Tuskers – 338 and 228-8 in 62 overs (Luke Jongwe 91*, Awad Naqvi 36, Allan Chigoma 24; Faraz Akram 3/15, Munashe Chipara 2/41, Tapiwa Mufudza 1/43)

Eagles – 378 all out in 114.5 overs (Faraz Akram 97, Hamid Ali 63, Nick Welch 59; Luke Jongwe 4/66, Mgcini Dube 2/58, Hamidullah Qadri 2/75)

 

Match drawn

 

Luke Jongwe was robbed of the chance of what would have been a well-deserved century as rain forced the Logan Cup match between his Tuskers side and Eagles to finish as a draw at Harare Sports Club on Monday.

 

Tuskers began the day on 18 for one wicket, with Nkosana Mpofu on five and Awad Naqvi two.

More fine bowling from Faraz Akram soon had them in trouble, and they declined to 83 for five wickets.

Jongwe came to the rescue, though, playing a fine innings of 91 not out, helped by the later batters.

The score was 228 for eight wickets, a lead of 188, when rain finally took over, and the match had to end in a draw.

 

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Southern Rocks – 434 all out in 143 overs (Richmond Mutumbami 137, Alistair Frost 88, Blessed Muzite 41; Antum Naqvi 3/73, Mike Chinouya 3/78, Tafara Chingwara 2/65)

Rhinos – 71-4 in 22 overs (Tarisai Musakanda 31*, Prince Masvaure 10, Johnathan Campbell 8*; Sydney Murombo 2/14, Roy Kaia 1/14, Cuthbert Musoko 1/17)

 

Match drawn

 

The weather also disrupted the other Logan Cup match between Southern Rocks and Rhinos which unfortunately had to end in a draw as well.

For the second successive day no play at all was possible at Old Hararians Sports Club on Monday, where Rhinos finished with 71 for four ywickets after Rocks had scored 434.

 

2022/23 LOGAN CUP POINTS TABLE

Tuskers – 338 all out in 101.4 overs (Ainsley Ndlovu 84*, Awad Naqvi 51, Luke Jongwe 43; Wessly Madhevere 3/77, Matt Parkinson 2/73, Tapiwa Mufudza 1/41)

Eagles – 238-5 in 71 overs (Nick Welch 59, Faraz Akram 54*, Wessly Madhevere 51; Luke Jongwe 2/36, Hamidullah Qadri 2/41, Mgcini Dube 1/46)

 

Day 2 – Stumps: Eagles trail by 100 runs

 

Fighting fifties from Nick Welch and Wessly Madhevere revived a sagging Eagles innings and helped them to finish on even terms with Tuskers on the second day of their Logan Cup match at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

Tuskers began the day on 245 for six wickets in their first innings, with Luke Jongwe on 36 and Ainsley Ndlovu 31.

Jongwe was soon out for 43, but Hamidullah Qadri came in next and laid about him to score 30 off 35 balls.

There was a bonus for the last wicket, as the debutant Mgcini Dube gallantly held an end up for 21 balls while Ndlovu hit about him and was eventually left unbeaten with his highest first-class score of 84 not out, scored off 119 balls and containing two sixes and nine fours.

The total was 338, six bowlers sharing the wickets and Madhevere doing best with three for 77.

Eagles made a bad start, with their opening batters scoring only 11 runs between them, and three wickets were down for 50.

Then Welch and Madhevere came together and stopped the rot, playing positive attacking cricket as they carried the attack to the Tuskers and added 87 for the fourth wicket.

It was Qadri who finally broke the stand by having Welch out lbw for 59, and shortly afterwards had Madhevere caught for 51, to make the score 146 for five wickets.

However, a pairing of Hamid Ali and Faraz Akram now took over and, batting more sedately than the previous duo, added to date 92 runs for the sixth wicket by the close.

Ali finished the day on 36 and Akram 54, and with the score 238 for five wickets the teams will go into the third day fairly evenly balanced.

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Southern Rocks – 434 all out in 143 overs (Richmond Mutumbami 137, Alistair Frost 88, Blessed Muzite 41; Antum Naqvi 3/73, Mike Chinouya 3/78, Tafara Chingwara 2/65)

Rhinos – 71-4 in 22 overs (Tarisai Musakanda 31*, Prince Masvaure 10, Johnathan Campbell 8*; Sydney Murombo 2/14, Roy Kaia 1/14, Cuthbert Musoko 1/17)

 

Day 2 – Stumps: Rhinos trail by 363 runs

A magnificent seventh-wicket partnership of 125 between Richmond Mutumbami and former national Under-19 medium-pace all-rounder Alistair Frost, on his first-class début, enabled Southern Rocks to turn the tables completely on Rhinos on the second day of their Logan Cup match at Old Hararians Sports Club on Saturday.

