Manicaland v Mashonaland - excitement outstrips the quality

On the first day of the Logan Cup match between Manicaland and Matabeleland, the interest and excitement tended to outstrip the quality of the cricket. Two fine batting performances dominated, from the former Academy players Dion Ebrahim and Neil Ferreira. Otherwise the rest of the batting was pretty feeble, the bowling was sometimes good but basically erratic, the ground fielding often poor, but the catching frequently superb. Both teams completed an innings, with Matabeleland taking a lead of 59 runs.

This match, by mutual agreement, was played at a neutral venue in Harare Sports Club due to the distance between the two centres, although Matabeleland probably had second thoughts after a long airport delay saw them arrive in Harare after 2am on the morning of the match. Their captain for the match was former Academy player and Under-19 captain Mark Vermeulen, with Mark Abrams unavailable for family reasons. Also missing were Ross Craig and John Rennie for business reasons, while Manicaland had the same twelve as in their first match. The weather was hot and generally sunny, although there was some rain about. The pitch was inevitably a little slow and giving some movement to seamers, and with a little uneven bounce the batsmen did not find it easy to play their strokes.

Matabeleland decided to bat on winning the toss, and pace bowler Leon Soma soon struck for Manicaland with two quick wickets for 19 runs. Charles Coventry, now 17 but in the record books as the country's youngest ever first-class player at 15, fell in the third over without a run on the board. Perhaps with a touch of desperation at failing to get the board moving, he drove unwisely and skyed a catch to extra cover. Vermeulen came in and played some effortless strokes, apparently back to his best form after a lean period. The other opener, development player Wisdom Siziba, struggled for runs and eventually flashed at a ball outside off stump, and the resultant thick edge was well caught low down by keeper Neil Ferreira for 3.

Soma had opened the bowling with former national all-rounder Mark Burmester, who bowled well, moving the ball away from the right-hander. First-change Gary Brent had a terrible first two overs, bowling several wides. The only way he could resolve this inexplicable problem, he found, was to bowl with his fingers across the seam. Vermeulen enjoyed an escape when a thick edge just cleared gully, but then ran himself out unnecessarily. Dion Ebrahim off-drove a ball and called for a second, but Vermeulen (29) was unprepared and narrowly run out after quick fielding by Terry Denyer.

Manicaland completed a good morning's work with the wicket of the experienced Neil van Rensburg (14) on the stroke of lunch, as he helped a full toss from Denyer straight down the throat of long leg Soma. Matabeleland thus finished the morning on 93 for four, with the busy-looking Dion Ebrahim still there on 30.

After lunch for a while there was the rare sight of two spinners, Lawson (off) and Denyer (leg) who both toss the ball up and rely much on flight. They were not quite accurate enough to bother the patient batsman, although Denyer picked up another scalp when Shaun Commerford (6) was well caught at first slip by Dion Yatras, the ball coming off the keeper's gloves. Wicket-keeper Warren Gilmour (8) was bowled by a beauty from Brent that came back enough to uproot the off stump as the batsman tried to pad up, and Matabeleland were reduced to 120 for six.

Ian Engelbrecht then gave Ebrahim sound support for a while in a useful partnership of 44 for the seventh wicket. Ebrahim often struggled with his timing on this pitch but hung on and picked up his runs mainly in ones and twos. He reached his fifty without it being recognised for several minutes due to the lack of an adequate scoreboard. He had reached 70 when Engelbrecht (19) finally steered a ball from Brent to Burmester in the gully, and this was almost the end of the resistance. The last three batsman never looked like staying long, and Matabeleland were all out eleven minutes short of the official tea-time for 175. Ebrahim, unable to push the score along with the tail, was unbeaten with 76.

Manicaland suffered the same sort of start to their innings as they had inflicted on Matabeleland. Opener Patrick Gada was beaten and in all sorts of trouble several times before being caught by Vermeulen in the gully off Commerford without scoring. Mark Burmester (5) was then brilliantly caught at short leg by Coventry, diving full length at short leg to pull down a ball that was going past him, off Matthew Townshend, and Manicaland were 18 for two.

But there was to be no real relief for Manicaland. For a short while Steve Lawson stayed with Neil Ferreira, but after scoring 5 he followed a ball from Hitz outside the off stump and was caught at the wicket by Gilmour. Brent enjoyed a full toss from the same bowler, which he hammered through midwicket for four; the next ball was another full toss, but a well-disguised slower ball which beat the bat and bowled him, much to his embarrassment.

The 16-year-old Stuart Matsikenyeri played soundly for 13 but, just when a recovery looked possible, he was brilliantly caught at forward short leg by Mark Vermeulen off a firm hit. Yatras and Denyer did not last long, and Manicaland were in real trouble at 77 for seven. Ferreira was still there, playing a sheet-anchor role but unable to dominate. Soma decided the best policy was to attack, and he played some fine strokes in his brisk 24, including a pull for six off Commerford. But then he swung at the off-breaks of Brown and dragged a ball on to his leg stump, at 110 for eight.

The last two Manicaland players are really only there to make up numbers: Brian James, dismissed lbw to a ball pitching outside leg stump, and Jason Sparrow looked quite out of their depth, and Ferreira nobly sacrificed his opportunity to carry his bat through the innings in the interests of the team. Hitting out, he was caught at mid-on by Siziba off Engelbrecht for 31, just failing to match the effort of top-scorer Extras who made 33. The match may well be over in two days.