The teams that did not make it – Part 1 – ICC World Cup 2011
It is often said that history only remembers the victors, and with the ICC World Cup 2011 nearing its climax one name will go down in the record books forever. The fact is that the winner will always be talked about for years to come, but those who did not
make it that far will not. It would be unfair to ignore those teams as each did their part in what has been an extremely entertaining World Cup.
One ought to start off with Group A and first up in the soon to be forgotten World Cup campaign of those who missed out on a top four finish.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045
A side experienced in the cricket World Cup and from the African continent was placed in Group A with the likes of host nation http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754
side.
Zimbabwe however knew that if they wanted to holster any hopes of qualifying for the next stage they needed to make the most out of their matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752.
The Zimbabweans started their World Cup campaign against the side that was unbeaten in the competition for the past 13 years, Australia at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmadabad.
Zimbabwe had a sign of how things were going to go when they lost the toss and were put in to field by the Australians. The strength of the Australian batting line-up was too much for the Zimbabweans, as the Australian’s played their way comfortably to a
262 run total for the loss of only six wickets.
The Zimbabwean response was poor to say the least, as wickets fell at regular intervals and they failed to get a significant partnership going. The lower order managed to spare Zimbabwe any major blushes, as they led their side to a more respectable 171
run total. Graeme Cremer top scored for his side with a 37 run knock.
Zimbabwe lost their first match by a slightly embarrassing margin of 91 runs, but to be fair it was to be expected with opponents the caliber of Australia. Not letting the result affect them too much, the side turned their attention to the must win game
against the Canadians at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Vidarbha-c860 Cricket Association Stadium at Jamtha in Nagpur.
Winning the toss, Zimbabwe Captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Elton-Chigumbura-c55937 elected to bat in the first innings, a move that proved to be wise, though not so much in the early stages of the match. Zimbabwe had lost both their opening batsmen in quick succession and had seven runs
on the board for the loss of two wickets in the fourth over.
Zimbabwe used their experience and Craig Ervine and wicket-keeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tatenda-Taibu-c92882 steadied the ship for their side with an impressive 181 run partnership. Ervine scored a magnificent 85 runs as Taibu was unlucky when he fell just two runs short of his century.
From there on the Zimbabweans were in control of the match and by the end of the allotted 50-overs, had amassed a total of 298 runs for their bowlers to defend. It was now up to the bowler’s to do their part as admirably as the batsmen.
Continued in Part 2
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