Matabeleland take command in Kweke

As the Logan Cup resumed for the final three rounds, all four teams were weakened by the unexpected appearance of Zimbabwe in the Sharjah final. Most had hoped they would return in time to play, although Matabeleland were planning to rest them from this match.

It was a warm, cloudless autumn day in Kwekwe as Barney Rogers, stand-in Matabeleland captain, won the toss and decided to bat on what looked like an good batting pitch with the potential to take spin. There was some movement in the air and off the seam early on, but Midlands did not have the bowlers capable of taking advantage of it.

Charles Coventry is one of Zimbabwe's most promising and confident young batsmen, and an outside possibility for the tour of England if he has a good Logan Cup season. Opening the batting for his native Matabeleland, he raced to 24 off 21 balls before being caught off David Mutendera, who is still struggling to recover from his appalling bowling form of earlier in the season. Basically a one-day player, Coventry still has to develop into a genuine batsman in first-class cricket.

There followed a sound partnership between Mark Vermeulen, back after his head injury in the World Cup, and Ryan King, back in the Matabeleland side after a prolonged period of poor form. King was doing well until being given out under controversial circumstances. Vermeulen pushed a single to reach his fifty, and after completing the run King thoughtlessly started back the pitch to congratulate his partner, only to find wicketkeeper Alester Maregwede removing the bails and appealing along with Don Campbell.

Umpire Ahmed Esat raised his finger in accordance with the laws of the game, but many felt this dismissal was not in the spirit of the game. Mr Esat later described King's indiscretion as `silly' and said there was no mercy to be expected in the first-class game, but did say he queried with the Midlands team whether they really wished to claim his wicket in this way. They insisted they did, but Midlands chief executive Ken Connelly was not happy about it, and neither were the spectators. King did earn himself some credit, as he walked off quietly without histrionics or unduly harsh words either on the field or in the dressing room.

Campbell himself, a former wicketkeeper, had a bad day in the slips, and at least three chances went down in that region, which was no encouragement for the long-suffering bowlers on a sound but rather slow pitch. Vermeulen for the most part seemed to set his stall out for a major score to enhance his England chances, playing few flamboyant strokes but accumulating steadily.

However, he ran himself out just before lunch in a mix-up with his partner, turning for a third to find Barney Rogers uninterested, and the throw from the boundary just found him adjudged short of his crease. Unlike King, he flung his bat twenty metres on being given out and swore audibly. Both run-out incidents this morning showed the need for a match referee; although he would not have overturned the King decision, he could at least have given the players some insights into the spirit of the game. Legal it undoubtedly was, but it does the game no good when certain methods of dismissal cause outrage among opposing players and spectators.

The Matabeleland middle order made Midlands suffer in the sun during the afternoon session, as a big partnership between Andre Hoffman (79 not out) and Gavin Ewing (65 not out) flourished, taking the total to 342 for four at the tea interval.

Rogers moved smoothly to his fifty soon after lunch, but was then dismissed for 52, trying to shoulder arms to medium-pacer Vusi Sibanda but only managing to nick the ball to the keeper.

Andre Hoffman, after a slow start, suddenly decided he liked the look of Dirk Viljoen's left-arm spin and hit him for two successive sixes, over long-off and long-on. He continued his enterprise beyond his fifty, while Gavin Ewing was just as aggressive and when Mutendera returned to bowl his first over went for 21 runs. A couple of difficult chances were missed, but the weak and inaccurate bowling suffered severely and there was no respite for the home side.

The partnership realized 192 before Hoffman, having just reached his century, fell for 102. It was the first delivery with the second new ball, bowled by Vusi Sibanda - debutant Anthony Ireland took the other end - after the dismal failure of Mutendera and Sherezad Shah with the first. The extra pace and bounce apparently took Hoffman by surprise and, going for the cut, sliced a catch to Viljoen at slip. Matabeleland were now 382 for five.

Shortly afterwards Ewing reached his century with a bold straight six off Ireland. Keith Dabengwa, whose batting at first-class level has rarely matched his ability, enjoyed the experience of playing a tired, weak bowling line-up on a lifeless pitch and played some good-looking drives, while Ewing showed no signs of laxity. They saw Matabeleland through to the close, when the team was an imposing 498 for six wickets, Ewing on 154 and Dabengwa 33.