Tuskers end season on high note

TUSKERS put up a brilliant all-round performance in their last match of the 2023/24 Logan Cup season to end their campaign on a high note with a crushing 510-run win over Rhinos at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

The massive victory was Tuskers’ second in their last three matches and have since finished the league in third place with 107 points while their opponents, Rhinos finished bottom of the five-team standings with 84 points.

The remarkable margin of Tuskers’ win is not quite a record for Zimbabwean cricket, as during their tour of England in 2000 the Zimbabwean team beat the English county Gloucestershire by 524 runs.

Batting first, the Bulawayo side scored a mammoth 591 runs in the first innings before their bowlers stood up to wipe out Rhinos for just 137 runs in the first innings to establish a second innings lead of 454 runs.

In the second innings, Tuskers would go on to declare on 233/7 to set Rhinos an impossible target of 688 runs for victory. On the final day, it took Tuskers just after tea to end the match, bowling out Rhinos for 177 runs to end their season on a high note.

At the resumption of play yesterday, Rhinos were on 65/0 in 21 overs before an Ainsley Ndlovu masterclass with the ball for the eventual winners, Tuskers.

Ndlovu produced one of the finest bowling spells in the Logan Cup as he registered his fifth First-Class fifer. He was the hero with the ball for Tuskers on the final day as he finished with match-winning figures of 6/19 in 11.1 overs while Mgcini Dube, Luke Jongwe and Nkosana Mpofu all picked one wicket each to bowl Tuskers to victory, complementing the batters’ effort.

Ben Curran — opening the batting for Rhinos — top scored in the second innings with 61 runs off 111 balls.

Some of Tuskers’ match-winning performances came from Mpofu, the skipper Brian Chari, fast bowler Ernest Masuku and budding talent Mgcini Dube alongside Ndlovu.

Mpofu and Chari put up a solid partnership with the bat in the first innings, with both experienced campaigners scoring their highest first-class scores. Chari made a breezing double century as he fell for 213 runs off 321 balls while Mpofu scored 162 runs from 291 balls (also scored 89 runs in the second innings).

Masuku also scored a fine half-century in the first innings, falling for a well-batted 67 runs off 50 balls before going on to take a fifer – also in the second innings – finishing with figures of 5/46 in 10 overs. Dube – in the match’s first innings – finished with impressive figures of 4/53 in 11.5 overs.

As Tuskers were celebrating victory, it was all cheers in the Mega Market Mountaineers camp as they won their fifth Logan Cup title following their crushing innings win over Eagles at Old Hararians Sports Club.

Mountaineers bowled out Eagles twice to win the match by an innings and 123 runs and lift the Logan Cup trophy for the first time since 2018/19.

The points they gained for victory saw them overtake Southern Rocks’ tally of 122 to finish with 130 at the head of the table.

Batting first, Mountaineers scored 631/7 (declared) in 108 overs courtesy of two double centuries from Tony Munyonga (237 runs) and Brian Bennett (264 runs not out) before going on to bowl out Eagles for 302 runs in the first innings with Tendai Chatara finishing with figures of 3/71.

Mountaineers asked Eagles to follow on and bowled them out for 206 runs to register an innings victory. It was Chatara who led from the front with the ball as well for Mountaineers, taking four wickets for 48 runs in eight overs.

With the Logan Cup completed, next up is the domestic T20 league which will also feature English County side, Durham County Cricket Club who are in the country as part of their pre-season preparations. — @brandon_malvin.