Maruma, Matizwa help Mountaineers clinch title

Centuries from Timycen Maruma and Forster Mutizwa helped Mountaineers secure the Logan Cup with a 43-run win against Rhinos at the Kwekwe Sports Club. Mountaineers were all but assured of the title coming into the game, and Eagles' defeat of Tuskers on Friday meant that they could not be overhauled at the top of the table.

Mountaineers, put in to bat, could only muster 136 in the first innings, with none of the batsmen producing a fifty. Left-arm spinner Kudakwashe Bhasikoro was the pick of Rhinos' bowlers, and finished with 3 for 26 to help bundle Mountaineers out in 51.1 overs.

Malcolm Waller then hit an unbeaten 105 and added 78 for the third wicket with Vusi Sibanda to help Rhinos to 239 and earn the team a 103-run lead. Shingi Masakadza picked up five wickets for Mountaineers while Donald Tiripano chipped in with three.

Mountaineers received a blow in their second innings when the opener Tino Mawoyo had to leave the field when on 18 due to an injury, but Maruma and Mutizwa soon took charge by batting together for nearly 57 overs during a 168-run stand. Maruma drilled eight fours and four sixes during his 113 while Mutizwa's 102 not out included six fours, propelling the team to 345 and setting Rhinos 243 for victory.

Rhinos, however, were pegged back by wickets rights from the off, as Masakadza, Tiripano and Tapiwa Mufudza ran through the line-up for 199 in 60.1 overs.

Tuskers were the only team to play eight matches in the tournament, as Mountaineers, Eagles, Rhinos and Rocks each refused to play a game due to a strike from the players.

Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva and Elton Chigumbura all hit centuries, as Eagles thumped Tuskers by an innings and 130 runs at the Harare Sports Club. Tuskers, put in to bat, were never really in the match, and their momentum was thwarted by wicket right from the off in the first innings. John Nyumbu, coming in at No.8, top-scored with 60, but received little by way of support, as Brian Vitori snared five wickets to bundle Tuskers out for 178.

The Eagles lost Nick Welch in the third over of their innings, but Raza (109) strung together big partnerships for the next two wickets to take the team close to the 200-run mark. Chakabva (104) and Chigumbura (120) then enforced the team's advantage by batting together for more than 45 overs during a fifth-wicket association which yielded 175 runs. Steve Chimhawhiwa and Nyumbu accounted for nine wickets, but handy contributions from the captain Tinotenda Mutombodzi (46) and Admire Manyumwa (39) down the order propelled Eagles to 527, earning them a lead of 349.

Tuskers would have hoped for a better show with the bat in the second innings, but while their top and middle order all made starts, none of them could push on and make a half-century. Vitori notched three wickets while Raza, Prosper Utseya and Mutombodzi picked up two scalps apiece to dismiss Tuskers for 219 in 51.2 overs.