Eagles storm into Domestic T20 Cup final

Eagles – 148-9 in 20 overs (Marshall Takodza 38*, Matthew Welch 22, Nick Welch 21; Roy Kaia 3/18, Jalat Khan 3/30, Dylan Hondo 2/24) 

Southern Rocks – 108 all out in 18.4 overs (Tafadzwa Tsiga 28, Johnathan Campbell 13, Tendai Chisoro 9; Marshall Takodza 3/23, Hamza Sajjad 2/17, Tapiwa Mufudza 2/18)

Eagles won by 40 runs

Defending champions Eagles have stormed into the Domestic T20 Cup final after beating Southern Rocks by 40 runs in a decisive round-robin match played at Harare Sports Club on Friday night.

They will face Durham in the battle for the coveted silverware scheduled for this Saturday at the same venue.

Marshall Takodza came to the fore for Eagles with an invaluable all-round performance – his innings of 38 not out was the highest of a comparatively low-scoring match, and then he took three wickets for 23 runs to produce the best bowling figures for his side.

Eagles, put in to bat, began at a great pace, with Matthew Welch peeling off five boundaries one after the other to score 22 off 13 balls, while Craig Ervine made 10, and the score after three overs was 38.

Roy Kaia then dismissed both in three deliveries, and in the following over Jalat Khan removed Tadiwanashe Marumani for five to make the score 47 for three.

Takodza then joined Nick Welch (21) at the wicket, and they added 37 for the fourth wicket, but a further slump in this fluctuating innings saw six men out for 93 in the 14th over.

Owen Muzondo (20 off 13 balls) and Tanaka Chivanga (14 off eight) hit out briefly and after 20 overs the score was 148 for nine.

Takodza was still there with 38 not out from 43, not a particularly fast innings, but ideal in the context, as he held it all together and without it Eagles almost certainly would have been out for little over 100.

Rocks were in with a good chance of victory, but they fluffed it badly.

Their aggressive opening pair of Eddie Byrom (run out for five off 15 balls) and Cephas Zhuwao (9) could not get going.

Tapiwa Mufudza dismissed Zhuwao and Roy Kaia, and when Takodza bowled Johnathan Campbell for 13 four wickets were down for 47 in the eighth over.

Tafadzwa Tsiga was the only batter to settle in, but he lost one partner after another, including William Mashinge and Tendai Chisoro, both dismissed for nine by Takodza in successive overs just when a good partnership looked to be forming.

When Chisoro was seventh out at 85 in the 15th over the match was very much in Eagles’ hands, and by the time the gallant Tsiga was out for 28 off 30 balls the score was 108 for nine off 18 overs.

Takodza’s contribution was three wickets for 23 runs, while there were two each for Hamza Sajjad and Mufudza.

The next over saw the last wicket fall at 108, and this disastrous performance by Rocks not only lost them the match, but saw Eagles take three points to hop over Mountaineers and Rhinos to win a place in the final against Durham.

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Tuskers – 115 all out in 19.4 overs (Milton Shumba 27, Sean Williams 27, Brian Chari 15; Nathan Sowter 3/17, Callum Parkinson 3/18, Colin Ackermann 2/32)

Durham – 119-4 in 11.1 overs (Bas de Leede 30, Oliver Robinson 28, Alex Lees 28; Sean Williams 2/30, Jonathan Bushnell 1/7, Ernest Masuku 1/18)

Durham won by six wickets

Left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson took three wickets for 18 runs to start the ball rolling for Durham in their easy six-wicket victory over Tuskers in their final group match played at Harare Sports Club on Friday afternoon.

Parkinson removed the Tuskers openers, Ben McKinney for one and Brian Chari for 15, and the Bulawayo-based team never recovered.

Sean Williams for a while showed signs of a return to batting form, scoring 27 off 29 balls, but the highest partnership in the Tuskers total of 115 was one of 23 for the fifth wicket between Milton Shumba (27) and Clive Madande (13).

Nathan Sowter, a leg-spinner, also did well with the ball, taking three wickets for 17, while Colin Ackermann picked up two in the Tuskers total of 115.

It took Durham just 11.1 overs to chase down their simple target, although they did lose wickets in doing so.

Alex Lees and Ollie Robinson both scored 28 and their opening partnership put on 55 runs in only five overs.

Bas de Leede continued the massacre by hitting 30 runs off 15 balls before being bowled by Williams, who also bowled Haydon Mustard for one.

Paul Coughlin finished the job with 15 not out off six balls, in time to earn Durham three points for this victory, and so on Saturday evening they, with 13 points and without having dropped any points to their opponents, will go into the final as the overwhelming favourites.

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Rhinos – 171-5 in 20 overs (Ryan Burl 60*, Ben Curran 35, Tashinga Musekiwa 20; Victor Nyauchi 4/38)

Mega Market Mountaineers – 172-4 in 18.2 overs (Tony Munyonga 71*, Brian Bennett 44, Shingi Masakadza 15*; Neville Madziva 2/21, Carl Mumba 2/45)

Mega Market Mountaineers won by six wickets

A brilliant innings of 71 not out off 45 balls by Tony Munyonga took Mega Market Mountaineers from uncertainty to a dynamic victory by six wickets over Rhinos in Friday’s first match of the Domestic T20 Cup played at Old Hararians Sports Club.

Rhinos themselves made an indifferent start when, put in to bat, they had both openers out to Victor Nyauchi for 28 in the fifth over.

Ben Curran began the revival with an innings of 35 off 28 balls, helped by Ryan Burl, who as usual took time to play himself in before launching his assault.

Helped by a brief blitz from Tashinga Musekiwa (20 runs, nine balls, two sixes, one four), Burl then went into full assault mode and took Rhinos to the good score of 171 for five wickets, hitting two sixes and six fours in the process as he finished with 60 not out.

Nyauchi was the only successful bowler, taking four wickets for 38 runs in two fine spells, though Salman Mirza did a fine job to bowl his four overs for only 19 runs.

Mountaineers began their reply aggressively, with 36 runs in the first four overs, but it cost them the wickets of both openers.

Without Brian Bennett’s impressive 44 off 26 balls (two sixes, five fours), Mountaineers would indeed have been in trouble, and when he was out the score was 83 for four in the 10th over, with the innings at a crossroads.

This was when Munyonga played his hand, putting even Burl’s innings in the shade as he powered his way to 71 not out off 45 balls, hitting five sixes and four fours in the process.

Shingi Masakadza, no mean hitter himself, wisely sat back, content to make 15 off 16 balls as their unbroken partnership put on 89 runs in nine overs, and victory was achieved with 10 balls to spare.

This defeat cost Rhinos their second place in the competition table – and they also lost their chance to face Durham in the final.

2023/24 DOMESTIC T20 CUP POINTS TABLE

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