dyton mupawaenda
A superb bowling performance of five wickets for only 14 runs by the Pakistani pace bowler Jalat Khan enabled Southern Rocks to take advantage of a dry day to overwhelm Tuskers by 250 runs in their Logan Cup match at Old Hararians Sports Club on Saturday.
Khan also achieved the very rare feat of taking four wickets with successive deliveries, only achieved on 45 occasions in the history of first-class cricket.
They had an advantage overnight as they had scored 86 for one wicket in their second innings after taking a first-innings lead of 85 runs.
The overnight batters were Alistair Frost with 30 and Dom Bess with 19.
Frost, who was an Under-19 player from St John’s College, scored a maiden first-class 50 before being dismissed for 55, while Bess eventually outscored him by one run.
Later on, with Rocks pushing for quick runs and a declaration, Johnathan Campbell scored 48 and the innings was closed on his dismissal at 236 for seven.
Ernest Masuku was the best of the Tuskers bowlers, taking four wickets for 50.
Tuskers were set the unlikely task of scoring 322 to win, and never looked likely even to force a draw, as Khan opened the bowling and broke through so decisively that Tuskers lost their first six wickets within 10 overs for 30 runs.
Khan’s ‘four in four’ feat was split between his fourth and fifth overs.
In his fourth over his last two deliveries removed the opening batter Tanu Makoni lbw for 11 and then had Hamid Ali caught at the wicket first ball.
The first two balls of his fifth over gave him two more lbw decisions, the batters dismissed being Adrian Mupembe and Ainsley Ndlovu.
The debutant Brandon James survived the next delivery, or Khan would have achieved a feat never before recorded in first-class cricket.
In fact, James, along with Awad Naqvi, who had watched the carnage from the other end, shared in a minor revival, and the pair took the score to 57 and saw off Khan before James was out to Bess for 12.
Bess then finished off the innings and the match by taking the last four wickets to dismiss Tuskers for 71, with Naqvi left stranded on 19 not out at the end.
Khan’s final figures were five wickets for 14 runs off eight overs, while Bess took four for eight runs off 4.3 overs.
Meanwhile, the Logan Cup match between Eagles and Rhinos at Takashinga Sports Club was less fortunate, although former Australia Under-19 player Patrick Rowe, playing for Rhinos, took the opportunity to score a maiden first-class fifty on Saturday.
But rain and a drainage challenge at the ground meant that Rhinos were robbed of a rare opportunity to beat Eagles after bowling them out for 86 in the first innings, as no play was possible until after tea, when a draw was inevitable.
There were still bonus points to play for, though, so Rhinos took their overnight score of 149 for six wickets to 206 for nine, Rowe moving from 31 not out to 55, and then declared, hoping to take some Eagles wickets before the close.
Former Zimbabwe Under-19 player Alex Falao had been the most successful bowler with three wickets for 25.
They did not succeed, as Larvet Masunda (12) and Matthew Welch (14) scored 27 runs without being separated in five overs before stumps were drawn.
Brief Scores
SOUTHERN ROCKS – 285 and 236-7 declared in 62.1 overs (Dom Bess 56, Alistair Frost 55, Johnathan Campbell 48; Ernest Masuku 4/50, Ainsley Ndlovu 2/35, Nkosana Mpofu 1/15)
TUSKERS – 200 and 71 all out in 24.3 overs (Awad Naqvi 19*, Brandon James 12, Tanu Makoni 11; Jalat Khan 5/14, Dom Bess 4/8)
RESULT: Southern Rocks won by 250 runs
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EAGLES – 86 and 27-0 in 5 overs (Matthew Welch 14*, Larvet Masunda 12*)
RHINOS – 206-9 declared in 62.5 overs (Patrick Rowe 55, Prince Masvaure 38, Ben Curran 32; Alex Falao 3/25, Hamza Sajjad 2/24, Wessly Madhevere 2/34)
RESULT: Match drawn
Online Reporter