Southerns – 129-9 in 20 overs (Roy Kaia 30*, Innocent Kaia 25, Brian Bennett 20; Jamie McIlroy 2/5, Dan Douthwaite 2/24, Eddie Byrom 1/10)

Glamorgan – 130-2 in 12 overs (Chris Cooke 62*, Eddie Byrom 27, David Lloyd 23*; Roy Kaia 1/21, Ernest Masuku 1/27)

 

Glamorgan won by eight overs

A brilliant innings of 62 not out by wicket-keeper Chris Cooke swept Glamorgan to an eight-wicket victory over Southerns in their T20 match at Harare Sports Club on Friday.

Southerns decided to bat on winning the toss, but suffered an early shock when their prize hitter, Cephas Zhuwao, was caught off Jamie McIlroy in the first over without a run on the board.

Clive Madande soon followed for four, but Innocent Kaia with 25 and Brian Bennett with 20 put up a useful partnership for the third wicket, taking the score to 56.

The rest of the batters pushed the score along at quite a good pace, but wickets kept falling and they were in need of a dominating innings to give them a winning score.

Roy Kaia held the later part of the innings together with 30 not out off 36 balls, while Tashinga Musekiwa hit two sixes in scoring 17 off 10 balls, as the innings closed at 129 for nine after 20 overs.

McIlroy had the impressive bowling figures of two wickets for five runs in three overs.

Glamorgan lost Thomas Bevan for 10 to Ernest Masuku in the second over, but then came a dynamic partnership of 91 for the second wicket in only eight overs between Eddie Byrom and Cooke.

Byrom scored freely to make 27 off 21 balls, but he was quite overshadowed by Cooke, whose 62 not out came off only 33 balls, and contained three sixes and eight fours.

After Byrom was out at 102, the captain David Lloyd came in and hit 23 not out off only 10 balls to complete a comprehensive victory for Glamorgan.

All the main bowlers went at 10 or more runs per over except for Roy Kaia, who took the wicket of Byrom for 21 runs in three overs.

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Northerns – 127-8 in 20 overs (Tanu Makoni 24, Wessly Madhevere 22, Nyasha Mayavo 20; Scott Borthwick 5/16, Liam Trevaskis 1/14, Paul Coughlin 1/21)

Durham – 131-6 in 13.2 overs (Scott Borthwick 27, Liam Trevaskis 23*, Matthew Potts 17*; Carl Mumba 2/12, Victor Nyauchi 2/27, Wessly Madhevere 1/32)

 

Durham won by four wickets

A remarkable five-wicket bowling performance by Scott Borthwick broke the back of the Northerns innings and played the major part in Durham’s four-wicket victory in their T20 meeting at Harare Sports Club on Friday.

Northerns batted first on winning the toss, losing the wicket of Nkosana Mpofu to Liam Trevaskis in the second over.

Wessly Madhevere scored 22 off 18 balls, and Northerns were looking well set when after 11 overs their score was 72 for two wickets.

Then, however, Borthwick struck, having Tadiwanashe Marumani caught for 15 and three balls later bowling out Tanu Makoni for 24.

His next over saw two more wickets, Tony Munyonga stumped for one and Carl Mumba caught for two, and Northerns suddenly found themselves reduced to six wickets down for 79.

Nyasha Mayavo hit well to recover the position, with help from Faraz Akram (7), and they did well to add 28 in three overs.

At 107 Borthwick struck again with his fifth wicket in having Mayavo caught for 22 off 19 balls, and it was left to Ainsley Ndlovu and Victor Nyauchi to score seven and 12 respectively, both unbeaten, to reach a final score of 127 for eight.

Durham had only a moderate target to chase and they were after a quick victory, but some good bowling from the Northerns team cost them seven wickets before they got home.

Openers Michael Jones (16) and Graham Clark (13) hit 32 runs off the first two overs, but Nyauchi bowled them both out in his first over.

All their batters scored at better than a run a ball, but the highest innings – and best of the match – came from Borthwick himself, who scored 27 off 16 balls before he was run out by Makoni.

When the sixth wicket went down for 94, in only the 10th over, Northerns found themselves in with a chance of victory.

However, Trevaskis with 23 not out and Matthew Potts, 17 not out, then steadied the innings and in another four overs had completed another victory for the county team.

Mumba, with two for 12 off his two overs, had the best bowling figures for Northerns.

