Zimbabweans off to a winning start

Zimbabweans 181 for 6 beat Antigua & Barbuda 180 by four wickets

Zimbabwe opened their tour with a four-wicket win in a low-scoring match against Antigua & Barbuda at the Jolly Beach ground.

Zimbabwe performed well given that they barely had time to recover from a gruelling 33-hour journey at the weekend. Antigua & Barbuda won the toss but struggled for runs, and only a sixth-wicket stand of 44 between Daniel Thomas (33) and Gavin Williams (31) enabled them to post 180. Ryan Higgins and Blessing Mahwire took 2 for 19, while Prosper Utseya finished with 2 for 29.

Opener Piet Rinke led the Zimbabweans chase with a quickfire 42, but an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 40 between Gregory Strydom (23 not out) and Keith Dabengwa (15 not out) guided them home with 21 balls to spare.