adminJeffrey Murimbechi Sports Correspondent
ALL the excitement from the two opening Logan Cup matches at Harare and Masvingo Sports Clubs was drenched by an afternoon downpour on the final day of the four-day matches which resulted in both matches being drawn. Mashonaland Eagles were hosting the Mid West Rhinos in Harare while the Southern Rocks were taking on defending champion Matabeleland Tuskers in Masvingo.
Mid West Rhinos were leading Mash Eagles by 31 runs with five wickets in hand when rain stopped play with 23 overs still left in the day.
Barely an over was bowled at Masvingo Sports Club as the rains came after just after three balls had been bowled. The Tuskers were 131-4 with a lead of 169 runs after having scored 284 in the first innings.
The highlights of the low scoring match were that of Rocks’ batsman Tinashe Panyangara who top scored with 89 runs and Tuskers’ Tawanda Mupariwa who took the first five wicket-haul of the season with 5-42 in 18.2 overs.
At Harare Sports Club Mash Eagles’ Regis Chakabva scored 240 runs and Brendan Taylor was on an unbeaten 150 by the time the rains came down.
The draw in this match was imminent as the Eagles had declared on 545/7 after chasing down the Rhinos low score of 296 in the first innings thanks to Chakabva’s double ton and half centuries from Mark Vermeulen, Sikandar Raza and Elton Chigumbura.
When the match was abandoned, Rhinos had a lead of 31 runs after scoring 280-5 and having the impossible task of bowling out the home side again within the last session.
Taylor’s emphatic performances in both innings makes him the leading run scorer in the season so far as he scored 102 runs in the first innings and scored 150 runs in the second.
Chakabva’s record breaking 240 was the sixth highest individual score in Zimbabwean first-class cricket.
The next round of matches will feature Mutare based Mountaineers who will host the Eagles while Midwest Rhinos have their first home game at Kwekwe Sports Club against the Southern Rocks.
Online Reporter