Mutumbami, as he so often did in his early years with a struggling Rocks team, came good in a crisis yet again, and recorded his eighth first-class century.

On the first day Rocks had struggled to 187 for five wickets – Mutumbami had 52 and William Mashinge eight.

Only eight runs had been scored when Mashinge fell lbw to Antum Naqvi for eight, and now Frost came in to join Mutumbami.

The pair put their heads down and fought hard, and steadily the score rose, and continued to rise.

The 200 mark was quickly passed, and by the time the score reached 300 they were still together, with Mutumbami well past the 100 mark and Frost supporting him splendidly.

Mike Chinouya finally broke the stand by having Mutumbami caught for 137, scored off 245 balls with a six and 21 fours.

Frost, however, now helped by Cuthbert Musoko with 29 and Dylan Hondo with 30, stayed until 400 was behind them.

He was within sight of the rare feat of scoring a century on his first-class début, when he was finally caught at the wicket off Tafara Chingwara for 88.

Frost was ninth out, and the innings finally closed for 407, a wonderful recovery after the first four men had gone for 86 on Friday.

Chinouya and Naqvi were the most successful bowlers, with three wickets each.

Rhinos went in to bat and were soon deep in trouble.

Eddie Byrom went for seven, followed by Prince Masvaure (10) and Takudzwanashe Kaitano (6).

When Antum Naqvi was out for seven, the score was 35 for four wickets.

Tarisai Musakanda hit out defiantly and was still there with 31 at the close of play, partnered by Johnathan Campbell with eight.

Rhinos finished the day on 71 for four wickets.

Southern Rocks – 114 and 92-4 in 48.4 overs (Roy Kaia 36, Ben Curran 26, Richmond Mutumbami 10*; Munashe Chipara 3/10, Tapiwa Mufudza 1/14)

Eagles – 228 all out in 60 overs (Larvet Masunda 76, Tadiwanashe Marumani 73, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe 21; Sydney Murombo 3/36, William Mashinge 3/49, Cuthbert Musoko 2/35)

 

Day 2 – Stumps: Southern Rocks trail by 22 runs

Some fine pace bowling by Cuthbert Musoko and Sydney Murombo for Southern Rocks cut back the Eagles first innings at Old Hararians Sports Club on Saturday to keep them from running away with this Logan Cup match.

Overnight Eagles were on 198 for four wickets, with Wessly Madhevere on 12 and Tinashe Nenhunzi 11, in reply to the Rocks first-innings score of 114 and looked set for a major score.

However, Murombo removed Nenhunzi without addition, Madhevere went for 18 and the later batters came and went until Eagles were dismissed for 228, exactly double the Rocks score.

Murombo and William Mashinge took three wickets each, while Musoko had two.

Rocks now had the chance to fight back with the bat, but they made a poor start, losing their opening pair for 20 on the board to Munashe Chipara.

Ben Curran (26) and Roy Kaia (36) fought back well, but both were out before rain stopped play early.

Rocks finished the day still 22 runs behind with six wickets in hand.

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Tuskers – 294 all out in 74.5 overs (Clive Madande 121*, Nkosana Mpofu 45, Awad Naqvi 35; Definate Mawadzi 2/2, Mashford Shungu 2/38, Vincent Masekesa 2/59)

Mega Market Mountaineers – 208-6 in 60 overs (Brian Bennett 56, Tony Munyonga 43, Kevin Kasuza 38; Hamidullah Qadri 2/45, Ernest Masuku 2/52, Ainsley Ndlovu 1/31) 

 

Day 2 – Stumps: Mega Market Mountaineers trail by 86 runs

 

Brian Bennett scored a maiden first-class fifty against Tuskers at Harare Sports Club on Saturday as Mega Market Mountaineers fought to stay on terms with their opponents.

Play began with Tuskers on 288 for eight wickets, with Clive Madande on 115, but his last two partners flitted in and out to Definate Mawadzi without scoring, leaving him stranded on 121.

He faced 149 deliveries in his fine innings, with a six and 16 fours.

No bowler took more than two wickets, but Mawadzi, who came on for the first time in the morning, enjoyed the figures of two for two off 11 balls.

