[Match Thread] Eagles v Rhinos (Logan Cup)

Sibanda stars for Mid-West Rhinos

zimcricket

Vusi Sibanda is the uncrowned king of Zimbabwe domestic cricket.

The Mid-West Rhinos captain delivered the goods yet again with his seventh first-class century in nine innings, a very rare feat worldwide, standing out in his team’s otherwise rather mediocre innings against Mashonaland Eagles at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

The 26-year-old Sibanda made his debut for the CFX Academy almost eight years ago as a highly talented batsman who caused great frustration by his inability to build a major innings.

For several years he was well known for playing occasional exciting little cameos, but so often throwing his wicket away unnecessarily time and again.

Even at the start of this season he had only one first-class century to his credit, at an average of 21.

In the last three months he has added a further eight centuries and, before the season is even past the halfway mark, he has become the first Zimbabwean to pass 1 000 first-class runs in a home season.

It must be remembered that Zimbabwe cricket is at present still in a rather weakened state and the bowling he has had to contend with has not always been of genuine first-class quality.

But against any bowling this is a colossal achievement, as if the man decided to make up for his wasted years in a single triumphant season.

The only first-class match of in which Sibanda has failed to reach a century this season has been his team’s first fixture against Mashonaland Eagles.

He put right that omission yesterday as Mashonaland put the Mid-West in to bat under heavy skies after days of rain, in the hope that the conditions would help their bowlers.

They did not find much joy in the pitch, apart from a bit of bounce and carry, and certainly none from the visiting captain — apart from a hard chance in the gully when he had scored only two, which proved an expensive miss.

Mid-West finished the day on 280-6, after bad light stopped play 25 minutes early.

Sibanda was unbeaten on 128.

His six companions all made starts and scored at least 15 runs; the best of them was Graeme Cremer with 36. The old Vusi Sibanda would have been one of them, scoring a few and then losing concentration but yesterday he got going and kept going steadily after his early lapse.

The left-handed opener Friday Kasteni deserves credit for his determined innings of 27, which the Mid-West coach Andy Waller described as just the sort of start his team needed, during a season in which their Achilles heel has been their fragile top order.

Kasteni batted with great patience and concentration throughout the morning session, refusing to be tempted into indiscretions outside the off stump.

He shared an opening partnership of 27 with Innocent Chikunya, the best for the team since their first match.

Ricky Wessels, experienced and confident, came in next and played some fine strokes, notably through the covers.

But an extravagant big hit cost him his wicket, Trevor Garwe completing a fine catch off a skier, and this brought Sibanda to the crease.

Within minutes, Mashonaland missed their big chance, as a forcing stroke off the back foot was missed in the gully, and after this he showed no mercy.

He played his strokes all round the wicket, like Wessels, those through the covers were the most impressive.

At tea he was on 97, and bided his time after the interval before a stroke through midwicket brought him yet another century, off 148 balls.

He went through a quiet period against the spinners after this, but refused to give it away and saw out the day.

Brendan Taylor and Malcolm Waller both made starts but failed to build on them, the latter played some fine aggressive strokes, but got away with one or two wild strokes before another cost him his wicket. Cremer gave Sibanda good support at just the time it was needed. The match is probably quite evenly balanced, although that can only be assessed when Mashonaland bat on this pitch, which they expect to improve.

Elton Chigumbura’s seamers tested the Mid-West openers early on, but they saw him off, and Admire Manyumwa bowled a couple of impressive spells.

Spinner Raymond Price, as usual, made the batsmen work hard against him.

Mashonaland were a little too loose in the field at times, though, their performance being marred by several misfields and overthrows.

Kyle Jarvis twice believed he had taken a wicket, only to find that he had overstepped the crease.

The first day’s play at Masvingo Sports Club between Southern Rocks and Mountaineers was abandoned due to a waterlogged ground.

Here is a list of Vusi Sibanda’s scores so far this season:

14-17 September: Mid-West Rhinos v Matabeleland Tuskers, 130 and 12

22-25 September: Mid West Rhinos v Mashonaland Eagles, 6 and 11

7-10 October: Zimbabwe XI v Kenya, 209 and 116 not out

14-17 October: Mid-West Rhinos v Southern Rocks, 107 and 101 not out

22-25 October: Mid-West Rhinos v Mountaineers, 4 and 215

16-19 November: Mid-West Rhinos v Matabeleland Tuskers, 111 and 0

24 November: Mid-West Rhinos v Mashonaland Eagles, 128 not out overnight.

Total after 24 November: 1 150 runs at an average of 115.

