2012 Stanbic T20 a success

be remembered for the team that won the title.
Yes, there was more to this tournament than just the identity of the team that finally lifted the trophy.
Chris Gayle came and played his part but could not drive the Matabelaland Tuskers to a title that, in the first few days of the tourney, looked to be theirs to lose.
Brendan Taylor played like the leader he has been all season but, even with the company of the brilliant Gary Balance, could not tilt this fascinating race in the direction of the MidWest Rhinos and their hardworking coach, Jason Gillespie.
Oh, by the way, Brian Vitori also returned from injury but found that others had moved on and could not make the same impression he made when the season opened.
You simply have to give it to Zimbabwe Cricket for the excellent way they run their affairs and the Stanbic Twenty20 has become a jewel in their crown.
Ozias Bvute and his ZC management team have their challenges, chiefly related to funding, and they have battled long and hard just to run the players’ wage bills.
But when you also hear reports that Sri Lanka, a bigger cricket franchise than Zimbabwe, hasn’t paid its players for eight months, then the challenges facing Zimbabwe Cricket are put into perspective.
Against that background, to their eternal credit, they still manage to organise a great tournament and the third edition of the Stanbic Twenty20 was certainly a success.
The Mountaineers deserved their crown, for what they had put in throughout the tournament, and the impressive way they approached the final against Mashonaland Eagles.
They owed their success story, too, to the committed performance of the Masakadza brothers – Hamilton and Shingi.
Hamilton was the top run-scorer for the Mountaineers after he scored a total of 203 runs throughout the tournament.
His younger brother Shingi was awarded the Bowler-of-the-Tournament after claiming 11 wickets.
The Mountain Goats’ good performance with the ball on Sunday was inspirational and laid the foundation for their success story.
But they had shown discipline, in their attack, long before they choked the Eagles in the final.
First, the Mountaineers won their opening game of the tournament with a six-wicket victory over the MidWest Rhinos with Natsai Mushangwe impressive with figures of 3/19.
Statistics also show that the Mountaineers had the best attack as they had four of their players in the Top 10 with Shingi Masakadza topping the table with 11 wickets.
Dirk Nannes was fourth with eight wickets, all-rounder Chris Harris, whose work ethic continues to be a model to many an aspiring young cricketer, was fifth while Prosper Utseya was eighth.
The Mountaineers ran into problems against the Tuskers, slumping to a 19-run defeat, in a game West Indies all-rounder Chris Gayle dominated with both the bat (61 off 38) and the ball (4/22).
But having suffered at the hands of the Gayle force, they regrouped and, as a team, stuck to their roles brilliantly with Hamilton provided great leadership to a team that needed him.
Gayle, as expected, was the highest run scorer, justifying his presence here and showing his critics that he wasn’t on this adventure for a holiday. Gayle compiled 293 runs and one gets the feeling that, had Tuskers gone into the final, there would have been more than 10 000 fans to watch the final at Harare Sports Club.
In the batting Top 10 of the tournament, the Mountaineers only had three of their players on the chart with Hamilton Masakadza (203) in fourth place. Mountaineers’ coach Gary Brent, who is making a big impression in his new role, hailed his triumphant side.
“I am delighted with the way the boys finished given that we had a rough start to the season but we managed to get our act right and pick ourselves up, turned the corner and the good thing is that our young players stood up to be counted,” said Brent.
“We got a fantastic bunch of overseas players who have really cared about Mountaineers and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
“We had the best bowling attack in the competition and I knew it would not be easy but the bowlers did their job well and for the Eagles to come off from where they had been at the start of the series was absolutely amazing.
“They have always been very tough to beat because their batting seem to go up to number 10.”