Midwest Rhions Target Mluleki Nkala

[zimfan1]

Franchise cricket hits fever pitch

By Tinashe Kusema

DOMESTIC cricket explodes back into life again — after a two-week festive break — with the country’s five franchises returning for the all-decisive half of the season.

The keyword this time around will be silverware, as the inaugural season of the franchise system nears its conclusion with three trophies up for grabs.
The three are the Logan Cup, Faithwear Metbank limited overs competition and the local Twenty-20 competition.
Zimbabwe’s oldest and most prestigious four-day competition, the Logan Cup, will tomorrow get the ball rolling with two mouth-watering ties pencilled in for Bulawayo and Kwekwe.
Southern Rocks and Matabeleland Tuskers will clash at Queens Sports Club, while Midwest Rhinos entertain Mountaineers at Kwekwe Sports Club.
Mashonaland Eagles are inactive.
All games begin at 9.30am.
The main teams of the two ties will be Southern Rocks and Mountaineers albeit for contrasting reasons.
Mountaineers go into their encounter, against an unpredictable Tuskers, beaming with confidence after their imperious form that has seen then go on a seven-match unbeaten run.
According to gaffer Steven Mangongo, the Mutare-based side is taking this game seriously as they target a clean sweep of the trophies on offer this season.
“Unlike the previous years, where we usually win two of the trophies on offer, this time around we want to make it a clean sweep and cement our status as the best cricketing province in the country.
“We have been in camp since Monday and I am impressed with the progress we have made so far as the entire team appears to be in good form, particularly Tino Mawoyo, Stuart Matsikenyeri and Prosper Utseya, who are coming from injuries,” said Mangongo.
In Bulawayo, Southern Rocks go into their tie against Tuskers with a depleted side due to a few injuries to key members of their team and a poor run of form in the competition.
“We currently have a couple of injuries to key players like skipper Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Craig and Ryan Ervine and Patient Charumbira.
“We are currently working round the clock to make sure that they are fit in time for the trip to Bulawayo, with only Charumbira and Ryan Ervine the major doubtfuls,” said Rocks chief executive officer Givemore Makoni.
However, it is the Faithwear ODI encounters that are expected to take centre stage this month, with the competition expected to come to a conclusion in a fortnight.
Under the new format, the competition has been running concurrently with the Logan Cup, with games being played at least 48 hours after the completion of the four-day games.
That said, the four teams would then engage each other in the final round of games, on January 9, before the tournament runs its course.
The semi-finals have been pencilled in for January 13, while the final will take place three days later at a venue yet to be announced
Mountaineers are currently perched at the summit with 28 points from seven games, followed by Midwest Rhinos and Mashonaland Eagles, respectively, both tied on 16 points although Rhinos have a superior net run rate of +0.017.
Southern Rocks and Matabeleland Tuskers round up the table with 10 and 4 points respectively..
All the five participating provinces used the Christmas break to fine-tune and boost their charges in preparation for the all-important tournament.
Midwest Rhinos are rumoured to be targeting former Zimbabwe international , who has been training with the Midlands-based side, while the other four teams have opted to keep their confidence in their current crop of players.
“It’s a bit too late to start looking for new players at the this point in time, as we have confidence in our current team with players like Alistair Maregwede, Chibhabha and the Ervines all expected to be playing leading roles in our hunt for glory,” said Southern Rocks’ Makoni.

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[jamthala]

Nkala is a allrounder,played lot of cricket.he need to shows some talent now if picked.