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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter

THE Zimbabwe women’s Under-19 cricket team has lost their preparatory series against South Africa after they went down by 74 runs at Willowmoore Park B field in Benoni, South Africa yesterday.

After opting to bat first, South Africa posted 155-6 in their 20 overs and Zimbabwe could only manage 81-9 in their 20 overs. South Africa has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Previous match’s top scorer Oluhle Siyo starred with the bat again as she top scored for the hosts with 43 runs on the board. Siyo was supported by Elandri Janse Van Rensburg once again as she scored 41 runs. 

Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Bhiza, Olinder Chare, Paula Joy and Kelly Makanaka all took one wicket each in the South African innings. 

Adel Zimunu was the top run scorer for Zimbabwe with 25 runs, followed by Vimbai Mutungwindo with 14 and Kelis Ndhlovu chipped in with 11. 

Nthabiseng Nini was the star with the ball for South Africa. She finished with five wickets for five runs in her four overs. Jemma Botha took two wickets and Ayanda Hlubi and Madison Landsman had one wicket each.

The two teams are using the series as preparation for the inaugural international Cricket Council Under-19 Women’s World Cup that will be hosted by SA from 14-29 January 2023. The tournament was originally scheduled for December last year but had to be postponed due to Covid-19.

Zimbabwe got automatic qualification to the global showpiece alongside the hosts, SA, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ireland, West Indies and United States of America. Indonesia, Rwanda, Scotland ad United Arab Emirates booked their places through global qualifiers. — @brandon_malvin