Eagles crush Tuskers, Compton leaves Rocks with Mountain to climb

Eagles – 296 all out in 77.5 overs (Faraz Akram 70*, Tanaka Chivanga 69, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe 39; Tanatswa Bechani 5/91, Luke Jongwe 2/47, Sheunopa Musekwa 2/56)

Tuskers – 98 and 165 all out in 52.1 overs (following on) (Luke Jongwe 52, Milton Shumba 24, Clive Madande 19; Richard Ngarava 4/31, Tapiwa Mufudza 4/61, Tanaka Chivanga 1/8)

Eagles won by an innings and 33 runs

Luke Jongwe made a fighting fifty but of his partners only the last man, Charlton Tshuma, offered even a flicker of resistance as Eagles powered to an innings victory over Tuskers at Old Hararians Sports Club on Tuesday morning.

Tuskers began the day on 97 for five wickets in their second innings, needing another 101 runs to avoid an innings defeat – the overnight batters were Clive Madande with 14 and Jongwe with eight.

Madande was soon out for 19, caught at the wicket off Richard Ngarava, who with the off-spinner Tapiwa Mufudza took charge of the bowling.

Ngarava soon followed up by removing Simba Haukozi (3) and Tanatswa Bechani (0) with successive deliveries, and when Mufudza had Sheu Musekwa caught for one, the score was 120 for nine.

However, Jongwe was still there and, sadly too late, he finally found a determined partner in Tshuma.

They attacked the bowling to add 45 runs in eight overs, with Jongwe going on to reach his fifty before being last man out, caught by Faraz Akram off Mufudza with the total on 165.

His 52 came off 67 balls and contained a six and eight fours, while Tshuma was unbeaten with 12 off 22 balls.

There were four wickets each in the innings for Ngarava and Mufudza, who conceded 31 and 61 runs for them respectively.

Eagles’ third victory was by the margin of an innings and 33 runs, and they have now opened up a large gap at the top of the Logan Cup table.

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Mega Market Mountaineers – 176 and 468-9 declared in 97.2 overs (Ben Compton 217, Joylord Gumbie 108, Tinashe Muchawaya 48; Brian Mudzinganyama 4/44, Roy Kaia 3/94, Priviledge Chesa 1/93)

Southern Rocks – 190 and 10-2 in 6.1 overs (William Mashinge 7, Innocent Kaia 2*, Roy Kaia 0*; Victor Nyauchi 1/4, Tinashe Muchawaya 1/6)

Day 3 – Stumps: Southern Rocks need 445 runs

A double-century from Ben Compton and a hundred from Joylord Gumbie paved the way for a big second-innings score of 468 by Mega Market Mountaineers in their Logan Cup match against Southern Rocks at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday, and by the close of play they were in complete control.

Overnight Mountaineers’ opening pair had played their team into a strong position at 185 for no wicket, with Gumbie on 90 and Compton 92.

Both soon achieved the centuries they had worked for, Gumbie first, having had more of the bowling than his partner, off 159 balls, and then Compton two overs later off 134 balls.

It was Gumbie’s third first-class century and the eighth for Compton.

They took their partnership to 228 before Rocks finally broke it by having Gumbie caught off Priviledge Chesa for 108 – he faced 170 balls and hit 17 fours.

With their team in such a strong position, some of the later batters hit out in the chase for quick runs.

Compton, however, recognised a feast when he saw one, and he pushed remorselessly on, past 150 and then, for the first time in his career, to 200.

Baxon Gopito scored 12 and Brian Bennett 19, but Tony Munyonga was the best of his partners, scoring a sound 44 in a 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

The most successful, though, was Tinashe Muchawaya at number 10, who came in determined to hit, and he did that, swinging his bat at almost everything while the desperate Rocks by now had tried their whole team as bowlers, apart from their wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga.

Muchawaya was still going strong when Compton’s long innings finally came to an end, probably through tiredness, as he was bowled by Brian Mudzinganyama for 217.

He faced 256 balls, batted for almost seven hours and hit 29 fours.

The innings ended when Muchawaya, trying to pinch the bowling with his fifty in sight, was run out, having slogged 48 runs off 23 balls, with five sixes and three fours.

At this point Mountaineers declared with a score of 468 for nine wickets, leaving Rocks a hypothetical 455 runs to win.

Quite demoralised, Rocks lost their first two wickets for 10 runs in five overs, with Mudzinganyama caught by Compton off Muchawaya without scoring, second ball, and William Mashinge caught off Victor Nyauchi for seven.

At this point, with Innocent Kaia not out on two, rain intervened and the players left the field.

It was not possible to resume play, but it would probably take a lot of rain on the fourth and final day to save Rocks from a heavy defeat.

2022/23 LOGAN CUP POINTS TABLE

 

How points are awarded:

• Win – 10 points

• Tie – 6 points

• Draw/washout – 5 points

• Win by an innings – 2 points

Bowling Points:

• 3 wickets – 1 point

• 5 wickets – 1 point

• 7 wickets – 1 point

• 9 wickets – 1 point

(Total bowling points permitted – 4)

Batting points:

• 200 team runs – 1 point

• 250 team runs – 1 point

• 300 team runs – 1 point

• 350 team runs – 1 point

(Total batting points permitted – 4)