[Match Thread] Rocks v Eagles (Logan Cup)

[maehara]

Day One Close: Rocks 301/8 (90 overs; Chibhabha 85, Mutombodzi 5/93), Eagles yet to bat.

[farhanhussan]

Good performance by young eagle team.well bowled by young leggie.this will add good competition among leggies in zim this year.Creamer,Maruma,Mushangawe and Mutombodzi.

[andybligz]

I told you guys to watch out for steve marilliar ! he is going to be a great player if he has the support and self ability . get batted patiently and it had rewards of half century well done mate .

[maehara]

Rocks 325 all out (101.2 overs; Chibhabha 85, Mutombodzi 5/97).

[Train Driver]

Lunchtime score

Eagles 18-1 from 13 overs, Mutizwa 8*, Masvaure 5*, Senzere ct Taibu b Mawhire 2

[farhanhussan]

Stumps - Day 2
Southern Rocks 325

Mashonaland Eagles 191/4 (77.0 ov) F Mutizwa* 100, RW Chakabva† 40
seems Eagles are in good position now.Mutizwa brilliant hundred with 11 fours and 3 sixes,CHAKABVA looking good on 40 with 7 fours.they can really get along with this partnership and can get a lead of around about hundred.

[Boundary]

Well done Mutizwa, it's going to be harder to ignore him for the national team if he keeps this up

[maehara]

ZC Match Report for Day Two:

Slow Start Mounts Pressure On Mash Eagles
“despite Mutizwa’s century”

A century in about five hours by the Mash Eagles acting captain, Forster Mutizwa, dominated a rather slow second day’s play at Masvingo Sports Club in the match against Southern Rocks. The Logan Cup champions scored at a rate of well under three runs an over throughout their innings to date, with Mutizwa having more than half that total. Southern Rocks are paying dearly for missing an early chance from his bat. The other top-order batsmen did little, with only Regis Chakabva proving the partner needed for Mutizwa, who carried on from where he left off during his last successful season.

Southern Rocks resumed their innings on 301 for eight, and it took Mash Eagles almost an hour to take the last two wickets. Hilary Matanga played some good strokes for 36 not out, the highest scorer on the side apart from the openers, especially a handsome drive to the extra-cover boundary off the second ball of the day. He did have at least one life in the slips, though. But Blessing Mahwire, whose batting has sadly deteriorated, was out for 2 off 32 balls, although the last man Mike Chinouya hung around valuably for 4. Both these wickets fell to Innocent Chinyoka, who deserved them with a good spell. The innings closed for 325, the leg-spinner Tinotenda Mutombodzi returning the figures of five for 97.

Eagles had an action-packed start to their innings: two runs off the first ball to Ishmael Senzere, who was caught at the wicket off the next delivery, from Mahwire. The other opener, Prince Masvaure, and the next batsman Mutizwa then decided to play with great caution against tight but not desperately threatening bowling by Mahwire and Chinouya. Mutizwa survived a chance at mid-on when 7, the fielder there allowing a miscued drive to burst through his fingers, an expensive miss. The lunch score was only 18 for one off 13 overs.

The partnership was little faster after lunch, and it was hard to understood Mashonaland’s tactics, with both batsmen apparently looking to play an anchor role. Masvaure, the slower of the two, ground out 21 off 82 balls before he finally went for a big hit off Mahwire, only to be superbly caught low down by Chinouya at long-off. Eagles were now 68 for two in the 29th over. Tarisai Mahlunge (7) continued the dogged policy before he was trapped lbw attempting to sweep Matanga. Mutizwa, however, surprised everybody by opening his shoulders and driving Matanga straight for six to bring up his fifty, which came off 113 balls, just before tea. He followed it with another two balls later, and then a four wide of mid-on; 17 came off this the 39th over and the 100 came up. The tea score was 103 for three, Mutizwa on 61. Rocks, for their part, bowled an accurate line just outside off stump and set their field accordingly; only Matanga had been able to make the ball deviate. Some clumsy fielding at times during the day helped to frustrate the bowlers.

After the interval Mutizwa reverted to slower batting, with occasional brief bursts of strokeplay. He lost Lamb, who groped and was caught at slip off the leg-spinner Tendai Chitongo for 10. Regis Chakabva settled in, looking to provide the long-term partner Mutizwa required, and the latter dented the otherwise economical Chitongo’s figures by hitting him for a powerful six straight into the sightscreen. Even now, though, his pace was not unduly quick, and he finally reached his century off 219 balls in the dying minutes of the day. He finished unbeaten with exactly 100, having scored only 39 runs in the final two-hour session, and Chakabva had 40. Eagles may regret batting so slowly if they fail in the end to win this match, and even now they cannot be sure of leading on the first innings.

[andybligz]

great knock but mutizwa , he seriously needs to be a player the coaches and staff need to put a lot of effort and time into, he could be a destructive ODI , T20 player. well done mate

[maehara]

Mutizwa finally gone for 114.