Zimbabwean cricket team in West Indies in 2006
| Zimbabwe in West Indies 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
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| Zimbabwe | West Indies | ||
| Dates | 29 April – 14 May 2006 | ||
| Captains | Terry Duffin | Brian Lara | |
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | West Indies won the 7-match series 5–0 | ||
| Most runs | Justice Chibhabha (162) | Ramnaresh Sarwan (254) | |
| Most wickets | Prosper Utseya (6) | Jerome Taylor (9) | |
| Player of the series | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | ||
The 2006 international cricket season started with controversial ICC members Zimbabwe touring the West Indies for a series of seven One Day International matches. Because Zimbabwe recently pulled out of playing Test matches, the tour had to be rescheduled which meant the two Test matches were turned into limited overs games, bumping them up from the original five. After Zimbabwe's decision to leave Test cricket at the start of 2006, the West Indian Cricket Board had reconsidered the tour, but without any other team to play they had to appease both sponsors and fans. Although the teams lie next to each other in the ICC ODI Championship, West Indies holds 89 points in eighth place, 47 more than the tourists' 42 in ninth.
Brian Lara's first match in his third spell as captain ended in victory, as Zimbabwe mustered 151 in their 50 overs, and four West Indian bowlers got two wickets each. Despite Runako Morton recording a duck, West Indies made it to the target with five wickets and 11.4 overs to spare, as Lara top scored with 40, the second highest total of the match. However, according to Cricinfo reporter Will Luke, West Indies "rarely looked in complete control". For Zimbabwe, Blessing Mahwire bowled seven overs and conceded 14 runs with six wides, while Prosper Utseya picked up a career best three for 35. In the first innings, Justice Chibhabha hit a half-century in his second ODI.
Despite another half-century from Justice Chibhabha, this time worth 12 runs more than in the first ODI, Zimbabwe's total of 144 was seven lower than in the first ODI. West Indies had batted first, making 242 for 9 after Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul all passed 40, while five Zimbabwean bowlers got at least one wicket each. Jerome Taylor then took four wickets as Zimbabwe fell for 144, with Elton Chigumbura (13) and Tawanda Mupariwa (16) joining Chibhabha with double figure scores.
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