Namibia Under-19s – 150 all out in 49 overs (Eben van Wyk 41, Petrus Burger 31, Jan Nicole Loftie-Eaton 17; Prince Kaunda 2/16, Kieran Robinson 2/20, Milton Shumba 2/21, Liam Roche 2/26)
Zimbabwe Under-19s – 107-2 in 22.4/33 overs (revised target 107) (Jayden Schadendorf 51*, Milton Shumba 27; Petrus Burger 1/11, Mauritius Ngupita 1/21)
Zimbabwe Under-19s won by eight wickets (D/L method)
Jayden Schadendorf scored an unbeaten half-century that helped the Zimbabwe Under-19 side to an eight-wicket victory over the Namibia Under-19s in a youth one-day international match that was affected by Mother Nature at Harare Sports Club today.
But even before bad light and rain interrupted play, the big victory had appeared inevitable for the home side who needed 54 runs with eight wickets and 172 balls remaining at the time the umpires called the players off the field.
There were three changes to the Zimbabwe Under-19 side that beat the tourists in Tuesday’s 50-over match, with the trio of Declan Oldrieve, Prince Kaunda and Struan Gordon coming in for Wesley Madhevere, Dion Mazhawidza and Dane Schadendorf.
The Namibians made four changes as Franco van der Westhuizen, Erich van Mollendorff, Gerhard Lottering and Donovan Zealand made way for Albert van der Merwe, Lohan Louwrens, Ramon Wilmot and Jan-Izak de Villiers.
This time round the hosts won the toss and elected to field.
Kaunda and Gordon were threatening with the ball from the onset and in the third over, with 10 runs on the board, the Namibians lost their first wicket when van der Merwe nicked Kaunda into the safe hands of Liam Roche. He departed for six, including a boundary, off the seven balls he faced.
In the fifth over, the left-arm seamer Kaunda struck again, removing the other opening batsman, Henry Brink, for six; 20 for two.
Eben van Wyk, who scored 49 in Tuesday’s match, was again the mainstay of the Namibian innings but he was unfortunate to keep losing his batting partners at regular intervals.
When van Wyk was eventually dismissed, leaving the Namibia Under-19s reeling on 80 for five in the 26th over, he had scored half of his team’s total – his 41 runs came off 71 deliveries and included four boundaries.
Just three balls after his single that brought up the team hundred, Jan Nicole Loftie-Eaton was bowled for 17 by Milton Shumba; 100 for six in the 34th over.
Petrus Burger however scored a fighting 31, while de Villers chipped in with 13, before the tourists were scuttled for 150 in 49 overs.
There were two wickets each for Kaunda, Kieran Robinson, Shumba and Roche.
The Zimbabwe Under-19s’ chase started off cautiously, as they slowly built their innings with singles and an odd four here and there until Tanunurwa Makoni departed in the 11th over having scored eight off the 25 deliveries he faced; 38 for one.
When Shumba came to the crease, the home side ramped up their run rate to above four an over as he and Schadendorf went on to share a 43-run stand for the second wicket that lasted eight overs.
The partnership was broken in the 19th over when Shumba was trapped lbw having scored 27 from the 31 balls he faced; 81 for two.
With the light failing, play was halted two balls into the 22nd over and as the players walked off the field rain started falling.
At the time of the interruption, the Zimbabwe Under-19s were on 97 for two – Schadendorf had 44 and Dion Myers four – needing 54 runs from the remaining 172 deliveries.
When the skies eventually cleared enough for play to resume, 17 overs had been lost and the home side’s new target was 107 from 33 overs – this meant they now only required another 10 runs with eight wickets and 11.4 overs remaining.
The Zimbabwean duo came back knowing the job was already done, and Schadendorf sealed the big win with a six that also earned him his well-deserved fifty.
His unbeaten 51, which included three boundaries and two sixes, was crafted off 72 deliveries.
The Zimbabwe Under-19s now lead the youth ODI series 2-0 having beaten the Namibians by 59 runs on Tuesday. The first match of the series was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Monday because of rain.
On Wednesday, the hosts also got the better of the tourists by 18 runs in a 20-over match arranged to compensate for the washed-out game.
The two sides will face each other again in their next ODI at Takashinga on Saturday, before action returns to Harare Sports Club for the final match of the series on Sunday.