Logan Cup Log Standing as at end of Round 6

Team P W D L Points

EAGLES 5 3 2 0 73

RHINOS 5 2 3 0 65

MOUNTAINEERS 5 2 1 2 58

TUSKERS 5 1 1 3 46

SOUTHERN ROCKS 4 0 1 3 24

— zimcricket

Mutizwa’s century saves the day for Mash

zimcricket.

VUSI SIBANDA might have played an excellent innings of 153, but Midwest Rhinos saw the Logan Cup match against Mash Eagles slipping away from them by the end of the second day at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

How they hate the home side’s number three batsman, Forster Mutizwa, who matched Sibanda’s innings with his own century, finishing the day still unbeaten with 167.

Play started half an hour early, to make up some of the time lost through bad light on the first day.

Rhinos continued from their overnight score of 280 for six, with the prolific Sibanda on 128.

The Midwest captain looked intent on securing what would have been his third double-century of the season as he played himself in with care, while keeping the board moving.

He passed 150, but then his fine innings came to an end when he was caught in the covers for 153.

He had faced 252 balls and hit 16 fours and two sixes.

This took his season’s total to 1175 before the halfway point, at an average of 106.81, the sort of average that is traditionally compared with that of the great Don Bradman.

The difference, though, is that Bradman averaged almost 100 throughout his career against quality bowling, it must be said

The team did not survive long after the captain’s fall.

In fact the last four wickets fell for the addition of just one run.

The beneficiary was the seam bowler Trevor Garwe, who was richly rewarded for a good spell with three quick wickets as he tumbled out the last three batsmen.

The total was 312, and the team would have hoped for more from their overnight position.

Sibanda had scored nearly half of this total, the next best score being 36 by Graeme Cremer on the first day.

Garwe’s late wickets gave him figures of three for 33, while Elton Chigumbura took three for 70.

It was not a total to daunt the powerful Mashonaland team.

Tafadzwa Mufambisi made a positive start, scoring 14 runs before he edged a catch to the keeper off Taurai Mazurabani.

His opening partner, Samuel Mwakayeni, settled in carefully and a little suspicious, while Mutizwa joined him.

Perhaps it was Mwakayeni’s discomfort, against spin, that led Mid West Rhinos to bring on Cremer to bowl his leg-breaks at him early on but to his credit he kept his head, and his wicket, surviving the struggle, which was just what his team needed from him.

He nearly fell to Cremer’s first ball, as he lobbed a catch just out of the reach of the cover fielders, but after that put his head down and stayed there.

Mutizwa, on the other hand, sought to dominate the bowling, and may well have decided to help his partner by hitting Cremer out of the attack.

He drove him powerfully and frequently, running to his fifty off 60 balls, including two beautifully timed sixes.

Cremer stayed on and a fascinating battle ensued, but it was a long time before the bowler finally earned his success.

Mwakayeni, in contrast to his partner, took 128 balls to reach his own dogged but invaluable fifty.

Cremer changed his tactics, resorting to the negative method of bowling around the wicket at the batsmen’s pads. In the end, though, this policy worked, as he finally reverted to over the wicket, and with his first ball tempted Mwakayeni into a rash drive which resulted in a catch at slip.

The opener had scored a good 70, and his team was now 210 for two.

Mutizwa by then had reached his century, which came off 128 balls, exactly the same number as it had taken his partner to reach fifty. Ryan Butterworth came in and played a pragmatic innings, defending the good balls solidly and hitting the loose ones hard.

Well, though the Midwest Rhinos bowlers toiled, they were unable to sustain the pressure on the batsmen for long enough, as there were always loose deliveries, and Butterworth wisely took advantage of this.

He reached a sound 41 before a mix-up and apparently a late call by his partner left him stranded in the middle of the pitch, to be run out by a good return from Malcolm Waller in the covers.

Greg Lamb saw out the day with Mutizwa, who by the close had exceeded Sibanda’s score.

Mash Eagles are very well placed now at 306 for three wickets, only six runs short of their opponents’ total with seven wickets still in hand — and with Forster Mutizwa still at the crease with the highest score of his career. They had been helped by the weather, warm and sunny throughout the day, and as a result the pitch played very easily. — zimcricket.

This took his season’s total to 1175 before the halfway point, at an average of 106.81, the sort of average that is traditionally compared with that of the great Don Bradman.

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