Tri series – Zimbabwe survive Namibia scare to seal thrilling win

Zimbabwe survived a huge scare from Namibia to clinch a thrilling five-run win in Windhoek, recovering from 101/6 to post 195/6 before holding their nerve in the final over. Namibia, who had opened the tri-series with an impressive win over South Africa, looked out of the contest at 76/6 in the chase before Zane Green and Alexander Volschenk produced a stunning 109-run seventh-wicket stand off only 49 balls.

Zimbabwe had started strongly after being asked to bat, with Ben Curran and Brian Bennett putting on a brisk 64-run opening stand. Namibia struck with the last ball of the Powerplay when Bennett top-edged a pull off JJ Smit to deep midwicket, falling for 32 off 21 balls. Dion Myers then fell to Bernard Scholtz in the next over, beaten by one that turned sharply to take the top of off.

Two balls later, Gerhard Erasmus made the biggest breakthrough by removing Sikandar Raza for a golden duck, with the batter mistiming a slog-sweep. Curran’s dismissal in the ninth over triggered another wobble, and when Erasmus removed Wesley Madhavere soon after, Namibia had Zimbabwe reeling at 79/5 in the 10th over.

Ryan Burl and Brad Evans later added 94 off 48 balls for the eighth wicket and changed the course of the innings completely. Namibia’s decision to turn back to spin for the final over also proved particularly costly. Burl launched Erasmus for a six and three successive fours, and took 20 from the over as Zimbabwe reached an impressive total of 195/6.

Namibia’s chase began with a couple of close shaves before Louren Steenkamp was eventually dismissed by Blessing Muzarabani in the third over. Gerhard Erasmus made a brisk 12 before falling to Brad Evans. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton briefly counterattacked with 20 off 13, but Brian Bennett then removed him and JJ Smit in the space of three balls, leaving Namibia at 66/4.

Jan Frylinck’s patient 22 off 29 could not stop the slide as he became Wellington Masakadza’s first wicket in the 11th over. And when Ruben Trumpelmann fell to Sikandar Raza in the next over, Namibia were looking down and out at 76/6.

What followed was an extraordinary recovery. Volschenk came out swinging, taking on Wellington Masakadza with two sixes in the 13th over and repeatedly targeting the shorter lengths. Green joined him and gradually began to find his range. The pair ran hard, picked off loose deliveries and refused to allow Zimbabwe to settle. Their partnership had raced past 100 and Namibia suddenly needed only 16 from the final over, with six wickets already down.

Brad Evans, who had been brought back to bowl the last over, began with a no-ball, although Namibia could manage only two runs from it. Two more runs followed before Green was run out for 54 off 26, caught short at the non-striker’s end by a direct hit from Raza.

Volschenk kept the chase alive with a boundary straight down the ground, but his remarkable innings ended on 56 off 29 when he edged a full, wide delivery and Marumani produced a superb one-handed catch behind the stumps.

With two balls left, Namibia needed nine. Bernard Scholtz was run out attempting a desperate single, leaving Jack Brassell with the final chance. Evans held his nerve, bowling Brassell for a duck and sealing a remarkable five-run victory for Zimbabwe.

Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 195/6 (Ryan Burl 57*; Gerhard Erasmus 3-46) beat Namibia 190 (Alexander Volschenk 56, Zane Green 54; Brad Evans 3-41) by 5 runs.