Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], June 29 : Following his side's win over Oman in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine said 280-290 runs looked really good on the pitch when they came to bat and lauded centurion Sean Williams for helping the team get some more extra runs.
A century by Sean Williams and powerful bowling performances by Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara helped Zimbabwe overcome a valiant effort from Oman in the first match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 qualifiers at Bulawayo on Thursday as they defeated the visitors by 14 runs.
"It was a tough game of cricket for us. (On the score) When he started batting, we felt 280-290 was going to be a good score. When we started our bowling innings, we figured out the pitch was good to bat on. Thankfully Sean Williams produced a special innings to get us up to 330 (332). (On the bowling display) The wicket did seem quite a bit different to the morning. Our bowlers missed our lengths and our lines a little bit and made it easier for Oman," said Ervine in a post-match presentation.
It is quite tough to say (On what is a good score). You lose the toss and you get put into bat, the first 10 overs were quite a touch. We thought 280 was a good score. Obviously bowling second, we have to look at around 300-320. If the wicket is going to get better, you need a little bit extra to defend that. (Message to the team) We have been playing some really good cricket. I do not think we need to change too much. I thought today we still did our job extremely well. Two days to bounce back before we face Sri Lanka," he added.
Coming to the match, Zimbabwe was put to bat first by Oman. Sean Williams struck his third century of the tournament, scoring 142 in 103 balls, with 14 fours and three sixes. Luke Jongwe (43* in 28 balls, with four boundaries) and Sikandar Raza (42 in 49 balls, with six fours) put on good scores for Zimbabwe. The hosts put on 332/7 in their 50 overs. yt
Fayyaz Butt (4/79) was the pick of the bowlers for Oman.
In the chase of 333, an 83-run stand for the second wicket between Kashyap Prajapati and Aqib Ilyas (45 in 61 balls, with five fours) helped Oman keep up with the required run rate. Ayaan Khan (47 in 43 balls, with five fours), skipper Zeeshan Maqsood (37 in 40 balls, with three fours and a six), Mohammad Nadeem (30* in 18 balls, with four boundaries and a six) helped Oman pose a fight, but they fell 14 runs short, finishing at 318/9 in 50 overs.
Blessing Muzarabani (3/57) and Tendai Chatara (3/73) were the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe.
Sean won the 'Player of the Match' for his century.
With this, Zimbabwe has six points in their tally on the Super Six table and are at the top, while Oman is at the bottom. This was Zimbabwe's seventh ODI win in a row.
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