The opening set of warm-up fixtures ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe saw the home nation get off to a winning start thanks to an inspired performance by Sikandar Raza, while there were wins elsewhere for Ireland, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
Ten teams will compete in the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe over the next month, with the final two spots up for grabs at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year.
Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands by 3 wickets
The Netherlands got close to an upset win against tournament favourites Sri Lanka in Bulawayo.
Some friendly bowling conditions early on saw the Dutch side slip to 28/4, but a middle-order revival helped them to a total of 214 all out in 45.3 overs, with Teja Nidamanuru (41 from 62), Scott Edwards (35 from 48) and Saqib Zulfiqar (56 from 64) the main contributors.
Kasun Rajitha was the stand-out performer with the ball, taking 3-19 in seven overs, while Maheesh Theekshana bagged 2-36 from his ten and Dhananjaya de Silva took 2-19 from four. There were also wickets for Lahiru Kumara, Chamika Karunaratne and Matheesha Pathirana.
An excellent start with the ball from the Netherlands attack saw Sri Lanka reduced to 98/5, with Floyd picking up 2-40 in the pick of the returns. Dimuth Karunaratne’s 55-ball 47 helped set some sort of a platform, and Charith Asalanka’s timely resistance from number five (29 from 38) halted the flow of wickets.
But it was the captain Dasun Shanaka who saved Sri Lanka’s day, with his 67 not out from 52 balls steering them to a winning score of 215/7 with 12.5 overs remaining but just three wickets in hand.
Ireland beat USA by five wickets
Harry Tector, ICC Men’s Player of the Month for May 2023, starred as Ireland won in a run-fest at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.
Set 312 to win, Ireland lost two early wickets to leave them in a spot of trouble. But impressive knocks from Paul Stirling (55 from 53) and Lorcan Tucker (68 from 59) formed part of two crucial stands, both with the imperious Tector, who finished not out on 149 from 123 balls.
Tector hit 17 boundaries including seven maximums in his match-winning knock, with the victory coming with 4.5 overs to spare.
There were plenty of positives for the USA to take, with all of the top five making runs. Monank Patel (77) and Aaron Jones (89) were the top scorers, with Saiteja Mukkamalla adding some firepower down the order with 44* from 33 balls.
West Indies beat Scotland by 91 runs
The West Indies spinners proved too good for Scotland at Harare Sports Club. Yannic Cariah (4-46) and Roston Chase (3-43) did much of the damage as Scotland slumped from 54/1 to 173 all-out in their chase of 264.
Brandon McMullen (38) and Matthew Cross (35) were the only Scottish batters to go past 30.
It had looked far more promising in the early stages of the match when the ball was doing a bit, with West Indies slipping to 45/4 in the 12th over. But half-centuries for Shai Hope (57) and Romario Shepherd (53) lifted the West Indies to a score that proved out of Scotland’s reach.
Zimbabwe beat Oman by 28 runs
The outstanding Sikandar Raza was the star of the show for Zimbabwe, retiring on 109 from just 66 balls as he helped the home nation hammer 367/6 in Harare.
There were also half-centuries for Sean Williams and Ryan Burl, as Zimbabwe’s batters got some useful time out in the middle.
Oman gave it a good crack in reply, with Aqib Ilyas scoring a classy 113 and Ayaan Khan going close to a third ton in the match with his 92.
But Raza shone with the ball, taking 3/42 as Oman fell just short. Brad Evans and Blessing Muzarabani also impressed, finishing with figures of 3/47 and 2/44 respectively.