Zimbabwe: Club Cricket report
After a great deal of rain, only the well-drained Alexandra Sports Club ground was fit for play, and the other two matches were therefore abandoned
John Ward
16-Dec-1999
Round Six of the Vigne Cup was scheduled to take place on Sunday
12 December, with the following first-league matches:
Alex v Universals, at Alexandra Sports Club
Old Georgians v Harare Sports Club, at Old Georgians Sports Club
Winstonians v Old Hararians, at Churchill School
After a great deal of rain, only the well-drained Alexandra
Sports Club ground was fit for play, and the other two matches
were therefore abandoned. Rain and bad light caused problems
with the one match that did take place, and when the match
eventually had to be left unfinished the Duckworth-Lewis
regulations were brought into operation, but the situation was so
complex that the results were not known until two days later,
when Tony Lewis himself had been contacted and sent in his
verdict. The potted scores were as follows:
ALEX 233/2 (40 overs) (J Wells 121*, P Duffy 76). UNIVERSALS
159/4 (30 overs) (K Adam 56, A Meman 49, Waqar Ali 25; D D
Stannard 2/23). Alex won by 8 runs (Duckworth-Lewis).
The match had been reduced to 40 overs per side at the start as
the field was too damp for play to start on time. The Alex
innings was uninterrupted, and the highlight was a superb
second-wicket partnership of 196 between Jason Wells and Paul
Duffy. Universals' innings was to be reduced to 38 overs due to
a slow over rate, but they made a good start and were 112 for no
wicket after 22 overs.
Bad light then stopped play briefly, causing a further three
overs to be lost. In the next eight overs they scored 47 more
runs but lost two wickets, before rain finally ended the day
after 30 overs. For the masochists who may be interested in how
Mr Lewis arrived at his verdict, his reply is included at the
bottom of this page!
We have received reports from two Harare clubs.
ALEXANDRA SPORTS CLUB
From cricket chairman Jim Watters
With the tour against Sri Lanka in full swing and plenty of rain,
we have had little but net practices until the match last Sunday.
Andy Blignaut still seems to be struggling with his back injury,
and did not play in that match.
Jason Wells, our century-maker, has been at the club for about
two years, flitting between the first and second teams. He
seized his opportunity with the firsts this weekend with the Test
players away and played a fine aggressive innings. Paul Duffy
has played for Alex for several years, but has now moved back to
England to live. He plays as a semi-professional and is spending
an extended holiday in this country. He is a steady batsman who
has played some useful knocks for us.
OLD HARARIANS SPORTS CLUB
From Paul Strang
We are very happy to see Eddo Brandes playing in the Test team
again. All our players are fit at the moment, apart from Paul
Strang! It is a pity our match on Sunday had to be cancelled.
Our second-team match was cancelled as well, but for a different
reason - we just didn't have enough players, with so many away
playing for age-group teams in particular.
We would like to see club cricket continue even when there are
Test matches in Harare, as probably not many club players would
be disappointed at missing a Test match on the Sunday, although
they would probably all want to be there for a one-day
international. That would also make for a less frenetic
schedule.
We hope to play the postponed match against Old Georgians on
perhaps the second or third Saturday in January - weather
permitting! Concerning my own fitness, I don't think I will be
able to start bowling before February. I will certainly not be
able to tour South Africa and am doubtful for the tour to the
West Indies, so I will have to be looking at the England tour
maybe. But I will make sure I don't try to come back too soon.
Mr Lewis' reply concerning the rain-interrupted match between
Alex and Universals:
The bottom line is that Alexandra won by 8 runs (D/L). The
calculations run as follows.
Alexandra For 40 overs Res % 90.3%
2 overs penalty converted to a Resource Penalty
For 40 overs Res % = 90.3%
For 38 overs Res % = 88.0%
Resource Penalty = 2.3%
Alexandra's score of 233 is attributed to 2.3% less resource than
they actually had. Thus, for target calculation purposes
R1 = 90.3 - 2.3 = 88.0%
Universals For 38 overs Res % 88.0%
At the 1st stoppage 16 overs left. Res% left = 49.9%
At the restart 13 overs left, Res % left = 42.4%
Res % lost by stoppage = 49.9 - 42.4 = 7.5%
Updated Res % available R2 = 88.0 - 7.5 = 80.5%
Since R2
T = 233*80.5/88.0 = 213.14
So the Revised Target was 214 when they went back on the field,
i.e. a further 102 runs in 13 overs. [Note that at the stoppage
Universals were 12 runs ahead of Par - and this margin of
advantage is maintained across the stoppage]
At the abandonment at 159/4 there were 5 overs left in which to
score the remaining 55 runs to win (a tall order!)
With 5 overs left, 4 wkts lost, Res % left = 17.1%
Updated R2 = 80.5 - 17.1 = 63.4%
T = 233*63.4/88.0 = 167.87. Par score 167. (i.e. the score to
tie with a minimum of 168 to be winning)
At 159/4 Universals were 8 runs behind Par and so Alexandra win
by 8 runs (D/L)