Zimbabwe batsman Craig Wishart promised to maintain his positive approach after launching the team's World Cup campaign with an innings of 172 not out in Harare.
Underdogs Namibia were on the receiving end as the 29-year-old local boy surpassed his previous best of 102 to establish a new national record for a one-day international.
"The pitch was an absolute beauty," he commented.
Highest ODI scores
194no Saeed Anwar Pakistan v India, Madras 1997
189no V Richards West Indies v England, Manchester 1984
189 S Jayasuriya Sri Lanka v India, Sharjah 2000
188no G Kirsten South Africa v UAE, Rawalpindi 1996
186no S Tendulkar India v New Zealand, Hyderabad 1999
183 S Ganguly India v Sri Lanka, Taunton 1999
181 V Richards West Indies v Sri Lanka, Karachi 1987
175no Kapil Dev India v Zimbabwe, Tunbridge Wells 1983
173 M Waugh Australia v West Indies, Melbourne 2001
172no C Wishart Zimbabwe v Namibia, Harare 2003
"I just wanted to play my natural game today and that was what the coach (Geoff Marsh) wanted too.
"My job is to try and bat through and that's my plan for the rest of the tournament."
Rain threatened to deny Zimbabwe the four points for a victory, but they managed to bowl 25 overs to their opposition to enable a result to be worked out via the Duckworth-Lewis method.
"It was a bit tight at one stage but fortunately we just go them in," said captain Heath Streak.
"We wanted to get off to a good start in the tournament and we got it today.
"We've still got a bit of work to do with our bowling but, overall, it's looking good at the moment."
Zimbabwe reached the Super Six phase of the 1999 World Cup in England and have home advantage throughout the first round, although the games against England and Australia remain in doubt.
Their win was also overshadowed by the pre-match statement issued by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga, protesting at the policies of the Mugabe government.
But Namibia insisted it did not detract from their first taste of World Cup action.
"It was a great experience for all of us to play in our first World Cup (game). It wasn't a large crowd, but it was exciting for us," said skipper Deon Kotze.
"Our all-round bowling performance today was nowehere near as good as we can be - and I think we let ourselves down in the field as well," he added.