ASHLEY DUBE
Zimbabwe had a disappointing return to international cricket as they suffered a heavy seven-wicket defeat against Namibia in the first T20 International. Opting to bat first, Zimbabwe lost early wickets, including their captain Craig Ervine and debutant Nick Welch.
Both were dismissed without troubling the scorers. Ryan Burl provided some resistance with a few boundaries, but he too was dismissed quickly.
Sikandar Raza and Wessly Madhevere added a partnership of 39 runs before Madhevere was caught on the boundary.
Luke Jongwe was left with only Richard Ngarava and Tendai Chatara as partners, and although Ngarava fell early, Chatara held up one end to help Zimbabwe reach a total of over 120.
The batting performance was largely sloppy, while Namibia's bowlers impressed.
In response, Namibia started cautiously but then took advantage of Faraz Akram's inconsistent bowling, conceding 16 runs in one over.
Chatara, who had a good first over, struggled in his next over and conceded 20 runs. Niko Davin played a crucial unbeaten knock of 80 runs for Namibia, leading their batting attack.
The next highest scorers were Jean-Pierre Kotze and Jay Freylinck with 11 runs each.
The two teams will meet again for the second match of the series today, and Zimbabwe will need to improve significantly.
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