[Match Thread] Eagles v Mountaineers (Logan Cup)

[maehara]

Mashonaland Eagles v Mountaineers
Harare Sports Club

Brought forward a week, will now be played 13-16 January.

[jamthala]

150/4 eagles.
Hondo playing good news for me.

[maehara]

ZC match report for Day One:

An uncharacteristic but determined innings of 77 by the Mashonaland Eagles captain Elton Chigumbura was the main feature of the first day's play at Harare Sports Club in the Logan Cup match against the Mountaineers. Most of the home batsmen got a start but failed to follow it through, but Chigumbura applied himself well to make the top score for his side out of a total of 264 for nine wickets at the close of play.

The Mountaineers were unlucky to be deprived of their exciting young spin bowler, Timycen Maruma, through injury. However, they won the toss and put Eagles in to bat on a warm and largely sunny morning. The pitch was not ideal, turning out to be rather two-paced; it was not difficult for a batsman to get in on it, but it was harder if he wanted to score quickly.

Alois Tichana, opening the batting for Eagles, found it particularly hard going, struggling to 6 runs off 41 balls in more than an hour before he was bowled by Njabulo Ncube. His partner Prince Masvaure managed greater fluency during their opening partnership of 38. But Masvaure himself fell for 31 as he tried to push the score along, slashing at a ball from Ncube and edging a catch to second slip.

Ncube's bowling was the main feature of the morning session, as he also dismissed the prolific Forster Mutizwa for 17 runs in his spell of seven overs for three wickets and 15 runs. The new-ball bowlers Shingi Masakadza and Donald Tiripano tended to be inaccurate and unable to maintain the pressure. Steady Musoso surprised the batsmen occasionally with a bit of lift, though without any luck, and Mountaineers would be quite happy with the lunchtime score of 76 for three.

The Eagles fought their way back during the afternoon session, although they were unable to dominate on this pitch. Ryan Butterworth and Greg Lamb applied themselves with determination, and there was much shouldering of arms against the seamers and solid defence against the off-spin of Prosper Utseya. A few of the fielding side were rather too vocal, and as their bowlers failed to take wickets there was some meaningless clapping after every delivery not scored from, even if the batsman had allowed it to pass well wide of his stumps.

Butterworth made 24 before being caught at slip, and an unusually dogged Elton Chigumbura came in to join Lamb. The Mountaineers appeared to be rather too defensive in the field as the batsmen settled in, with some of their fielders set back more than halfway to the boundary; the batsmen missed the opportunity to take advantage by working the singles which were easily on offer. Lamb was finally out for 44 not long before tea, caught at the wicket trying to cut a ball from Tiripano.

The grind continued in the final session, with Chigumbura reaching a subdued but disciplined 50 off 97 balls. Regis Chakabva, after settling in, briefly began to attack the bowling, but he did not last, skying a pull shot when he had made 17. Trevor Garwe also tried to take the attack to the bowlers, and hit a ball from Utseya for a big six over midwicket - the first six of the day - but was trapped lbw by the same bowler for 18.

Raymond Price hit the second ball he faced, from Ncube, wide of mid-on for six, and all the while Chigumbura was pushing the score along with restraint, rarely going for his strokes apart from an occasional fierce pull off short balls. Finally, though, trying to cut a ball from Shingi Masakadza, he edged a catch to the keeper, departing for 77. He faced 45 balls and hit eight fours. The score was now 246 for eight.

Price made 12 before, as non-striker, he unilaterally attempted a single and was run out. The last two batsmen, Douglas Hondo and Kyle Jarvis, batted through to the close and will continue their innings on the final morning. The Mountaineers will be encouraged by this scoreline, but their optimism must remain guarded until they show how they can bat on this pitch.

[jamthala]

hondo take 3 wickets .bowled tabu on 98.superb

[Conant]

ZC match report for Day One:

An uncharacteristic but determined innings of 77 by the Mashonaland Eagles captain Elton Chigumbura was the main feature of the first day's play at Harare Sports Club in the Logan Cup match against the Mountaineers. Most of the home batsmen got a start but failed to follow it through, but Chigumbura applied himself well to make the top score for his side out of a total of 264 for nine wickets at the close of play.../quote]

How about match reports for days two and three in Harare, Maera. John Ward's writing is most entertaining. Better still can you post us a link of this ZC website. Nothing I Google here seems to work

[maehara]

How about match reports for days two and three in Harare, Maera. John Ward's writing is most entertaining. Better still can you post us a link of this ZC website. Nothing I Google here seems to work

These aren't lifted from a website - I get them emailed from ZC. Sadly, they don't send them for every day's play, but between here and ZCN I repost everything I'm sent.

For links to match reports that appear in the various Zim newspapers, keep an eye on the Twitter feed - I post links to a fair amount of stuff there that doesn't merit an article on ZCN.

[andy24]

the worry for me in this game is jarvis didnt bowl in the 2nd innings.
he only bowled 8 overs in the first innings.

also well done to P Masvaure on his first first class 100.