Mashonaland lead by 373 runs after deciding not to enforce the follow-on

It was not a vintage day's cricket, as Mashonaland (326) dismissed a dispirited Midlands side for 148 but failed to press home their advantage by making them follow on. By the close the Mashonaland second innings was unconvincingly placed at 195 for seven.

The handful of spectators at the Kwekwe Sports Club at the start of play on the second day were treated to a rare sight: Zimbabwean seam bowlers actually forcing the batsmen to play the ball. Douglas Hondo, Waddington Mwayenga and later Amos Maungwa all bowled a good line and length, giving batsmen Douglas Marillier and Craig Wishart little opportunity to relax. On a slow pitch they were not really dangerous, but they did make batting more of a challenge.

The batsmen handled it well until Marillier (23) suddenly had a rush of blood, slashed at a ball from Maungwa outside the off stump and edged a catch to the keeper. Ervine was settling in when a mix-up over an unnecessary quick single to Hondo, deepish at mid-on, brought about his run-out for 11 by a superb direct hit. Wishart himself followed by trying to pull a short ball from Trevor Gripper that did not get up high enough, and was adjudged lbw for 23. At 84 for five, Midlands had really got themselves into the mire.

The slide continued. Alester Maregwede never looked comfortable, scratching four runs before being bowled by an off-break from Gripper. The Mashonaland players unashamedly pressurized the umpires at times in an effort to get their own way.

Travis Friend, in partnership with Dirk Viljoen, stemmed the flood with some bold but well-selected boundary hits. He had a bonus boundary when bowler Gripper indulged in an unnecessary throw at the stumps when Friend played the ball back to him, yorking the keeper in the process. After some puzzling discussion between the umpires, the boundary was finally given.

Viljoen was playing a steady supporting role, but fell for 34, skying a ball from Gripper over mid-on. Hondo had to turn and run about twenty yards behind him to take a very good catch. At 145 for seven, Midlands still needed 31 to avoid the follow-on.

Raymond Price was then given out without scoring to a raucous appeal for a catch at short leg. The umpire gave a very muted response, simply nodding his head, and it took Price a while to realize he had been given out. It was appearing increasingly that the umpires were failing to take firm authority over the players and the fielding side clearly afforded them no respect. From a distance the accuracy or otherwise of the umpires' decisions could not be ascertained, but it was quite clear they did not carry authority among the players.

For their part, Midlands were showing little fight or spirit apart from Friend. David Mutendera was bowled by Brian Murphy and Ian Coulson was caught at the wicket off Gripper, both without scoring. Friend was left stranded on 28, and the last four wickets each fell for a single apiece. Gripper picked up an easy five-wicket haul for just 40 runs.

Most captains would no doubt have forced Midlands to follow on and hope to finish the game early, allowing more free time for the players, especially with the tour of England only days away. It would also have been a defensible decision from a cricketing point of view, with Midlands failing to score half the Mashonaland total and their morale clearly low. However, Tatenda Taibu loves playing cricket and he opted to bat again, saying his seamers needed a rest and he wanted his batsmen to make use of a pitch that would deteriorate; he was thinking of batting until lunch on the third day.

Midlands in the field gave the impression they wished the match was over and some of the players appeared to be doing little more than going through the motions. They opened the bowling with Price, partly because the pitch was taking spin and partly because, apart from Ervine, they had no effective seamer in the side. Price took the first wicket, trapping Taylor lbw for 23 as he attempted to sweep.

When Friend came on to bowl, he seemed incapable of bouncing the ball in the other half of the pitch and was twice no-balled for surplus bouncers in an over, perhaps unintentional. Mutendera, finally given a chance, showed improvement on his dismal form earlier in the season, although he failed to keep the runs down as Gripper especially looked to dominate the bowling.

Gripper must have been frustrated to miss his fifty, pulling a ball from Marillier that was not short enough to give midwicket a catch for 40, and on the stroke of tea Stuart Carlisle was run out for 21 in a mix-up with Taibu.

Afterwards the innings seemed in danger of losing its way. To both teams the present circumstances seemed to be little more than middle-wicket practice until the Mashonaland innings closed, one way or another. Nobody seemed to have much incentive as the innings meandered to the close, with Craig Evans's 34 off 68 balls the highest score. Douglas Marillier will appreciate his three wickets and a run-out, but nobody else had much to remember the afternoon by.