Zimbabwe Board XI maintain 100% one-day record

The Zimbabwe Board XI has maintained its 100% record in one-day matches in the UCBSA Bowl competition with its victory over Border B last weekend. Information is from captain Gus Mackay.

Three-day match, at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 16, 17, 18 December. BORDER B 324/9 dec (J Kreush 112, D Makalima 52, B Thomas 59, J W F Klopper 33; R W Price 2/121, D P Viljoen 5/57) and 304/6 dec (B Thomas 34, C C van der Merwe 135*, J W F Klopper 71; E Z Matambanadzo 3/35). ZIMBABWE BOARD XI 303/7 dec (T R Gripper 53, M A Vermeulen 143, C N Evans 33; B Esterhuizen 2/25) and 116/2 (T R Gripper 33, R W Price 34*). Match drawn.

One-day match, at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 19 December. ZIMBABWE BOARD XI 258/9 (45 overs) (D A Marillier 104 in 152m/105b, 50-79m/52b, 100-148m/102b, 13x4, T R Gripper 56 in 94m/75b, 50-57m/43b, 8x4, C N Evans 57 in 71m/58b, 50-67m/53b, 5x4 1x6; B C Fourie 3/62, J Kreusch 3/26). BORDER 201 (42 overs) (G M Hammond 52 in 151m/97b, 50-150m/ 95b, L Graham 32 in 43m/42b); A J Mackay 2/24, A P Hoffman 2/25, D P Viljoen 2/36, R W Price 2/44). Zimbabwe Board XI won by 57 runs.

In the three-day match, Border won the toss and decided to bat on a very flat pitch. This was the same pitch on which the second one-day international against Sri Lanka had been played; there was not much grass on it and the bowlers could get very little from it.

On the second evening Border were about 100 for four and the Board XI hoped that they could either bowl them out or get a target to chase on the final day, but the visitors batted through before making a token declaration that set them 326 to win in 45 overs.

Mark Vermeulen hit a fine 143 on his return to the side after a long period of absence due to poor form. Dirk Viljoen bowled well to take a five-wicket haul with his left-arm spin. The pitch was not ideal for a result in three days, and if the groundsman had had more time he might have prepared a pitch with more grass on it. This was unfortunate for the Board XI, who needed to win to have any chance of making the final. They have drawn three of their five matches, having also beaten North West and lost to KwaZulu-Natal.

The one-day match was also played on an ideal batting pitch, and the Board XI made good use of it after winning the toss. Doug Marillier batted very well for his century, while Trevor Gripper, better known as a stonewaller, reached his fifty off only 43 balls with some fine strokeplay.

A good team bowling performance saw the Board XI shoot Border out for 201, with debutant Anton Hoffman, a former Under-19 player, one of the bowlers to take two wickets. The team is now top of the one-day log with five victories in five matches, and are virtually assured of a place in the final, to be played on 5 February next year.

The team has played good one-day cricket throughout the season, and been fortunate in batting first each time. They have worked out their batting and bowling policies well, and owe more to teamwork than individual performances. If the top order has failed, the middle order has invariably come through to pull the team out of trouble. Gus Mackay has been the team's bowling spearhead, and has invariably dismissed the team's top-order batsmen.

The team's final matches of the league section this season will be played against Northern Transvaal B from 13 to 16 January. The venue is scheduled for Harare South Country Club, but the team is pressing for it to be changed to Harare Sports Club. The facilities are better at Zimbabwe's cricket headquarters, especially the covers which could prove vital during the rainy season, and also because they want the match to be more in the public eye, especially with no coverage in the local press. These are expected to be two tough games, as Northerns are a strong team which will contain several players with good first-class records.