Tiripano leads Mountaineers recovery with fighting fifty
Mountaineers – 232-7 in 86 overs (Donald Tiripano 76*, Wellington Masakadza 48, PJ Moor 41; Keith Jaure 3/31, Chamu Chibhabha 1/14, Wessly Madhevere 1/18)
Alliance Health Eagles –
Day 1 – Stumps
A fighting innings of 76 not out from Donald Tiripano, aided by Wellington Masakadza and Victor Nyauchi, enabled Mountaineers to recover from the precarious position of 80 for six wickets on the first day of their Logan Cup match against Alliance Health Eagles at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.
By the close, the score was looking much happier for the Mutare-based team at 232 for seven wickets.
Once again Eagles won the toss at Harare Sports Club and put their opponents in to bat.
Keith Jaure soon had Mountaineers in trouble, bowling out both openers in his first and third overs for 11 runs on the board: Kevin Kasuza second ball without scoring and Baxon Gopito for five.
However PJ Moor, now playing for his fourth province, showed good form and steadied the innings, along with Timycen Maruma, and the pair put on 55 runs for the third wicket.
Then Eagles struck back just before lunch, as Chamu Chibhabha trapped Moor lbw for 41 and then in his first over Tapiwa Mufudza had Maruma superbly caught by Wessly Madhevere off a skyer to midwicket for 18.
Mountaineers thus went in to lunch on 67 for four wickets and in some trouble.
The situation worsened for them after the break, as they quickly lost Tony Munyonga for five, a great catch by the wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva diving to his right off Jaure, followed by the run-out of Joylord Gumbie (7) by Madhevere; six wickets down for 80.
Then at last came a determined fightback, as Tiripano and Masakadza put their heads down and worked hard for their runs.
They survived until the tea interval arrived at 147 for six wickets, when the partnership was worth 67, Tiripano having 28 and Masakadza 34.
They took their partnership to 92 before Masakadza was bowled by Madhevere just short of his fifty – he scored 48, including seven boundaries, off 117 balls – and his dismissal left Mountaineers on 172 for seven.
Tiripano did reach his fifty successfully, with Nyauchi providing solid support at the other end.
The score reached 199 for seven wickets before the umpires took the players off the field due to bad light, with Tiripano on 58 and Nyauchi eight.
They soon resumed, but in the end bad light ended play for the day – however, it had not affected the batsmen who were still there.
Tomorrow, Tiripano will resume his innings on 76 and Nyauchi, a much improved batsman this season, on 23, with their partnership now worth 60 runs.
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Rhinos – 229 all out in 73 overs (Prince Masvaure 51, Johnathan Campbell 39, Bright Matsiwe 37; Ainsley Ndlovu 3/48, Milton Shumba 2/8, Steve Chimhamhiwa 2/50)
Tuskers – 1-1 in 4 overs (Tanunurwa Makoni 1*, Craig Ervine 0*; Carl Mumba 1/1)
Day 1 – Stumps: Tuskers trail by 228 runs
A solid 51 from Prince Masvaure was the backbone of the Rhinos innings in their Logan Cup match versus Tuskers at Old Hararians Sports Club on Wednesday.
However, his team did not build very well on his foundation and were dismissed for 229 before the close of play.
Rhinos batted first on winning the toss, and Masvaure soon got into his stride, hitting three fours in Steve Chimhamhiwa’s second over of the day.
His partner Takudzwanashe Kaitano did not settle in, though, and Chimhamhiwa had him caught by Brian Chari for a single, and Charles Kunje soon followed, lbw to Charlton Tshuma for seven to make the score 38 for two wickets.
Tarisai Musakanda made a confident start and at lunch Rhinos had reached 71 for two wickets, with Masvaure on 39 and Musakanda 22.
However, Musakanda failed to build on a good start, and he was out to a catch by Milton Shumba off Chimhamhiwa for 35 when the score was 93 for three wickets.
Masvaure went on to reach his 50 off 96 balls, but was then run out by Ernest Masuku for 51; 106 for four wickets.
However, a good steady partnership developed between Bright Matsiwe and Nyasha Mayavo who added 61 together for the fifth wicket.
Then in the last over before tea Matsiwe lost his wicket, caught off Tshuma for 37, making the score at the interval 167 for five wickets, with Mayavo on 32.
This proved to be the start of a minor disaster, as after tea, without any addition to the score, Ainsley Ndlovu took two wickets in three balls, dismissing Mayavo lbw for his 32 and having Carl Mumba caught by Shumba without scoring, a rare failure for him these days.
Johnathan Campbell and Trevor Gwandu responded positively to try to pull their team out of trouble, and they batted well together to put on 57 for the eighth wicket before both were out at 224, Gwandu caught off Shumba for 14 and Campbell lbw to Ndlovu for 39 – the score was now 224 for nine.
The innings closed for 229 when Shumba bowled Tafara Chingwara without scoring, leaving Brandon Mavuta not out with five.
Ndlovu was the most successful bowler, with three wickets for 48, while there were two wickets each for Chimhamhiwa, Tshuma and Shumba.
There were just four overs possible for Tuskers to start their innings before the close, and the batsmen simply concentrated on keeping their wickets intact.
They scored just one run, but Rhinos took a vital wicket in removing Nkosana Mpofu without scoring, caught by Musakanda off Mumba in the final over.
Tuskers will resume tomorrow at one for one wicket, with Tanu Makoni on one, the only run scored so far, and Craig Ervine yet to score.
