Ncube revels in Rocks’ historic double

NJABULO Ncube finally has his double, and you could tell it meant something.

The Southern Rocks coach watched his side finish the job at Masvingo Sports Club on Sunday, beating defending champions Mountaineers to seal the Pro50 Championship and complete a rare domestic sweep.

It has been some week for Rocks. One title, then another. This time, they made it look easy, chasing down the target for an eight-wicket win to confirm they are the team to beat right now.

“I am very happy. This is my first time to win a double and I will certainly celebrate this feat,” said Ncube.

“We had not expected this from the start. To be honest, we were only looking to play good cricket and we are happy we came out tops.

“This is a big thing; the fans are happy and we need to keep developing our players so that we maintain the winning and have players playing at the highest level.”

Rocks’ dominance did not come by chance. They had already set the tone by finishing top of the Pro50 log after the round-robin phase, and they carried that form into the final.

Innocent Kaia again stood tall. The top-order batsman has been at the heart of their campaign and he delivered when it mattered most, striking his third century of the tournament.

He remained unbeaten on 112 off 113 balls, finding the boundary 15 times and clearing it once, as Rocks chased with control. Panashe Taruvinga chipped in with 22, while Roy Kaia added 21 not out to see them home.

Kaia finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 500 runs at an average of 83.33, underlining his consistency throughout the campaign.

“He has been playing good cricket since NPL and it’s good to see him scoring hundreds. Hopefully, he will get his jersey back in the national team soon,” said Ncube.

“I have been trying to manage him. Sometimes players can be a little bit difficult but so far, he has been very good, and I am happy that he has been scoring runs. He must keep working hard.”

Earlier, Rocks had done the hard work with the ball. They restricted Mountaineers to 230 all out after winning the toss and opting to field.

Mountaineers started brightly, with openers Joylord Gumbie and Alistair Frost settling early and picking up runs against the new ball. Frost made 25 off 22 deliveries before he was caught at mid-on off Roy Kaia while trying to force the pace.

Nick Welch added 23, but Rocks slowly squeezed the life out of the innings in the middle overs. Gumbie anchored with a patient 51 off 110 balls, though the innings never really kicked on.

The game turned when Matthew Campbell struck three times in quick succession. Wellington Masakadza and Timycen Maruma fell in that spell as Mountaineers slipped from a steady position to 151 for six.

Spencer Magodo (34) and Michael Frost (22) tried to rebuild, but Shelton Mazvitorera checked that late push with two wickets in quick succession.

Mountaineers were eventually bowled out for 230 with four balls remaining, Mazvitorera finishing with three for 31.
Rocks then made sure there would be no late drama.

Campbell and Kaia put together a commanding 148-run opening stand that effectively settled the contest. Campbell made 67 before falling to Prosper Mugeri, but by then the damage had been done.

Kaia stayed composed to the end, bringing up his century off 106 balls and guiding the chase without fuss as Rocks wrapped it up comfortably.

The win sealed a dominant season for Southern Rocks, who now walk away with the Pro50 Championship to add to the 2025/26 Logan Cup, a double that underlines just how far they have come.