Chinyoka stars in Mountaineers win

A rollicking partnership of 102 for the second wicket between Prince Masvaure and Peter Moor set up Mashonaland Eagles to chase down 220 but their dismissals, in quick succession, saw the Eagles fade away to a 14-run defeat in an exciting three-day finish. The Mountaineers were deserving victors, although the win was spoilt by some excessive appealing.

Play began as it did on the first two days - with quick wickets followed by a recovery. Mountaineers began the day on 86 for four and Timycen Maruma, the overnight batsman, was the first to fall, caught in the slips for 27. Nightwatchman Silent Mujaji and Benjamin Katsande soon followed and, at 95 for seven, Mountaineers were looking in trouble. But then Prosper Utseya and Shingirai Masakadza, the heroes of the Faithwear Metbank final in 2009, stepped in. Utseya in particular counter-attacked well, and their partnership of 49 was worth far more on this particular pitch than it would under normal circumstances.

After Masakadza fell for 18, Natsai Mushangwe gave Utseya good support, hitting the bad ball well on his way to an unbeaten 16. Utseya was finally dismissed for 38 off 53 balls, an invaluable innings given the difficulties of batting fourth on this pitch. The innings closed on the stroke of lunch for 178, leaving Eagles to get 220 for victory. All six wickets that fell in the morning were caught either by the wicketkeeper or at slips. Innocent Chinyoka, who picked up four of those six wickets, bowled a brisk medium pace, just outside the off stump, cutting the ball predominantly away from the right-hander, and the pitch and poor batting technique did the rest.

There was much tension on the field when Eagles began their innings, which increased when the umpire disagreed with the Mountaineers who believed they had Ishmael Senzere caught at slip off the very first ball. It wasn't to be a costly lapse: Senzere was yet to score when he was well run-out by Shingirai Masakadza as he called for a quick single to midwicket, only to be sent back by his partner. Then came the key wicket of Forste Mutizwa, who was superbly caught by the same fielder at extra cover for four. The Eagles were 17 for two, despite the Mountaineers' bowling a bit too short.

Then came what could have been the game's turning point. Moor was yet to get off the mark when he got a leading edge and lobbed a high but simple return catch to Tendai Chatara, who lost sight of the ball and failed to get a hand to it. After this reprieve, Moor and Masvaure decided to go for their strokes, perhaps a wise gamble on an untrustworthy pitch. They took some risks, and Moor raced ahead with a straight-driven six and some powerful hooks as the bowlers tried to bounce him. It was heady stuff and quite unpredictable but, all things considered, he did the right job for his team. Despite some technical flaws his 53 off only 35 balls, with four sixes and four fours, showed the raw material was of high quality. He and Masvaure shared the game's only century stand, the latter soon following Moor back to the pavilion with 51 off 73 balls to his credit.

With Eagles on 119 for four, the match was again in the balance. Cephas Zhuwao did what he does best and swung two sixes in an over from Prosper Utseya over the midwicket boundary to take his team to 135 for four at tea. However, Zhuwawo did not last long after the break, skying a catch to deep midwicket for 18. After this, the batsmen fell back on the defensive, probably a mistake considering the earlier successes had come through attack. Regis Chakabva made 21 without his usual sparkle, and the bowlers worked their way through the lower order. The ninth wicket fell at 199 and the last pair managed only six runs, before Mbofana was adjudged lbw to Shingi Masakadza. Masakadza and Maruma took three wickets each. It was a closely-fought match with an exciting finish, but that still did not justify what was a poor cricket pitch.