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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 – 4-0 in 1 over (Nkosana Mpofu 3*, Tanunurwa Makoni 1*)
Day 1 – Stumps: Tuskers trail by 292 runs
A remarkable ninth-wicket partnership of 126 runs between Faraz Akram and Tanaka Chivanga rescued Eagles from a hole and enabled them to total 296 runs on the first day of their Logan Cup match against Tuskers at Old Hararians Sports Club on Sunday.
Eagles, put in to bat, made a steady start as Tinashe Kamunhukamwe (39) and Kudzai Maunze (36) opened their innings with a partnership of 76 in 18 overs.
Both were out in successive overs, however, leaving the job to Chamu Chibhabha and Nick Welch.
They put on 43 together before Welch was caught for 24 off the spin of debutant Tanatswa Bechani, who then had Wessly Madhevere caught first ball.
At this point the middle order slumped badly, mainly to the bowling of Bechani, although Chibhabha himself was bowled by Charlton Tshuma for 27.
Eagles were in trouble when their eighth wicket went down at 155, but at this point Chivanga came in to join Akram at the crease.
Chivanga went into this match with a first-class career batting average of six and a highest score of 26 not out, but he seemed now to decide that the only way for him to have a chance of making runs was to hit.
He blocked his first ball, from Bechani, and then belted the next three for four each.
He continued to hit out while his partner Faraz Akram wisely played his own natural game, and the unexpected partnership flourished.
In 30 overs they hit the bowling for 126 runs, quite changing the face of the match, before Chivanga was finally out lbw to Sheu Musekwa for 69.
This is by a long way his highest career score – he faced 78 balls for it and hit three sixes and seven fours.
The last man, Tapiwa Mufudza, did not last long, scoring a single only before he became Bechani’s fifth victim of the innings, and Akram was left unbeaten with a very fine innings of 70, scored off 119 balls with a six and nine fours.
The team total was 296, scored off 77.5 overs.
Bechani was the most successful bowler, taking five wickets for 91 runs, despite suffering at the hands of Chivanga, while there were two wickets each to Musekwa and Luke Jongwe.
When Tuskers batted, only one over was possible before bad light stopped play — bowled by Richard Ngarava, it brought a run to Tanu Makoni and three to Nkosana Mpofu.
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Mega Market Mountaineers – 176 all out in 50.3 overs (Shingi Masakadza 55*, Ben Compton 45, Victor Nyauchi 34; Takudzwa Chataira 4/78, Travor Mutsamba 2/15, Priviledge Chesa 2/19)
Southern Rocks – 72-2 in 26 overs (Innocent Kaia 42, Brian Mudzinganyama 24*, Cephas Zhuwao 2; Donald Tiripano 1/10, Victor Nyauchi 1/20)
Day 1 – Stumps: Southern Rocks trail by 104 runs
A fighting fifty from Shingi Masakadza, helped by Victor Nyauchi, rescued Mega Market Mountaineers from disaster to a score of 176 in their Logan Cup match against Southern Rocks at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
The Mountaineers batting collapse against an inexperienced Rocks bowling line-up made a quite unexpected start to the match, after they had been sent in to bat.
The early Mountaineers batters probably did not help their cause by making such a slow start to their innings, which allowed the bowlers to get on top.
Baxon Gopito, taking most of the bowling from his partner Ben Compton, scored all the first 13 runs in eight overs before being caught off Travor Mutsamba.
Wellington Masakadza, in next, was at the wickets for 20 minutes but did not score a run, and wickets continued to falling steadily: Brian Bennett (1), Tony Munyonga (3), Joylord Gumbie (8) and Donald Tiripano (4).
Compton had been scoring steadily after his slow start, though, but when he was caught off Takudzwa Chataira for 45, having faced 82 balls, Mountaineers were in serious trouble at 79 for seven.
The eighth wicket fell at 97, but the ninth-wicket pair it was – just as with Eagles – who stemmed the tide of disaster.
Shingi Masakadza was joined by Nyauchi, and the pair fought back superbly to add 79 runs in partnership, with Masakadza as usual hitting hard and with discrimination.
The end came abruptly, as Nyauchi, having scored a gallant 34 off 48 balls, was caught off Priviledge Chesa, and the last man, debutant Fortune Mhlanga, lasted only two balls.
Masakadza was left not out with 55, scored off 68 balls with a six and nine fours, and the total was 176 – not a good score by any means, but much better than 97 for eight had suggested.
However, to bowl any opponents out for 176 must have come as a great encouragement for Rocks, after their struggles in their first two Logan Cup matches.
When Rocks replied, Cephas Zhuwao never got going, caught by Compton off Nyauchi for two, which took him 10 balls.
Brian Mudzinganyama also struggled, but fortunately Innocent Kaia was timing the ball fluently and scoring almost all the runs.
He did not last the day, though, as just before the close he was caught at the wicket by Gumbie off the bowling of Tiripano for 42, which took him 72 balls.
Mudzinganyama survived the day for 24 not out, while Mutsamba took so seriously his job as night-watchman that he survived 21 balls without scoring and without being dismissed.
- All the players and match officials in Logan Cup action observed a moment of silence at the start of day one and are wearing black armbands as a mark of respect to the late Shepherd Makunura, who at the time of his passing last Thursday was doubling up as Fielding Coach with the Zimbabwe Senior Men’s National Team and Head Coach at Southern Rocks. He was laid to rest at Warren Hills in Harare on Saturday.
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