NATAL Under-19 cruised to a 185-run victory over their Zimbabwean counterparts on the last day of their three-day game played at Bulawayo Athletic Club yesterday. An unbeaten 99 by Zimbabwean batsman, Bruce Henwood, failed to save the hosts from losing the match.

Natal resumed at 513 and lost only two wickets as they went to lunch with their score at 185 for five. They finally declared their second innings closed without further loss at 227 for five off 73 overs. Imran Khan and Jon Anderson were left unbeaten with 58 and 67 respectively. Opener Wayne Madsen also weighed in with 64 as the visitors added to their first-innings score of 416 for three declared.

The home side was left with a target of scoring 352 to win off 67 overs. Zimbabwe were in trouble as early as the second over when they lost number one batsmen Charles Coventry for just nine runs. The home side's hopes lay on him after his magnificent first-innings 153, but this time he quickly succumbed to the pressure applied by the Natal pace bowlers, being easily caught by Russell Symcox at mid-off.

After his departure the other batsmen could not stand the pressure they faced, especially from pace bowler Keegan Nagan, and fell cheaply with most of them failing to record meaningful scores. Henwood unfortunately found himself on the wrong side as he batted with aggression despite receiving little support. The pick of the South African bowers was Nagan who finished with five for 32 in 10.4 overs and recorded three maidens.

The match exposed Zimbabwe's weakness in almost all departments of the game. The batting relied on one man's heroics, a situation that rarely produces satisfactory results. The bowling was also well below standard, with most of the leading bowlers proving inaccurate and expensive, save for Waddington Mwayenga who took three for 61 runs with 10 maidens in his 23 overs. The team was however missing the services of their most experienced players whose presence could have made a difference.

It was a well-deserved win for the Natal provincial squad who showed that they were more than a match for the Zimbabwean side. Their captain Hashim Amla led them from the front when he played a true captain's innings of 178, while Khan supported him with another magnificent innings of 120. These two youngsters are on the brink of selection for the South African squad for the Under-19 World Cup next year.

© ZCU