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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
HARARE-BASED Eagles’ are set to begin the defence of their Domestic Twenty20 Competition title against their predecessors to the throne Tuskers when the 2022/23 edition gets underway at Harare Sports Club on Monday.
The teams will meet just a few days after their clash in the Logan Cup which ended in a draw at the start of the week due to the rain interruptions.
The four—day Logan Cup, which is now will close to the its conclusion, will pave way for the shortest version of the game and only resume on March 29.
Eagles are also currently leading the table in the first class cricket competition after eight games. They have won three games and drew four while losing once to Mid-West Rhinos.
They expect to get a boost with the return of national team captain Craig Ervine, Tanaka Chivanga, Richard Ngarava and Chamu Chibhabha from national team duty. The quartet was part of the Zimbabwe squad that played two Tests against the West Indies recently.
Tuskers also expect Tanunurwa Makoni and Milton Shumba back in the fold after the Test series. Eagles are the defending champions of the T20 competition, having won last year’s final by two wickets against Mountaineers at Harare Sports Club.
Wessly Madhevere top scored in the match with 32 runs off 34 runs to guide his side to victory with six balls to spare.
And, as a new campaign beckons, domestic cricket fans should brace for fast-paced cricket action as six teams have lined up to battle for the honours in the Domestic T20 cricket tournament.
The traditional five provincial sides -Tuskers, Mountaineers, Mid West Rhinos, Southern Rocks and defending champions Eagles – are set to be joined by national academy side Lions, who are the current NPL T20 Blast champions, for this year’s edition.
The tournament is set to run from Monday with the final set for next Sunday, February 26. The matches will be played at Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians Sports Club and entrance will be free at the gates. A total of 17 matches will be played at the two venues in Harare during the week-long cricket fiesta.
Eagles will begin the defence of their title when they face Tuskers in the first match of the competition at Harare Sports Club on Monday morning, starting at 9.30 am.
At the same time, Mountaineers will be entertaining Lions across town at Old Hararians Sports Club.
A 1.30 pm clash pitting Rhinos against Southern Rocks at Harare Sports Club will then complete Monday’s action.
On Tuesday, Mountaineers will take on Eagles in the first game of the day at Harare Sports Club, with Old Hararians hosting the Lions-Rocks fixture first before Tuskers and Rhinos lock horns at the same venue in the afternoon.
The following day, Harare Sports Club will stage a double-header featuring Rhinos versus Mountaineers and Lions against Eagles, while Rocks and Tuskers will meet in the morning at Old Hararians.
The teams will rest on Thursday and then action continues on Friday, with the round-robin fixtures concluding on Saturday.
The Domestic T20 Competition will end on Sunday at Harare Sports Club, with the third-place playoff taking place first at 9.30 am, before the top two sides meet in the final scheduled to start at 1.30 pm.
Online Reporter