Bennett walks off with concussion, Masvaure named replacement

Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing Test against South Africa because of mild concussion. Prince Masvaure has been named as his concussion replacement for the rest of the match in Bulawayo.

After South Africa declared overnight on 418 for 9, Bennett came out to open on the second day and saw his opening partner, Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Nick Welch fall inside five overs. In the sixth over, Bennett looked to pull a short ball from Kwena Maphaka but was hit on the helmet via the top edge. He was on 19 runs off 25 balls at the time.

Bennett looked a bit shaken even as he passed the immediate concussion tests and continued batting. He faced three more deliveries in the next over, bowled by debutant Codi Yusuf, who picked up the first two Zimbabwean wickets, before retiring hurt in the eighth over. Bennett had looked the most assured of the Zimbabwe top-order batters at that point.

Bennett came into this Test on the back of an attacking 139 against England in Nottingham. He had three fifty-plus scores, including that century, in his last three Test matches.

Masvaure, 36, last played a Test in July 2024, against Ireland in Belfast, where he scored a half-century in the first innings. In the 2024-25 Logan Cup, Zimbabwe's first-class competition, he scored 165 runs in five innings at an average of 41.25, including a best of 50 not out.