Glamorgan – 172-5 in 20 overs (Sam Northeast 76*, David Lloyd 31, Callum Taylor 27; Luke Jongwe 2/33, Tanaka Chivanga 2/45, Brandon Mavuta 1/24)

Southerns – 115 all out in 17.2 overs (Cephas Zhuwao 23, Innocent Kaia 18, Johnathan Campbell 15; Dan Douthwaite 3/8, Jamie McIlroy 2/26, Prem Sisodiya 2/27)

 

Glamorgan won by 57 runs

Sam Northeast, the man who scored 410 not out in a first-class county match last year, was the match-winner for Glamorgan as the county side defeated Southerns by 57 runs in the first T20 encounter at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday morning.

He opened the batting when Richmond Mutumbami put Glamorgan in to bat on winning the toss, and batted throughout the innings to score a fine 78 not out.

Northeast lost his first two partners with just 21 runs on the board in the fifth over, but then shared a stand of 55 in seven overs with his captain, David Lloyd, who made 31.

Callum Taylor with 27 off 18 balls, and then Chris Cooke, who smashed 21 runs off only eight balls at the depth, also helped him take the county side to a score of 172 for five wickets.

Northeast himself did not indulge in such concentrated pyrotechnics, but his 76 came off 49 balls and he hit three sixes and six fours.

There were two wickets each for Tanaka Chivanga, who paid 45 runs for them, and Luke Jongwe, but Brandon Mavuta was the most economical bowler with one for 24 off his four overs.

This gave Southerns a difficult target to chase, but Innocent Kaia did his best with four early boundaries and 18 off 15 balls.

But none of the home batters could play Northeast’s role or score more than 25.

The highest scorer was Cephas Zhuwao, who opened the innings with Kaia but had less than his fair share of the bowling.

He scored 23 off 18 balls, with two trademark sixes, and was fourth out at 61 in the ninth over.

The middle order flickered briefly, but nobody lasted long and Southerns were bowled out for 115 in the 18th over.

Six Glamorgan bowlers shared the wickets, with Dan Douthwaite claiming the best figures of three for eight off 2.2 overs.

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Northerns – 124 all out in 16.3 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 24, Carl Mumba 22, Nkosana Mpofu 20; Liam Trevaskis 3/19, Oliver Gibson 2/13, Brandon Glover 2/23)

Durham – 125-1 in 11.3 overs (Alex Lees 55*, Michael Jones 35, David Bedingham 34*; Tawanda Dzikiti 1/29)

 

Durham won by nine wickets

Brilliant batting led by Alex Lees swept Durham to an easy nine-wicket victory over Northerners in the second T20 at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Northerns on winning the toss decided to bat, but lost Wessly Madhevere off the third ball of the innings to Brydon Carse, with only a wide on the board.

There followed the only significant partnership of the innings, as Nkosana Mpofu with 20 and Tadiwanashe Marumani with 24 put on 46 for the second wicket in five overs.

Both were out to successive deliveries, and the only other batters to show any success were Joylord Gumbie with 19 and Carl Mumba with 22 off 14 balls, including two sixes and a four.

Liam Trevaskis took three wickets in quick succession in the middle order and six wickets were down for 81 before Mumba began to hit.

The innings ended in the 17th over for 124, Trevaskis finishing with three for 19 in three overs.

This left Durham with a comparatively easy target, and Lees was soon getting after the bowling, hitting 10 runs from Victor Nyauchi’s first over.

He scored 22 out of the 26 runs on the board after three overs, but then his partner Michael Jones got to face, and he was even more brutal.

He hit three fours in four balls off Mumba, and then hammered Tawanda Dzikiti for four successive boundaries before he was caught by Madhevere off the fifth for 35 off 15 balls – 57 for one in five overs.

David Bedingham joined Lees, and the two of them put the Northerns bowling to the slaughter, as they swept to victory without further loss.

In the 12th over Lees allowed Mpofu to bowl only three deliveries, hitting him for four, four and six, the last stroke bringing up his fifty (55 not out, two sixes, seven fours) off 31 balls and ending the match in victory after only 11.3 overs.

Bedingham finished not out with 34 off 23 balls, with two sixes and three fours.

Ndlovu with 10 runs off two overs was the only bowler to escape punishment.

