The Zimbabwe touring team beat a combined Gauteng/North West team by seven wickets in the opening game of their South African tour, thanks to a splendid unbeaten century by Hamilton Masakadza.
Masakadza weighed in with 103 not-out off 120 balls and struck 11 boundaries and one six.
The vistors won the toss and sent the homeside in to bat. Openers Blake Snijman and William Motaung built a solid 143 run opening partnership at just over four runs to the over.
The slow scoring put pressure on the middle order and some very tight spin bowling from the visitors restricted the home team to 229/8.
Snijman scored 97 (125 balls with nine fours), Motaung made 52 (94 balls with four fours) and the captain Richard Stroh contributed 29 (26 balls with one six).
The visitors made their intentions clear when they scored 47 for one off the first five overs before supper was taken.
The mainstay of the Zimbabwean innings was the unbeaten fourth wicket partnership between Mazakadza and Brendan Taylor (41 — 74 balls with two fours), worth 133 runs.
Opener Barney Rodgers set the pace with 42 from 41 balls, including eight fours, to help get their SA tour off to the perfect start.
Zimbabwe travel to Benoni for their second warm-up match — a four-day encounter against a Northerns/Easterns XI — starting on Friday. – Sapa