Zimbabwe smite Namibia in African Games opener

Zimbabwe 197/6 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 65, Johnathan Campbell 39, Rpdney Mupfudza 32; Nicol Loftie-Eaton 2-27, Simon Shikongo 1-9)

Namibia 162/8 in 20 overs (Malan Kruger 46, Nikolas Davin, Gerhard van Rensburg 32; Tashinga Musekiwa 3-29, Owen Muzondo 3-31)

Zimbabwe won by 35 runs

Zimbabwe exacted an emphatic 35-run victory over Namibia in the opening match of the African Games men’s cricket competition on Sunday.

Batting first, the youthful Chevrons side batted aggressively, cobbling together partnerships to set up a target of 198.

Brian Bennett was destructive, smashing his 65 off just 39 balls. That was his maiden half century for the men in gold.

Johnathan Campbell got 39 off 28 on debut, while Rodney Mupfudza was exciting for his 32 off 22.

Zimbabwe were brutal towards the end, smashing 69 off the last 26 balls of their innings.

All in all, Zimbabwe handed out seven debuts, while Namibia had five.

In response, Namibia were flying at the start, smacking 73 for the first wicket. This was in seven overs, before Owen Muzondo for rid of Malan Kruger for 46.

Often the tormenter in chief for the Chevrons, Nikolaas Davin was kept relatively quiet for his 37 off 33 and became the fourth wicket to fall. By then, Namibia had started struggling as Zimbabwe took the pace off the ball.