da lvbet： The CFX Academy enjoyed mixed fortunes on the first day of theirinaugural Logan Cup match against the league favouritesMashonaland
John Ward03-Mar-2000LOGAN CUP MATCH REPORT: CFX ACADEMY v MASHONALANDBy John WardThe CFX Academy enjoyed mixed fortunes on the first day of theirinaugural Logan Cup match against the league favouritesMashonaland. After struggling to 111 for six in the lateafternoon, after a long break for rain, they were rallied by afine partnership between Test player Paul Strang and debutantJason Young, who took them through to a more promising 194 forsix at the close one-day play.This match introduced first-class cricket to the Academyheadquarters at the Country Club, in the eastern Harare suburb ofHighlands. It is a very pleasant and spacious ground overlookinga golf course, and the new Academy pavilion is in the process ofbeing completed. Because of the golf, and since there is also agymnasium there, it is difficult to tell how many of the hundredor so spectators at the close were genuinely there for thecricket, but the fine Academy fightback seemed to have won someconverts.Mashonaland fielded a strong team, captained by Warwickshireprofessional Trevor Penney, while the Academy team, in theabsence of Mluleki Nkala, recently departed on tour to the WestIndies, borrowed Paul Strang, recovering from his arm injury, tocaptain them. Wicket-keeper/batsman Tatenda Taibu, due to visitthe West Indies when the one-day tournament starts, was due tomake his first-class debut for Mashonaland, but arrived late atthe ground due to a misunderstanding, to find the match hadalready started and he had been demoted to twelfth man.Strang won the toss for the Academy and decided to bat on a damppitch but in warm and generally sunny conditions. OpenersAlester Maregwede and Ryan King made a solid start against thebowling of Everton Matambanadzo and Brighton Watambwa, who bothbowled well. Matambanadzo showed some deceptive variations whileWatambwa found considerable seam movement off the pitch; thefirst ball he bowled reared off a length and knocked a chunk outof the pitch.With the score on 18, King was caught by Dirk Viljoen at slip offWatambwa, but then John Vaughan-Davies, after an uncertain start,played well in partnership with the confident Maregwede. Theyadded 60 before Vaughan-Davies was caught sharply at slip byPenney off the flat left-arm spin of Viljoen, and Greg Lamb wasshortly afterwards adjudged lbw to the same bowler withoutscoring, immediately before lunch.Maregwede was playing some fine strokes, including two pulls forsix off short balls by off-spinner Dan Peacock, and ran to hisfifty immediately after lunch, when he lost Travis Friend, bowledby a darter from Viljoen, the fourth wicket down at 100.Maregwede had a lucky escape when he snicked a four just past hisstumps to the boundary, but otherwise had looked very sound anddetermined to build an innings. But then, just before oneo’clock, heavy rain began and the players fled the field with thescore on 103 for four (Maregwede 58, Colin Delport 2).The rain continued for some time and water running off the coverssoaked part of the outfield. Although it was not really fit toplay, everybody wanted to get on with the game, so play wasresumed at 4.30pm and continued until 6.00, as half an hour wasmade up. Maregwede added only one to his 58 before being yorkedby a faster ball from Viljoen, the latter’s fourth wickets insuccession. He bowled a mixture of loopy left-arm spin and muchfaster deliveries that he calls his ‘arm balls’, and theinexperienced Academy players had difficulty in picking them.When Colin Delport was caught and bowled off a hard drive for 3,the Academy were in trouble at 111 for six.Paul Strang was there, though, and he received excellent supportfrom all-rounder Jason Young, who started very nervously but grewin confidence, later playing some fine drives for four. Penneypersisted with Viljoen and Peacock, but when they had no furthereffect recalled Matambanadzo. The batsmen handled him well,though, Young at one stage driving and pulling him for twosuccessive fours, and by the close had added 83 together for theseventh wicket without being parted, Strang having 37 and Young38.