Mashonaland A polish off Academy with innings victory

Overnight: CFX Academy 207 and 87/5 (Croxford 28*, McMillan 5*); Mashonaland A 359.

Result: Mashonaland A won by an innings and 15 runs.

The Academy began the day still 65 runs behind Mashonaland A and with only five wickets left, and the feeling was that they would do well to survive until lunchtime.

They suffered two blows in only the second over of the day, as the pace of Brighton Watambwa squeezed two lbw decisions out of the normally very conservative umpire Ron Strang (father of the two Test players) to send back Campbell McMillan for his overnight five and Blessing Mahwire without scoring.

Half an hour later Guy Croxford (34) also fell - same method of dismissal, same bowler, same umpire. Watambwa was getting just enough movement off the pitch to trouble batsmen who failed to move their feet.

In the meantime Matthew Townshend (20) was trying to play one of his entertaining lusty tail-end innings, and doing a good job until he was unluckily scuttled by a ball from Watambwa that kept low and hit the stumps via the inside edge.

Leon Soma then took over the role of aggressor, while there was some amusing by-play between Watambwa and last man Justin Lewis. Soma played some powerful strokes before lifting his back foot up to be smartly stumped down the leg side by substitute wicket-keeper Alester Maregwede off Greg Lamb for 16, Taibu having gone off earlier after injuring his shoulder. It had taken just over an hour to complete the match on the third and final day.

So the Academy went down to their third successive defeat, this time in a genuine match without any interruption from the weather. Their inexperience is obvious, but it could hardly be otherwise when they are called upon to play in the premier tournament within two weeks of their entry to the Academy. It is hard going for them, but a steep learning curve.