Mashonaland on top in Harare after Day 1
Thanks to the letdown by Australia, the Zimbabwe season of 2001/02 draws to a close this weekend
John Ward
19-Apr-2002
Thanks to the letdown by Australia, the Zimbabwe season of 2001/02 draws to
a close this weekend. Mashonaland, having won all four of their matches,
were aiming to complete a clean sweep of victories for the second successive
year, but still needed to collect 16 points from this match to overtake
Midlands and retain the Logan Cup. By the close of the first day they were
well on their way, having dismissed the Academy for a rather spiritless 122
and then scored 116 for three themselves.
Gus Mackay, captaining Mashonaland, won the toss and put the Academy in to
bat, proving once again that God is on the side of the big battalions.
There had been a lot of rain during the previous week and the pitch had
taken a soaking, although it did not give the bowlers as much help as had
been expected.
Mashonaland opening bowlers Brighton Watambwa and Gus Mackay did not force
the batsmen to play the ball often enough, and tended to pitch too short
during their opening overs, allowing Charles Coventry and Neeten Chouhan to
survive and gradually open out. They were beaten several times but the
bowlers were unable to apply the consistent pressure required. Scoring was
not easy on the heavy outfield, and as usual at Country Club there was no
scoreboard worthy of the name.
The opening pair scored a useful 37 together before Coventry (14) drove
Mackay into the covers and was smartly picked up off his toes by Waddington
Mwayenga, younger brother of Academy player Allan. This began a collapse:
Innocent Chinyoka quickly followed, playing a ball from Mackay on to his
stumps via the inside edge. Stuart Matsikenyeri (5), returned from a
prosperous club season in Australia, was lbw to an off-cutter from Mackay
and captain Andre Hoffman (0) snicked Mwayenga to the keeper. Worse was to
come, as Conan Brewer (0) slashed the same bowler seemingly wide of gully,
only for the giant Craig Evans to leap to his left and pluck a brilliant
one-handed catch out of the air. The Academy were in deep trouble at 45 for
five.
Opener Chouhan was still there, and Tom Benade settled in to partner him
with resolution until being caught at slip off the medium-pace of Evans for
3. Piet Rinke looked calm and comfortable, and almost on the stroke of
lunch leg-glanced Evans for the first boundary of the match.
The return of Mackay after lunch soon ended Chouhan's commendable vigil,
trapped right in front of his stumps for 37. Barrett followed next ball
without scoring, unlucky to be adjudged lbw after edging the ball on to his
pads. This brought to an end a possibly unique record; he had hit at least
one six in each of his first six first-class innings.
Rinke (19) quickly followed to a soft dismissal, caught in the covers off a
leading edge, but the last pair, Sherezad Shah and Jordane Nicolle, showed
up their seniors in the batting order with some sound batting. They needed
12 to take the team total to three figures, and then added another 22 before
Nicolle was trapped lbw sweeping at Rogers.
Nicolle scored 20 and Shah 14 not out, and the ease with which these two
handled the bowling put the entire innings into perspective. The pitch was
not a serious problem, the bowling apart from Mackay at times not unduly
hostile, but few of the batsmen had shown much fight.
The Academy soon struck back, as Nicolle bowled a vicious leg-cutter to bowl
Lance Malloch-Brown for 2 in the first over. Then, just before tea, he had
Trevor Gripper (9) well caught low down by Matsikenyeri in the gully.
After the interval, Rogers and Dion Ebrahim responded to the situation by
digging in deep, the runs slowing to a trickle. They added just 24 in the
hour until drinks, after which Rogers began to open up until he ran himself
out for 42. Craig Evans hardly knows how to block, and he was soon taking
heavy toll of the longitudinally challenged deliveries of the Academy
spinners. By the close Ebrahim had scored an uncharacteristic 27 in more
than two hours, while Evans had 31.