Eagles – 173-8 in 20 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 52, Nick Welch 37, Wessly Madhevere 29; Prince Masvaure 3/25, Johnathan Campbell 1/20, Mike Chinouya 1/22)

Rhinos – 111 all out in 14.4 overs (Tashinga Musekiwa 38*, Ryan Burl 18, Brandon Mavuta 11; Wessly Madhevere 3/15, Tawanda Dzikiti 3/27, Matt Parkinson 2/4)

 

Eagles won by 62 runs

 

A brilliant innings of 52 by Tadiwanashe Marumani was the highlight of a one-sided final as Eagles defeated a nervy Rhinos team by 62 runs to lift the Domestic Twenty20 Competition trophy at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

Rhinos won the toss and followed the usual course by putting their opponents in, but as has been the case quite often during this tournament, it proved to be a regrettable decision.

Mike Chinouya struck in his first over, having Kudzai Maunze caught for five.

Then Nick Welch and Wessly Madhevere attacked the bowling in fine style, adding 52 for the second wicket in six overs before Brandon Mavuta broke the stand by bowling Madhevere for 29 off 25 balls.

Chamu Chibhabha scored 15, and then Marumani announced his arrival by hitting the first two deliveries he faced, from Johnathan Campbell, for four and six.

Soon afterwards Welch was out for a well-played 37 off 33 balls, and it was fortunate for Eagles that Marumani was in good form, for the later batters did little.

Marumani thrashed the bowling brilliantly to score 52 off only 22 balls, finally going out in the 19th over to Prince Masvaure with the score at 162 for six.

A few more runs were scored to take the total to 173 for eight, Tanaka Chivanga being out for “obstructing the field” off the final delivery.

 

Rhinos’ target of 174 was not easy, but it was certainly possible.

However, their innings was a disaster virtually from beginning to end, and after such an impressive tournament until now, it would appear that they were unnerved by the big occasion.

In the third over, with the score on 11, Masvaure was given out lbw to Madhevere for four, and two balls later Eddie Byrom perished the same way for two.

Tarisai Musakanda was then lbw to Richard Ngarava, which meant three batters were out lbw in four balls.

Madhevere himself took three wickets in four balls when with the first ball of his next over he bowled out Campbell for one.

The score was 15 for four, and after this the batters appeared to hit out recklessly and hopelessly.

Mavuta hit 11 runs off four balls before hitting his wicket down off the fifth, while Ryan Burl was out for 18 off seven balls.

When Madziva went out for four, eight wickets were down for 61 in 9.1 overs, and not one of them had survived more than 10 balls.

Tashinga Musekiwa however became the first Rhinos batter to break this barrier, as he showed more fight than some of the bigger names and reached 24 off 12 balls.

He shared the largest stand of the innings with Carl Mumba, 32 for the ninth wicket, before the latter was out for 11 off nine balls.

Chinouya came in last and hit a four, so remarkably in such a poor innings each batter had scored at least one run.

Musekiwa continued to bat with admirable fighting spirit until Chinouya was out for four, ending the innings at 111 in the 15th over.

He scored 38 not out off 20 balls, and was the one Rhinos batter able to go home with his head held high.

Madhevere took three top-order wickets for 15 runs in three overs, while Tawanda Dzikiti had three later wickets for 27.

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Southern Rocks – 139-8 in 20 overs (Ben Curran 50, Richmond Mutumbami 23*, Dylan Hondo 22; Chris Mpofu 2/17, Luke Jongwe 2/21, Tawanda Maposa 1/10)

Tuskers – 128 all out in 19.4 overs (Tanu Makoni 37, Clive Madande 34, Tawanda Maposa 14; Sydney Murombo 4/21, Keith Jaure 2/9, Roy Kaia 2/29)

 

Southern Rocks won by 11 runs

Ben Curran with the bat and Sydney Murombo with the ball were the main heroes for Southern Rocks as they fought back to beat Tuskers for third place in this tournament by 11 runs in an exciting finish.

Tuskers had appeared to have the upper hand for most of the match.

They followed the usual but not always successful policy of putting their opponents in to bat on winning the toss.

They were jubilant when in the second over Luke Jongwe caught their most feared adversary, Cephas Zhuwao, off the bowling of Ernest Masuku for two.

This brought to an end Zhuwao’s run of four successive destructive fifties.

Curran stepped into the breach, though, with a fine attacking innings of 50 off only 36 balls, with eight fours to his credit.

