Logan match peters out to draw

The Logan Cup match between the CFX Academy and Mashonaland petered out in a draw

The Academy resumed on 28 for one, and it soon became clear that the Academy were taking perhaps a realistic view of their position: that they had insufficient time to push for victory by conventional means and even to aim for a declaration game would bring about a situation where they were hardly likely to bowl out Mashonaland in less than half a day. The overnight batsmen Ryan King and John Vaughan-Davies settled in on a pitch that was playing slowly with a bit of turn, and after an hour they were still there and Mashonaland were growing disgruntled and pressurising the umpires.

Then two wickets fell quickly. King was given out lbw to Peacock, the ball hitting him quite high, and soon afterwards Vaughan-Davies was deceived into shouldering arms to the same bowler, who was spinning the ball quite sharply, only to find it coming straight on and hitting his off stump - the third batsman to be out this way in the match. He had mixed some good drives with some vigorous fresh-air swings at balls outside the off stump. Both had made 24, and the Academy were now 68 for three.

Greg Lamb scored only 10 before hitting a sharp return catch to Viljoen, but Travis Friend was batting soundly, playing some good drives and strokes to leg. Due to the slow outfield he hit five threes against two fours in his 35 before becoming the eighth lbw victim of the match, to Matambanadzo. The Academy went in to lunch on 139 for five, 112 ahead (Colin Delport 22, Jason Young 2).

The afternoon session was a dull one, but vital for the Academy, and Mashonaland grew increasingly frustrated, as was shown in their body language and the amount of 'chirping' they engaged in at times. The only wicket to fall was that of Delport (34), checking a drive against Craig Evans and sending an easy catch to Trevor Penney at mid-on. The score was now 160 for six. Paul Strang, with his knee injury, prepared to come in at nine, but Young and Clement Mahachi showed tremendous determination and concentration to hold on until tea, when the score was 201 for six - unbeaten on 26 and 17 respectively - and the match all but safe. They mixed sound defence with firm strokes when safe to do so, but the heavy outfield made fast scoring difficult under the best circumstances. The only chance given was when Young ducked a bouncer from Matambanadzo and wicket-keeper Don Campbell missed a shy at the stumps with the batsman still out of his crease.

The Academy batted on after tea, useful practice for their batsmen, and the only further wicket to fall was that of Young, lbw to a yorker from Viljoen for 34. Strang decided to risk his knee by batting with a runner, to be not out with 4 at the end, while the left-handed Mahachi was undefeated with 24. The final score was 221 for seven, a lead of 194, at 4pm, the time at which the teams could call off the match as a draw if there was mutual agreement. It was a creditable achievement for the Academy players to bat out the match, although with more experience they should be able to take greater toll of bowling that was often inaccurate. They will also learn to build on a good foundation; in their second innings six batsmen passed 20 but none scored more than 35. Unfortunately some of the Mashonaland players were less than gracious about their successful effort to force a draw.