Australia 272 for 9 (Inglis 103, Evans 4-47) beat Zimbabwe 271 for 8 (Raza 81*, Ervine 59, Kaia 55 ret hurt, Ellis 3-50) by one wicket
Then, in the field, Inglis, on 48, cut Ernest Masuku in the air to backward point and Wessly Madhevere leapt to his right but could not hold on. The drop proved costly even though Madhevere took a stunner to dismiss Carey. Madhevere’s biggest mistake was still to come. In the penultimate over when Ellis launched Masuku to deep midwicket, Madhevere got under the ball and spilled the chance.
With nine runs needed off the last six balls, Raza then gave Madhevere the ball, even though Graeme Cremer had an over in hand having caused problems in his first ODI in 2018. The first ball went for six and left Madhevere inconsolable at the end.
Inglis was in early after Evans struck twice in his first two overs. He had Head caught at deep backward square when he flicked off his pads and then found Mitchell Marsh’s inside edge to leave Australia were 25 for 2 in the fourth over. Inglis announced himself with a swivel pull that went for four and was brutal through the point area. He greeted Cremer’s return by sending his first ball – a full toss – through mid-on for four. But Cremer came back well and bowled Cooper Connolly with a classic leg break to announce his return in some style.
Inglis and Carey put on 85 for the fourth-wicket to keep Australia in control and Inglis’ big challenge came when Australia started to wobble. They were on 203 for 5 after 35 overs, 69 runs away from victory, and in the space of two overs Raza had Ollie Peake out lbw and Cremer got Xavier Bartlett with a googly. Then, Blessing Muzarabani was brought back to keep Australia under pressure and bounced Ellis, who fended him skywards but the chance fell out of Brendan Taylor’s reach. Muzarabani finished the series wicketless.
Inglis reached his century with a strong sweep against Cremer off his 94th ball and victory was still 55 runs away. When Raza bowled Inglis in the 42nd over, Zimbabwe were ahead in the contest but the management of their attack towards the end will raise questions. Muzarabani was bowled out after 44 overs and Evans with two overs to go. Cremer, despite his experience, was overlooked for his final over.
That won’t be the only area Zimbabwe will leave with questions. Their batting line-up underwhelmed in parts, especially after they chose to put runs on the board in the final match. They started off reasonably well and were on 34 without loss after six overs before their opening pair gave way.
Ben Curran’s poor returns in white-ball cricket continued when he gloved Johnson down leg and was caught behind for 7. His partner Brian Bennett didn’t fare much better. After showing promise with classy flicks off the pads and crunching pulls off short balls, Bennett skied a Ellis delivery to Head at midwicket to depart for 30. Bennett has not crossed 40 in his last eight ODI innings, despite getting several starts. Zimbabwe were 57 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.
Taylor took his time to get to a 16-ball nine before he was bowled by an Adam Zampa flipper and his form will also be a concern. Kaia, whose first runs had come off a thick inside edge, offered a chance on 27 when he was out of his crease early as Renshaw fired in a delivery down leg. Inglis fumbled and recovered but could not stump Kaia, who put the early jitters aside to play some classy strokes. He drove Renshaw through mid-on and pulled Johnson flat and hard to bisect the fielders in the deep. His fifty came just after the innings’ halfway mark, off 59 balls, and marked the first time he had crossed the milestone in 12 innings, since January 2023.
Kaia and Ervine got Zimbabwe into a good position and when Kaia retired on 148 for 3, it was up to Raza and Ervine to accelerate. They brought up the Zimbabwean 200 with 10 overs to go but the final flourish never came. Ervine was eager to up the ante but could not clear Renshaw at long-on and Madhevere sent an Ellis slower ball to cover to give Australia two wickets in two overs.
Evans showed glimpses of his finishing skills with back to back fours off Johnson but then top-edged a short ball to give Johnson a second wicket and Cremer was out lbw to a pinpoint Ellis yorker. Raza reached fifty soon after that and farmed strike for the final five overs to end unbeaten on 81 which gave Zimbabwe a competitive total, but agonisingly not quite enough.
Firdose Moonda is Cricinfo’s senior correspondent for Africa and women’s cricket