He had good support from Roy Kaia and Gary Ballance with 13 apiece, but when he was out at 83 for four the middle order failed and seven were out for 95 in the 14th over.

Richmond Mutumbami (23 not out) and Dylan Hondo (22) put on 31, but a total of 139 for eight wickets was not one Rocks would have been happy with.

Chris Mpofu was the most successful of the bowlers, with two wickets for 17 in his four overs.

As he did in their final round-robin match on Saturday, Tanu Makoni played a sound anchor innings for Tuskers when they replied.

 

When Clive Madande scored a fine 34 off 27 balls, they seemed well set for victory at 82 for two in the 13th over.

But then none of the middle-order batters could get going for long, and wickets began to fall to the mixed attack.

Danger signals were evident for Tuskers when Jongwe was out for eight at 94 for four and 46 runs were needed off the last five overs.

Only Tawanda Maposa with 14 off six balls reached double figures, before he was bowled by Murombo at 120 for six – 20 needed off the last 16 balls.

Only three runs were scored off the next eight balls by Makoni and Masuku, and this failure spelled Tuskers’ doom.

Then Keith Jaure took two wickets with successive balls, while two balls later Murombo had Mpofu caught, leaving Tuskers reeling at 125 for nine with five balls left.

Makoni, almost left stranded, hit out, but was caught off Murombo for 37 (44 balls) to end the match, Tuskers finishing 12 runs short with only two balls left.

Murombo took four vital wickets for 21 in 3.4 overs, while Jaure, with two wickets for nine in his three overs, also struck at just the right time for Rocks.

 

2022/23 DOMESTIC T20 COMPETITION AWARDS:

• Centurion Master Blaster – Tadiwanashe Marumani (Eagles)

• Player of the Match (Final) – Wessly Madhevere (Eagles)

• Bowler of the Tournament – Tanaka Chivanga (Eagles)

• Batter of the Tournament – Cephas Zhuwao (Southern Rocks)

• Player of the Tournament – Cephas Zhuwao (Southern Rocks)

• Champions – Eagles

• Runners-Up – Rhinos

Rhinos – 171-8 in 20 overs (Johnathan Campbell 46, Ryan Burl 35, Brandon Mavuta 26*; Tawanda Dzikiti 3/16, Matt Parkinson 2/22, Alex Falao 2/32)

Eagles – 153-8 in 20 overs (Nick Welch 68, Tanaka Chivanga 32*, Alex Falao 12*; Brandon Mavuta 4/28, Neville Madziva 2/25, Carl Mumba 1/12)

Rhinos won by 18 runs 

Another magical spell of bowling by Brandon Mavuta badly undermined the Eagles batting and led to their defeat at the hands of Rhinos by a margin of 18 runs in a Domestic Twenty20 Competition match at Old Hararians Sports Club on Friday.

Rhinos, put in to bat, quickly lost two wickets to Alex Falao, and despite 21 from their opener Eddie Byrom were in deep trouble when their fifth wicket went down for only 53 runs on the board in the ninth over.

The situation was saved by some daring hitting from Johnathan Campbell (46 off 32 balls) and Ryan Burl (35 off 20), who put on 56 for the sixth wicket, more than doubling the score in less than five overs.

Mavuta also played his part with the bat, scoring 26 not out off 17 balls, and thanks to these three Rhinos were able to finish with a very presentable 171 for eight wickets.

Tawanda Dzikiti did well to take three wickets for 16 runs in three overs, while Falao after his valuable early wickets took some stick and was hit for 32.

Eagles began their chase with Nick Welch and Tadiwanashe Marumani, who raced to 23 in the third over, when Mavuta came on and bowled Marumani for nine off five balls, and had Wessly Madhevere caught without addition two balls later.

There followed a steady collapse of the Eagles middle order, with seven successive batters dismissed for single-figure scores.

Mavuta returned in the middle of the innings to take two more cheap wickets, and when he removed Faraz Akram for three Eagles had six wickets down for 91.

Welch was the only batter who could resist him, and he was batting brilliantly at one end, a lone act.

But when he was eventually caught off Neville Madziva for 68 (59 balls, a six and eight fours) to make the score 108 for seven in the 16th over, Eagles were doomed.

In the last 3.3 overs Tanaka Chivanga (32 not out off 15 balls) and Falao (12 not out) hit out desperately to add 41 runs, but the task was too great.

Mavuta with four wickets for 28 had turned the match, while Madziva with two for 25 played his part well.

