HARARE : Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor hit his second successive
unbeaten century to lead his team to a competitive 259 for eight in the
second one-day international against New Zealand at Harare Sports Club
on Saturday.Taylor made 107 not out off 105 balls with 12
fours and a six to enable Zimbabwe to recover from a slow start after
they were sent in to bat on a pitch which gave early help to New
Zealand's seam bowlers. New Zealand lead the three-match
series after romping to a nine-wicket win in the first match at the same
ground on Thursday when Taylor made 128 not out in a total of 231 for
six after the side lost their first four wickets for 21 runs.Zimbabwe
made a better start on Saturday with Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton
Masakadza putting on 41 for the first wicket. But they struggled against
lively bowling from left-armer Andy McKay and the tall Jacob Oram and
limped to 88 for four in the 25th over.Taylor then found an
aggressive partner in Malcolm Waller, who hit 42 during a fifth wicket
stand of 86 off 73 balls as the conditions became easier for batsmen.Elton
Chigumbura (14) and Keegan Meth (20) helped Taylor in partnerships of
40 for the sixth wicket and 29 for the seventh wicket. Taylor
was on 98 when Prosper Utseya was dismissed by Oram off the first ball
of the last over but Ray Price was able to feed the strike to his
captain. Taylor hit the third ball of the over to fine leg to become the
first Zimbabwean to hit back-to-back centuries.McKay
achieved his best figures in one-day internationals, taking four for 52,
while Oram took three for 48, which included 14 off his final over.
