Mid West Rhinos vs Matabeleland Tuskers – Castle Logan Cup 2012 – Zimbabwe Domestic - Match Recap
The Paul Horton-led http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mid-West-Rhinos-c816 by a considerable margin of 154 runs in their last 4-day match of the series,
on February 15, 2012, at the Kwekwe Sports Club.
Lancashire’s right-handed batsman and Tuskers’ skipper, Horton, decided to field first after winning the toss. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sibanda-c2740 came out to bat, in what was a disappointing start for the Rhinos, as Sibanda, who has 98 ODI appearances under
his belt, and nearly as many first-class matches, was back in the pavilion for a duck. Marillier was soon to follow his partner, leaving the side at 33 for 2, with skipper Ballance and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bothwell-Chapungu-c1180 at the crease.
The skipper stood for a 91-ball 39, assisted somewhat by Benade (12) and wicketkeeper Mayavo (21), in an otherwise paper-thin batting display which saw five wickets (Cremer, Mugava, Madziva, Rainsford, Muzhange) fall for a total of 19 runs, with the side
finishing at a measly 116-all-out in 53.4 overs.
Horton had to use only four bowlers (all pacers), namely http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jones-c69217 (3), Staddon (4) and Ncube (3) to share
the wicket amongst them.
In reply, Tuskers’ skipper took to open his side’s batting alongside http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KM-Dabengwa-c1800, before
being caught off Muzhange – leaving the side in trouble at 30 for 3.
Steven Trenchard’s knock (41 off 38) was the Tuskers’ saving grace, as the remaining five batters managed to contribute a mere 28 runs – with the side finishing miserably, early on Day 2, one-run behind their opponents (115).
All five bowlers from Rhinos managed to pick wickets, but medium-pacer Muzhange was the star of the show, his figures read 5 for 16, at a very economical 1.87 runs per over.
In the second innings, Sibanda (34) and Marillier (36) took responsibility, taking the Rhinos to 59 before Staddon caught and bowled the former, to make way for skipper Ballance. The top four for Rhinos performed well this time around (scoring 157 amongst
themselves), as even after Marillier departed at 91-2, Chapungu supported his captain in his 109-ball 62.
Roland Benade, was the only batsman (alongside tail-ender Muzhange), who did not reach double figures for the side in a 296-run effort, which extended well into the 3rd day of the match.
Out of the six bowlers employed this time by the Tuskers, in their unsuccessful attempt to restrict the Rhinos, two went wicket-less, while the other four shared the wickets amongst themselves.
Horton decided to shuffle the batting order when the Tuskers came out to bat the second time, chasing 298-runs to win in the 4th Innings. Opening alongside Brian Chari this time (moving Duffin down the order), the skipper managed to add 38 runs,
supported by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Craig-Richard-Ervine-c51733 (after Chari fell for 9). The skipper’s decision to save Duffin for later did pay off, as he was the only one to contribute meaningful double figures (32) when most were picked off cheaply by the right-arm spinner, Simon Mugava (6
wickets in 13 overs).
The Tuskers were all out for 143-runs on the same day, an effort which saw only four batsmen reach double figures (out of which only three reached the thirties). On the other hand, Mugava was the show-stealer for Rhinos, bagging six wickets, after having
contributed 21 runs with the bat.
It was a morale boosting win for the Rhinos, who had previously won only 2 out of their 8 games. While their victory did not bring the Tuskers down from their top position, it helped Ballance’s side finish third in the Castle Logan Cup, above the Mountaineers
and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mountaineers-c818, win the ongoing match, they will still be 2 points behind the Rhinos).
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