National League

[brmtaylor.com admin]

A few people have asked if I had any National League updates, so here are the couple of results I do know. Any time I do get an update, as always I will post it straight away under the "Live Scores" heading on the right hand side of http://www.brmtaylor.com



Jan 30: Bulawayo Athletic Club def. Mutare Sports Club
Feb 3: Uprising (4/143 [44.5 ov], R. Chinyengetere 75*) def. Queens Sports Club (10/141 [44.4 ov])



If anyone else finds out anything, please add them to this thread.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Some more updates on those two matches:

Bulawayo Athletic Club vs Mutare Sports Club

Reduced to a 45 over a side match. Bulawayo Athletic Club batted first and scored 4/218, led by Mark Mabuza with an unbeaten 86 and Freedom Takarusenga with 58. Mutare were never really in the hunt, all out for 137. Dumsani Mankuzini was the leading wicket taker with 3.

National League (Jan 30)
Mutare Sports Club vs Bulawayo Athletic Club
B.A.C. (4/218 [Reduced - 45 ov], M. Mabuza 86*, F. Takarusenga 58) def. Mutare S.C. (10/137, D. Mankuzini 3/??, F. Takarusenga 1/?)

Uprising vs Queens Sports Club

Queens were humiliated by the in-form team of the competition, being dismissed for just 141 in 44.4 overs. Charumbira and Muguda were the chief destroyers with 4/42 and 3/12 respectively. In reply it was once again Robertson Chinyengetere, the Uprising captain, who led from the front with an impressive 75 not out. Maradza and Chinyengetere finished it off for Uprising, taking the team home with 6 wickets and 31 balls to spare. Maradza was unbeaten on 17 while Charumbira had made 17 earlier on.

National League (Feb 3)
Uprising vs Queens Sports Club
Upr (4/143 [44.5 ov], R. Chinyengetere 75*, S. Maradza 17*, P. Charumbira 17) def. Queens (10/141 [44.4 ov], P. Charumbira 4/42, M. Muguda 3/12)

Comment

Earlier this year brmtaylor.com reported that the strongest teams were Takashinga, Uprising, Royal and Bulawayo Athletic Club and so far that looks to be pretty well on the money. At the moment you'd have to put your money on Uprising for the title. They are in red hot form, all year they have benefited from having a full squad to choose from with some quality domestic players like R. Chinyengetere, C. Rizhibowa, J. Madyembwa and I. Chingoka. Even if the national team players represent Takashinga or BAC, Uprising probably have enough in the tank to get home anyway. They hammered Takashinga 2 (with players like Kamungozi and Mlambo) in the Vigne Cup by bowling them out for 106, and then humiliated Takashinga 1 bowling them all out for 73. A Bulawayo Athletic Club vs Uprising final would be fascinating, the two teams haven't played each other for a long time (certainly not this season) so there is no real way of comparing them until they meet.

[maehara]

The Zimbabwe Cricket National League saw its sixth Group A match this weekend, with Mutare Sports Club hosting Royal on Friday.
The visitors won the toss and opted to field first.

Mutare were dismissed for 198 runs in 39.3 overs. P. Chisaka top-scored with 45 runs, Tendai Chisoro added 36 and Richmond Mutumbami 25.

For Royal Sports Club, Tinabel Chimbambo picked up four wickets for 32 runs in six overs, S. Bala three for 14 runs in eight overs and Mark Vermeulen two wickets for 21 runs in three overs.

Vermeulen then exchanged ball for bat and put up 73 runs from 87 balls, 13 of them fours. His 90 minutes occupation of the crease ended when he was caught by Mutumbami off the bowling of D. Tiripano.

There was no worthwhile support for the former Zimbabwe international who continues to make big strides on the comeback trail. The next best batsman for Royals was T. Nyakupfuka with 29 runs.

And so, bereft of supporting acts in their chase, the visitors perished on 159 runs in 34.2 overs, leaving Mutare Sports Club victors by 39 runs.

After the weekend action, the National League will go into semi-final stage on Wednesday with the Group A winners playing the Group B runners-up and the Group-B winners the Group A runners-up.

The final is on Friday.

I take the glowing praise of Vermeulen as a sign his selection is imminent...

[Dr_Situ(ZimFanatic)]

Yeah, this is such a good news that he is makin giant strides towards national colours.
My best wishes to him for an emotional return.

[maehara]

Following Dylan's example, I dropped another query to ZC re: posting the full list of National League results - and lo, Lovemore Banda responded about 20mins later:

Thank you very much for the enquiry. We will post the results.

...so keep an eye on the ZC website.

(Looking at the email address he replied from, it seem the ICC have been publishing the wrong one in their Media Notes for quite some time now. Wonder how long it'll take them to notice...)

[brmtaylor.com admin]

From The Herald

Harare — THE Zimbabwe Cricket National League enters its semi-final stage today, with One-day matches in Kwekwe and Mutare.


In the Midlands city, Group A winners Kwekwe Sports Club host Group B runners-up Bulawayo Athletic Club while Group A runners-up Mutare Sports Club host Group B winners the Takashinga second team in the Eastern gateway.

The winners will meet in the final of the limited-overs tournament at Kwekwe Sports Club on Saturday

Not good signs, the standard must have dropped considerably if Kwekwe and Mutare are in the semi's. It's just beyond belief that Uprising aren't featuring. And no Takashinga 1 either.

Go BAC!

[maehara]

Takashinga beat Bulawayo Athletic Club by 8 wickets in the final - which according to the ZC match report, means that Takashinga ("in essence the Zimbabwe national team") now hold the Logan Cup. You think they'd know better than to make that sort of basic error...

http://www.zimcricket.org/?pid=art&articleid=591

Their side could have gotten such a battering at the hands of the Prosper Utseya captained side, which in essence is the Zimbabwe national team, their effectiveness with the ball gave the coach some satisfaction. So dominant was Takashinga that the Logan Cup should effectively remain at Takashinga and only taking it out for polishing.

First, it's not the Logan Cup, and second, ZC probably shouldn't be publishing a match report with such a clear Takashinga bias. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it...

[CrimsonAvenger]

Can a match report get any more farcical? And this is the official one!

On the positive side, it seems that we have a new teen sensation on the blocks: Roger Kahiya. Good to notice that Kamungozi is hanging around too. And Charles Coventry is back in reckoning with a century in the semifinals. Hope he stick around this time, which would mean that a few big scores would be on the cards in this year's Logan Cup. Any chances of him playing the Canada and Namibia sides as part of the A side? If he is picked, the opposition better watch out. Chances are, they would be decimated.

Dreaming a little further, an opener slot is up for grabs in the national team itself, and would Coventry be considered? If so, would it be a shootout between Vermeulen and Coventry? I think we are in for interesting days ahead in Zimbabwean Cricket.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Lovemore Banda posted a better match report in The Herald: http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=847&cat=5

It's good to see Coventry back, but he did play in the Logan Cup (2007 I think) without making a national return so we can't get our hopes up. Both Coventry and Vermeulen would fit into our first eleven I reckon.

[aydee]

Hoping to see Coventry, Vermeulen and Kahiya in the Logan Cup this year, if not the series against Canada and Namibia as well...