schedule for Kenya's upcoming tour to Zimbabwe, which now includes 5 ODIs. Here it is:

7-10 October 2009	Zimbabwe XI v Kenya	Kwekwe Sports Club
12 October 2009		1st ODI			Harare Sports Club
13 October 2009		2nd ODI			Harare Sports Club
15 October 2009		3rd ODI			Harare Sports Club
17 October 2009		4th ODI			Harare Sports Club
18 October 2009		5th ODI			Harare Sports Club

[Source: ZC Media Release]

Kenya's expected tour to Zimbabwe has now been confirmed, with one four-day match against Zimbabwe XI (part of the ICC Intercontinental Cup) and three full ODIs on the schedule. Here's the itinerary:

8-11 October 2009	Zimbabwe XI v Kenya		Kwekwe Sports Club
14 October 2009		Zimbabwe v Kenya: 1st ODI	Harare Sports Club
16 October 2009		Zimbabwe v Kenya: 2nd ODI	Harare Sports Club
18 October 2009		Zimbabwe v Kenya: 3rd ODI	Harare Sports Club

With Zimbabwe due in Bangladesh just a few days after this tour ends, it's going to be a busy period for the national side...

The Intercontinental Cup match between Zimbabwe XI and international rising stars Afghanistan turned into the Tatenda Taibu vs Noor Ali show, with both men scoring centuries in both innings that represented the bulk of what their sides were able to score - although Mohammad Nabi and Trevor Garwe both also scored tons to get in on the act.

Batting woes have been a feature of most Zimbabwean sides for a while now, and this match was no exception. Having been put in to bat after Afghanistan won the toss, Zim did what they usually do an formed an innings primarily of false starts, supported by face-saving performances by Taibu (170) and Garwe (48) - of the rest, only Shingi Masakadza passed 20 as Zim were bowled out for a disappointing 350, with Mohamad Nabi taking 3/90 for the visitors.

If Zim were hoping that their Affiliate opponents would falter in reply, they were soon disappointed, as opener Noor Ali's patient 130 formed a good platform for Afghanistan to build on. In many ways they suffered the same problem with false starts that Zimbabwe had, but Mohamad Nabi proved the difference between the sides, adding 102 in the lower order to help steer Afghanistan to a first-innings total of 427, which saw them secure 6 tournament points in the process for their first-innings lead. Timycen Maruma had a particularly good run with the ball, taking 6/106 and leaking less than 3 runs an over during his 36 overs.

That saw the focus move back onto Zimbabwe, who will have been determined to avoid the humiliation of a loss, and while it was the same old story with the bat - once again only 4 batsmen passed 20 - it was Taibu again who stepped up to the plate, adding 120, backed up by Trevor Garwe's 117 and Forster Mutizwa's 56. With time running out on day four, Taibu finally declared when Garwe's wicket fell with the score on 446/9, leaving Afghanistan with a session and a half to chase 370 - a target that looked likely to lead only to a draw.

And so it turned out. Noor Ali once again impressed with the bat for Afghanistan while Forster Mutizwa took a decent 2/18 from just under 4 overs bowled, but once Ali reached his second century of the match, the two captains accepted the inevitability of the draw and play was called off with Afghanistan on 211/4.

That left Afghanistan with 9 points from the match and Zimbabwe XI with 3, a score that sees them propping up the bottom of the Intercontinental Cup. Afghanistan now move on to face Netherlands next week, while Zimbabwe XI are expected to meet Kenya some time in October - and with Kenya currently topping the table, it should be an interesting clash. Full scorecard for this match is below the cut.
Zimbabwe XI 350 (Taibu 170, Mohamad Nabi 3/90) & 446/9 decl (Taibu 120, Dawlat Ahmadzai 2/40)
Afghanistan 427 (Noor Ali 130, Maruma 6/106) & 211/4 (Noor Ali 100*). Match drawn.

The squad to play Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup has been named:

Tatenda Taibu (captain), Forster Mutizwa, Admire Manyumwa, Chris Mpofu, Timycen Maruma, Natsai Mushangwe, Friday Kasteni, Bothwell Chapungu, Tendai Chisoro, Cephas Zhuwawo, Regis Chakabva, Shingi Masakadza, Trevor Garwe, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Mbekezeli Mabuza.

Taibu's suspension clearly only applies to the senior squad, then. Given that this match overlaps with the Bangladesh series, Zim are fielding a genuine 'A' side, which should quieten some of the complaints being made by other sides in the competition who were concerned that Zim 'A' would be an 'A' side in name only.

The dates of the Intercontinental Cup match between Zimbabwe XI and Afghanistan have been confirmed - the tie will be played in Mutare between August 16-19, after which Afghanistan will go on to meet Netherlands between August 24-27. That means that any hope of using the tie as a warm-up for the senior team's series against Bangladesh goes out the window (the 4th and 5th ODIs are being played during the same period). The choice of venue is worth noting - in days gone by, Mutare and Kwekwe were often the venues of choice for 'A' internationals, but that tradition had died out in the past few years. Seems ZC may be reviving it now.