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Tuskers – 170 all out in 19.1 overs (Clive Madande 42, Taffy Mupariwa 30, Nkosana Mpofu 26; Kudakwashe Macheka 4/30, Tendekai Mataranyika 3/34, Marshal Takodza 1/11)

Lions – 155-8 in 20 overs (Christopher Masike 42, Hamid Ali 40, Trevor Gwandu 21; Ernest Masuku 3/38, Ainsley Ndlovu 2/23, Milton Shumba 1/7)

Tuskers won by 15 runs

Despite gallant innings from Hamid Ali with 40 and Christopher Masike with 42, Lions went down by 15 runs to Tuskers at Harare Sports Club on Friday.

They put Tuskers in to bat, but the latter were given a good start by Nkosana Mpofu (26 off 16 balls) and Clive Madande (42 off 27), who took the score to 51 before the second wicket fell in the sixth over.

Madande then found another fine partner in Taffy Mupariwa, who hit 30 off 24, and they added 62 for the fourth wicket in less than seven overs.

Luke Jongwe scored 22 off 13 balls, but three quick wickets at the end for Kuda Macheka brought Lions the distinction of bowling their opponents out for 170 with five balls left unbowled.

Macheka finished with four for 30, while Tendekai Mataranyika had three for 34.

Ali gave Lions a good start, his 40 coming off 38 balls, but when Masike reached the crease the score was 64 for two in the 11th over, which meant that the required run rate was now more than 10 an over, a difficult task for their talented but inexperienced team.

There was a useful 15 by Alistair Frost and 21 from Trevor Gwandu, but the young Lions were never quite able to make up the difference, and their worthy attempt finished 16 runs short of victory.

Ernest Masuku took three valuable middle-order wickets for 38 to finish as the best bowler.

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Mega Market Mountaineers – 209-7 in 20 overs (PJ Moor 45, Shingi Masakadza 42, Timycen Maruma 24; Nick Gubbins 3/27, Keith Jaure 3/41, Dylan Hondo 1/43)

Southern Rocks – 210-4 in 18.2 overs (Nick Gubbins 57*, Cephas Zhuwao 55, Roy Kaia 45; Wellington Masakadza 2/42, Brian Bennett 1/21, Victor Nyauchi 1/43)

Southern Rocks won by six wickets

A sensational innings of 55 off 22 balls by the legendary Cephas Zhuwao paved the way for Southern Rocks to record a remarkable six-wicket victory over Mega Market Mountaineers, who totalled 209, at Harare Sports Club on Friday afternoon.

Mountaineers, put in to bat, had a very good innings with most of their batters contributing usefully.

PJ Moor dominated the early part of the innings, scoring 45 off 31 balls, with four sixes and three fours.

He received help from Kevin Kasuza, who hit out to score 22 off 12 balls, with two sixes and two fours.

At 143 for six in the 16th over, though, it seemed as if a good innings might be fading away, only for Shingi Masakadza to play one of his devastating knocks, as he thrashed the bowling for 42 off only 16 balls, with four sixes and three fours.

This was the necessary impetus to push the score over the 200 mark, and Mountaineers finished on 209 for seven wickets, a daunting target for Rocks.

Keith Jaure took three wickets for 41, while Nick Gubbins did particularly well amid the carnage to take three for only 27 in four overs, which proved to be by far the most economical bowling of the day.

It was a job for Zhuwao now, and he did not disappoint his admirers.

Tony Munyonga bowled the first over of the Rocks innings, and it went for an amazing 26 runs – including a four and two sixes from Zhuwao as well as a wide that gave away five runs.

In the second over Brian Mudzinganyama was out for one, but Roy Kaia gave Zhuwao good support and after only four overs 63 runs were on the board.

Zhuwao reached his brilliant fifty off only 20 balls, including six sixes and four fours, and brought up the team hundred in the seventh over, but at this point he was caught and bowled by Wellington Masakadza for 55.

However, he had left Rocks a manageable 109 runs to score off 13.2 overs, and his team, inspired by his innings, did not let him down.

The two men who continued the good work were Kaia with 45 off 28 balls and Gubbins, 57 not out off 37, as they took Rocks home with all of 10 deliveries to spare.

All of the bowlers suffered severe punishment, but at least Wellington Masakadza had two wickets as compensation.

2022/23 DOMESTIC T20 COMPETITION POINTS TABLE