Zimbabwe's Logan Cup postponed

It is reported that Zimbabwe's premier first class competition, the Logan Cup, is to be postponed indefinitely with the possibility that it will be scrapped for the season.

According to original fixtures released by Zimbabwe Cricket, the tournament was supposed to get underway on Tuesday with Mashonaland, who have retained the Cup for six seasons, set to clash with fierce rivals Matabeleland at Harare Sports Club, while Midlands had a date with new-boys Masvingo at Kwekwe Sports Club.

A reliable source within Zimbabwe Cricket said the Logan Cup was going to be indefinitely postponed because of the dreadful standard of cricket seen in last week's Faithwear inter-provincial one-day competition, in which Matabeleland successfully defended their title amid some dire games. Mashonaland, for example, fielded a side so weak that only two players finished with batting averages in double figures. The first five matches produced a highest team score of 118 and not a single individual fifty.

The source indicated that there were fears that Logan Cup games, which are scheduled to last four days, could finish embarrassingly quickly.

The main problem appears to be Mashonaland. Their selectors refused to pick players from six clubs which had been expelled for opposing the provincial board, but those six included almost all the national players. But now they have signed national contracts, they had to be considered for selection or the alternative was Mashonaland again fielded a feeble side. No-one was ready to be seen to climbdown, especially the Mashonaland board.

The Logan Cup fixtures had been planned in a such a way that it would have taken place ahead of Zimbabwe's tour to West Indies, where they were scheduled to play two Tests and five ODIs, and players who excelled in the Logan Cup were to be picked for the Tests. But the Sports and Recreation Commision appointed interim executive running the affairs of Zimbabwe Cricket decided to voluntarily suspend Zimbabwe's Test status for this year.

Zimbabwe are now preparing to take on Kenya in five ODIs later on this month and are then scheduled to play in a triangular series featuring hosts Bangladesh and Kenya immediately after. Those dates would overrun many of the rounds in the Logan Cup and so further weaken the standard.

No-one at Zimbabwe Cricket was available to comment.