Manicaland Report

Manicaland secured three easy victories in Mutare last weekend. On Saturday Manicaland Under-16s defeated Midlands Under-16s in a firstever encounter. Drawn from schools in Gweru, Masvingo and Chiredzi, the visitors tried hard but were well beaten by a local side selected from Mutare Boys High and Hillcrest College. Tino Mawoyo hit a fluent 49 as a warm-up for his trip to East London this week to captain Zimbabwe Under-16s in the Nuffield week.

On Sunday Manicaland (now called Mutare Sports Club) handed a 162-run hammering to the once mighty Old Hararians. Weakened without national team absentees Gary Brent, Trevor Penny, Dirk Viljoen and Conan Brewer (Zimbabwe Under-19s), Old Hararians proved easy meat. Unlike Manicaland, who has good reserves, other sides in the national league are vulnerable to withdrawals.

Batting first, Manicaland hit 237 for seven off 45 overs. 33-year-old Mark Burmester set the tone with a bruising 63-ball 52 (6 fours, one six). Pulling the opening bowlers in front of square a la Jayasuriya, his combative personality kept Old Hararians out of the game all day. Richie Sims added 51 but the innings of the day came from Leon Soma who revelled in an unexpected promotion in the batting order. Cracking 61 off 53 balls (4 fours, 4 sixes), Soma launched into everything before falling to Paul Strang trying one heave too many.

Recently back from an expensive 10-day (12-over) visit to Bangladesh, Strang (three for 47) tried hard but was unable to win the match on his own. With four schoolboys (two 15-year-olds) and too many uncommitted fielders, the cheerful ex-Manica was left to smile ruefully as chances became half-chances. Academy player Ryan Butterworth (three for 51) was the only other successful bowler. Strang top-scored with 18 but once he had gone Old Hararians bombed to 75.

Burmester took two for 4, Sims two for 6, and Justin Lewis with three for 8 off seven overs simply wasted his time. No one was good enough to touch anything. The Denyer brothers Terry and Noel - late replacements for missing players - took three hot catches between them, exemplifying the gap between Old Hararians' and Manicaland's reserves.

The Manicaland second team provides good back-up and despite the occasional blip is far too good for the rest of the second league. This week they mauled Old Georgians II by seven wickets at Hillcrest College. OGs managed just 101 in 26 overs (Chinoro 2/17, Sheth 2/38, Yatras 3/20, Malvern 2/20) which Manicaland II picked off in 17.3 overs (Yatras 41 not out).

Sadly it seems many first league clubs in Zimbabwe are teetering on bankruptcy; playing numbers are down and senior players de-motivated. League cricket is in crisis as traditional powerhouses find their feeder systems hijacked by academy transfer quotas. Morale is affected when cricketers are unable to play with their mates. There is talk that Eddo Brandes has approached Manicaland to return as a player.

Following the premature retirements of Adam Huckle, Andy Whittall and Brett Robinson, it now seems out-of-contract Bryan Strang will also be lost. He intends plying his trade in the Lancashire Leagues. Senior players who once envisioned coaching careers in Zimbabwe find themselves sidelined by fast-track.

This Sunday Manicaland play Kwekwe at home whilst Manicaland II play BSC II at Alex (Harare).