Last Wednesday the Zimbabweans clinched the ICC Intercontinental Cup match against the Netherlands by 137 runs on the fourth and final day played in Amstelveen.
Chasing 417 for victory, the hosts began the day with 134-4 in 37.4 overs. Opener Eric Swarczynski piled on 72 runs and was soon joined by Pieter Seelar who smashed an unbeaten 80 to lead a brief fight back.
However, the bowlers, led by Timycen Maruma (3-44) and Ed Rainsford (2-46) tightened the screws on the batsmen to restrict them to 280 all out in 94 overs.?
With this victory, Zimbabwe XI now rises one spot to be placed third on the ICC Intercontinental Cup points table with 43 points from three games, which includes a five-wicket win over Kenya and a drawn match against Afghanistan, ICC said in a statement last Thursday.
Meanwhile, Netherlands remain fifth on the table with 15 points from five games – losing to Afghanistan by one wicket, Kenya by five wickets and Scotland by four wickets, and a drawn match against Canada.
ICC organises the Intercontinental Cup as part of its cricket development program. It is designed to allow Associate Members of the ICC the chance to play first-class matches against teams of similar skill in a competition environment and prepare them for eventual promotion to Test cricket status.
Zimbabwe is targeting a return to Test cricket after the end of next year’s Cricket World Cup according to the games local boss Peter Chingoka.
Post published in: Cricket