Results of Mashonaland 50-over matches played on Sunday 8 November.

At Old Georgians Sports Club. OLD GEORGIANS 262 (49.1 overs) (G W Flower 63, C N Evans 96, C B Wishart 34; M Z Matambanadzo 4/52, D T Hondo 4/62). UNIVERSALS 79 (21.2 overs) (D R Matambanadzo 43*; D J Rowett 6/29, B D McCoun 4/19). Old Georgians won by 173 runs.

This was a match where the side winning the toss, Old Georgians this time, were virtually assured of winning the match. Old Georgians do not have a groundsman at present, and recent pitches have come under some criticism; according to Universals cricket chairman Max Ebrahim this was the worst of the lot and umpires Ron Strang and Graham Gilmour decided to report it. For the first two hours it played well enough, but then the ball began breaking through the top, and by the time it was Universals' turn to bat the bounce was highly unpredictable and shooters were frequent. Of the 20 wickets to fall in the match 15 were bowled. Grant Flower batted soundly for the home side, while Craig Evans suffered a hamstring strain and had to bat with a runner for most of his innings. He hit 2 sixes and 7 fours, a much smaller proportion than usual. Everton Matambanadzo took four wickets, not back to his best yet but getting there. Universals had their top order shattered in no time and were 25 for eight at one stage. Alistair Campbell, playing a correct forward defensive, found himself skittled by a rank shooter. Darlington Matambanadzo was the only batsman to come to terms with the conditions, although inevitably he had to enjoy some luck to do so. Dan Rowett took six cheap wickets simply by putting the ball on the spot and letting the pitch do the rest. This was Universals' fourth successive defeat, their worst run for many years.

At Old Hararians Sports Club. ALEXANDRA 243/9 (50 overs) (M W Goodwin 115*, A M Blignaut 20, J Vaughan-Davies 38; E A Brandes 2/39, B C Strang 2/35, R W Price 2/45). OLD HARARIANS 221/7 (50 overs) (R W Price 36, M J Rawnsley 21, B C Strang 50, R Sims 51*; G du Plessis 2/35, M W Goodwin 2/27). Alex won by 22 runs.

A determined century by Murray Goodwin led the way for Alex. He scored his unbeaten 115 off 108 balls, with two sixes and 9 fours. Old Hararians suffered from batting too defensively at the start of their innings, fell behind the clock and began to lose wickets. The slide was arrested by a seventh-wicket partnership of 79 between Bryan Strang and Russell Sims. They hit two and three sixes respectively, but by then it was really too late seriously to challenge the visitors' total.

At Churchill School. WINSTONIANS 172 (45 overs) (H Masakadza 76, T Taibu 24; P George 4/27, A P Hoffman 3/37, T R Gripper 2/31). HARARE SPORTS CLUB 174/9 (N R Ferreira 36*; W R Chawaguta 2/30, N Manyande 2/19, A Maungwa 2/33, T Taibu 2/23). Harare Sports Club won by one wicket.

Winstonians came so close to recording their first victory in the first league, although in fact in was almost a case of Harare Sports Club throwing away the match with some poor cricket, especially batting. Hamilton Masakadza opened the batting for Winstonians and held the innings together with a determined 76, while Andy Flower managed only 4 on this occasion. In reply Harare Sports Club failed badly to apply themselves and were 125 for nine at one stage. However Academy student Neil Ferreira, showing excellent temperament, led the way to victory, assisted by the determined Bernard Pswarayi, who scored 9 not out in an unbroken last-wicket stand of 49. Winstonians had the taste of victory on their lips, only to have the cup snatched from their grasp. They did contribute to their own downfall, though, by contributing no fewer than 38 extras to their opponents' score.