West Indies cruise home by seven wickets

West Indies 240 (Hinds 69, Chanderpaul 63) beat Zimbabwe A (Maregwede 69, Rogers 54) by seven wickets
Scorecard

The West Indian tourists enjoyed a gentle warm-up match in preparation for the five-match ODI series, beating a rather disappointing Zimbabwe A side at Kwekwe Sports Club in the Midlands by seven wickets.

The medium-pace of Wavell Hinds caused most of the damage after Zimbabwe decided to bat. Hinds took three quick wickets and played the major role in reducing Zimbabwe A to 96 for 5. Then came a face-saving stand of 90 between Barney Rogers and Alester Maregwede, the only two players who will have done much to enhance their reputations in the eyes of the national selectors. Chris Gayle bowled his offbreaks with skill at the death, and Zimbabwe A's 239 for 8 was respectable but hardly challenging.

Gayle fell to the persistent Gary Brent for a single in the second over of the innings, but this was to be the extent of Zimbabwe A's success. Hinds and Shivnarine Chanderpaul both passed 60 before retiring to give Marlon Samuels and Ramnaresh Sarwan some batting practice, and they took the tourists home with almost 13 overs in hand. The runs always came at a good rate, but the crowd was disappointed not to see Brian Lara in action with the bat. Perhaps the man who might have benefited most from an innings was Ricky Powell, added to the party for the one-day series which starts at Bulawayo on Saturday.