Zimbabwe’s Under-19 side suffered an eight-wicket defeat to England in their ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup clash on Sunday at Takashinga Sports Club in Harare. The result dents home hopes in Group C after Zimbabwe’s opening match against Scotland was abandoned because of persistent rain.
Sent in to bat first, the Young Chevrons managed a competitive but ultimately below-par 208 for 9 in their 50 overs. Captain Simbarashe Mudzengerere was the top scorer with an unbeaten 45, while Kian Blignaut (33), Dhruv Patel (36) and Tatenda Chimugoro (30) all made useful contributions in the middle overs.
England’s bowlers were disciplined, with right-arm medium pacer Manny Lumsden leading the attack with figures of 3 for 38. He was well supported by Ralphie Albert and Farhan Ahmed, who each claimed two wickets, while Alex French and Luke Hands chipped in with one apiece.
In reply, England raced to 209 for 2 inside 28 overs to secure a comfortable victory. Their skipper, Thomas Rew, was named Player of the Match after an authoritative unbeaten 86, and he was well backed by Ben Mayes, who scored an unbeaten 77 in a commanding third-wicket partnership that put the chase beyond doubt.
Zimbabwe briefly threatened early in England’s innings when Shelton Mazvitorera dismissed both openers inside the powerplay, reducing them to 42 for 2. However, Rew and Mayes then put on an unbroken 167-run stand, effectively ending any lingering hopes of a home upset.
The defeat sees England top Group C with four points, while Zimbabwe and Scotland sit level on one point. Zimbabwe will now turn their focus to their final group fixture against Pakistan as they seek to keep their World Cup campaign alive.