Mountaineers made a useful start to their innings, with Kevin Kasuza (38) and Baxon Gopito (24) putting on 49 in 11 overs for the first wicket.

Three were out for 80, but there followed a vital partnership of 90 runs between Tony Munyonga and Bennett for the fourth wicket.

Before the rain arrived, these two and Clive Chitumba were out in quick succession, making the score a less comfortable 184 for six.

This was a situation for Shingi Masakadza, and he was just settling in, having hit Hamidullah Qadri for two sixes in three balls when play was stopped.

At the close Mountaineers were on 208 for six, with Spencer Magodo on 13 and Masakadza on 14.

Southern Rocks – 282 and 295-8 declared in 110 overs (Richmond Mutumbami 71, Ben Curran 70, William Mashinge 64; Hamidullah Qadri 5/92, Milton Shumba 1/36)

Tuskers – 156 and 215 all out in 71.1 overs (Awad Naqvi 67*, Tanu Makoni 59, Ainsley Ndlovu 38; Roy Kaia 7/58, Sydney Murombo 1/21, Priviledge Chesa 1/94)

 

Southern Rocks won by 206 runs

 

Roy Kaia turned demon bowler at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Tuesday as he took seven wickets for only 58 runs off 35 overs as his Southern Rocks side sent Tuskers crashing to a 206-run defeat in their Logan Cup match.

Overnight Tuskers, set to score an unlikely 422 runs for victory, had lost two wickets for 109 runs, the not-out batters being Awad Naqvi on 30 and Milton Shumba on seven.

Kaia struck immediately in the morning, bowling Shumba at the overnight score, and proceeded to bowl throughout the innings, with only a brief break.

For a while Tuskers put up a fight, with Alvin Chiradza batting stubbornly for five in adding 27 for the fourth wicket with Naqvi, and then Ainsley Ndlovu biffed 38 off 35 balls with six fours – both were out caught at the wicket off Kaia.

Before Ndlovu was out the score reached 195 for five, but after he left the tail came and went without a whimper as Tuskers crashed to 215 all out.

Naqvi stayed in to fight it out as best he could, a solid defensive innings that ended on 67 not out, scored off 171 balls with six fours, but the last four batters came and went for only 10 runs between them, leaving him stranded.

Naqvi, who resides in Australia, scored 94 runs for once out on this his first-class début.

The last man, Charlton Tshuma, was run out after hitting a boundary, attempting a risky second run that would have allowed Naqvi to keep the bowling.

Priviledge Chesa, who had bowled so well in the first innings, was very expensive this time, going for 94 runs off 23 overs with only one wicket to show for it.

The honours belonged to Kaia, who has now taken 79 wickets in 79 first-class matches.

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Mega Market Mountaineers – 285 and 326-3 in 83 overs (Ben Compton 131, Joylord Gumbie 88, Timycen Maruma 70*; Johnathan Campbell 1/7, Mike Chinouya 1/47, Antum Naqvi 1/71)

Rhinos – 513 all out in 107.4 overs (Antum Naqvi 103*, Nyasha Mayavo 91, Kiran Carlson 87; Shingi Masakadza 4/71, Vincent Masekesa 3/162, Fortune Mhlanga 1/69)

 

Match drawn

 

Ben Compton scored another second-innings century for Mega Market Mountaineers at Old Hararians Sports Club on Tuesday to help earn them a creditable draw against Rhinos.

Mountaineers, 228 runs behind on the first innings, rallied superbly when they went in again, and would almost certainly have saved the match even without help from Jupiter Pluvius, as the British call the rain at cricket matches.

They had already scored 138 without loss when they continued in the morning, with Joylord Gumbie on 70 and Compton 51.

Gumbie took his score to 88 before he was caught off Mike Chinouya, the opening partnership having been worth 164 runs altogether.

Kevin Kasuza went for 21, lbw to Antum Naqvi at 201, and then Timycen Maruma came in to join Compton and see him through to his century.

Play went on in between showers of rain, and the match was safe for Mountaineers just before Compton was out lbw to Johnathan Campbell for 131 just before play was called off, the final score being 326 for three wickets.

He faced 229 balls and hit a six and 12 fours, while Maruma was not out with 70 off 96 balls (three sixes and six fours).

In four first-class matches for Mountaineers, Compton has scored centuries in the last three, all in the second innings.

None of the Rhinos bowlers were able to make any impression on the excellent Mountaineers batting in their second innings.

 

2022/23 LOGAN CUP POINTS TABLE