Zimbabwe made to work for their 66-run win

Papua New Guinea surprised everyone by choosing to put Zimbabwe in on a firm Melville Park pitch that looked none the worse for having been exposed to a fine Auckland evening after the covers were stolen overnight.

They surprised even more by having one of the favourites for the ICC Under-19 World Cup Plate 92/6 in the 26th over. Only a quick 37 by the opener Charles Coventry, built on some sweet drives square and straight on the off, provided any substance to the top of the Zimbabwe innings.

When Coventry departed at 48 - the score at which he had just seen his partner Brendon Taylor stranded mid-pitch in a running mix-up - the innings threatened to fall completely apart. The destroyer was the PNG first-change medium pacer, Greg Baeau, who, with spectacular support by the catchers behind the wicket, ended with the magnificent figures of four for 19 off his 10 overs bowled straight through.

He had the perfect foil at the over end in the off-spinner Mahuta Kivung who, with the occasional ball out of the back of the hand, kept the batsmen in check. With one for 34 from his 10, he joined Baeau in dominating the middle of the Zimbabwe innings.

Their departure coincided with the Zimbabwe revival. From 92/6, Elton Chigumbura (42) and Michael Brundle (36), with nothing too spectacular, took the score through to 179 in the 43rd over before the return of the PNG opening medium pacer Peter Arua signalled the end of the Zimbabwe batting cause.

In consecutive overs he removed Brundle and Chigumbura and then closed the innings at 207 in the 49th over with the wicket of Waddington Mwayenga, who brought the curtain down with a lively 18 to see the score past 200.

Arua, who had gone for 20 from his first three overs, redeemed himself with three key wickets for 39 off 7.2.

The PNG bowlers may have done better than they expected; their batsmen could not emulate their effort.

They started badly - a catch at the wicket by the Zimbabwe captain, Tatenda Taibu, off Mwayenga, fresh from his five-wicket bag against Kenya in the first over, sending Mahuru Dai on his way.

And, despite the efforts of the other opener, Frank Joseph, they never recovered from that setback. Joseph was fourth out for 42 with the score 77 but it had taken 27 overs to reach that point. After Mwayenga had done the damage at the top, the spinners Stanley Marisa and Hamilton Masakadza allowed the PNG batsmen no latitude. They may not have been getting among the wickets but, with none for 15 and one for 33 respectively off their allotted overs, they set the innings up for their captain to ram the nails into the PNG coffin - four to be exact.

Taibu put the keeper's gloves aside in the 27th over and within six balls 76/2 had become 77/4 - Joseph being his second victim. The consummate all-rounder (he scored 65 against Kenya) had not finished there. Two more batsmen fell to his medium pacers before he complete his 10-over spell with four for 30.

It could not be said that the PNG batsmen crumbled. They hung around trying to put bat on ball, Kivung being the most successful with 25 to go with his bowling effort. And they had some big lads who certainly looked as if the ball would fly if they connected.

But connect they could not and they finally succumbed in the 46th over for 141, giving Zimbabwe a 66-run victory and a good workout before their toughest match of the round, against Bangladesh on Thursday.

It was appropriate for the effort expended by both teams that Taibu and Baeau were named joint men of the match.