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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter

SINCE Dave Houghton took over the reins as Zimbabwe senior men’s national cricket team, the side has been playing positive cricket and the decider on Saturday against Netherlands was one of their best displays after a poor show at the start of the series.

The Chevrons team was plagued by poor performances in the first two matches, with dismal batting, fielding and decision-making hampering their progress despite being a full-strength squad with a lot of talent. However, they gave their all in the decider and sent a strong message.

Zimbabwe will be looking to build on the momentum they got on Saturday as their focus shifts to the World Cup Qualifiers which will be hosted in the country in June. If the performance in the three-match series against Netherlands is anything to go by, the team is in the right shape to book their ticket to the World Cup in India later in the year.

Wessly Madhevere

Clive Madande and Wessly Madhevere were some of the key players in the Chevrons team, putting up brilliant performances. In the first match, it took a special innings from Madande to guide the home side to a competitive total. He scored a brilliant, career-best 74 runs from 98 deliveries, guiding the Chevrons to a respectable total of 249 after they were sent in to bat first. However, Zimbabwe went on to lose by three wickets after a spirited batting performance from the visitors.

In the second match, with the pressure on, Madhevere led the charge to become the first Zimbabwean bowler since Prosper Utseya to pick up a hat-trick in ODIs, his sensational bowling giving Zimbabwe a fighting chance having, earlier scored 43 runs. Needing 272 runs to win, Netherlands were bowled out for 270 runs in exactly 50 overs.

In that match, Madande continued his form to score yet another brilliant half century before he fell for 52 runs from 57 balls while seasoned campaigner, Sean Williams top scored with 77 runs off 73 balls as Zimbabwe showed glimpse of life.

Clive Madande

A strong message ahead of the June Qualifiers was sent on Saturday in the decider which Zimbabwe convincingly won by seven wickets. Playing in front of a capacity crowd, Zimbabwe were sent in to bowl first and restricted the Dutch to 231/9 in 50 overs before they went on to put a brilliant effort with the bat, finishing on 235/3 in 41.4 overs to clinch the series 2-1.

Williams and Madhevere continued with their brilliant performances and Garry Ballance found his groove again in the most important time. Sikandar Raza came good once again which is a good sign for the team that appeared to have moved on from the two dismal performances when the series got underway.

Garry Ballance

Extending the gap between them and Netherlands in the Super League, the series victory was a morale booster for Houghton’s men and will come in handy in a few months. However, some aspects like death bowling and fielding will have to be worked on. Match winning catches were dropped and runs given away in the last and crucial moments of the games. — @brandon_malvin