Cricket team loses in World T20 warm up matches
Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday April 9, 2019 15:31
The team is preparing for the Africa World T20 qualifiers to be held in Uganda next month.
Botswana failed to upstage the provincial side from Bulawayo, despite being set low targets.
In the first match on Saturday, Tuskers scored 110 for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs, and Botswana thought they had a sniff at victory.
But Botswana folded to 86 all out in the 20th over to hand the Zimbabweans a 24 run victory.
Tuskers had brought largely a B side, with some of their senior players away with the Zimbabwe national team, but they still proved too strong for the Sky Blues.
In the second match on Saturday, Tuskers batted first and could only manage 113 on a slow pitch after overnight rains.
Still, Botswana batsmen failed to capitalise as the team scored the lowest total of the series, 70 in 16.1 overs.
On Sunday, there was one match and Botswana was inserted into bat, and again it was a low scoring match, which began in overcast conditions.
Boundaries were hard to come by, and Botswana scored 106 for nine in their 20 overs.
Tuskers batted with patience in their run chase, finding the odd boundary on their way to a seven-wicket victory, to sew up the series 3-0.
Botswana coach, Joseph Angara said the team has to play more clinical, but was happy with the overall workout.
'We need to spend time at the crease. They scored around a-run-a-ball, but we did not respond well enough,' Angara said.
He is confident Botswana will pull through when they play in the Africa World T20 qualifiers in Uganda, where five other countries lie in wait.
Botswana will face the hosts, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Namibia.
Captain, Karabo Motlhanka said it was a refreshing run against a team from a test playing nation, and the batters were exposed to some high level bowling.