So, a target of 280 was not enough to challenge the Australians at Hobart. Well though Zimbabwe batted, the bowling was not up to the same standard, and that was predictably fatal. So everything for Zimbabwe depends on the match against West Indies on the fast, bouncy pitch at Perth, when the winner will almost certainly get into the finals against Australia. Probably most Australians will be hoping that Zimbabwe will succeed, as they have generally put up a much better fight against Australia than West Indies have, but are still not strong enough to challenge the home side.

On the home front, club cricket is over, except for the knockout finals on 11 February. The Zimbabwe Board XI are currently top of the table in both the three-day and one-day competitions in their group and will be looking to complete their season with victories over their last two opponents and then over the winners of the other section, which look likely to be Western Province B on both counts – they have been even more dominant than our Board XI in their section. Success would enable the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to put pressure on the probably reluctant UCBSA for full status in their inter-provincial competitions next season. I suspect they will be reluctant to agree, so sheer force of success is required.

Then we have the Logan Cup competition starting in two weeks' time. As mentioned before, six teams will be taking part and the international players will in theory be available. While it is an excellent plan to hold the tournament while they are able to take part, in practice after an extended and exhausting tour of Sharjah, India, New Zealand and Australia, all most of them will be wanting is a few weeks' break before almost four months of international cricket at home. The players are under contract to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and therefore can be ordered to play, but I can anticipate some niggling injuries – some of which will be genuine!

Let me say that I can understand their point of view, but also the point of view of the administrators who want their younger players to gain experience in the longer game against the strongest possible opposition. But inevitably most of the international players returning from tour will be physically and mentally exhausted, and some will be more willing than others to give of the best they have left in the Logan Cup. Probably the Mashonaland side, which will be composed mainly of international players unless they decided to split their strength between their two teams, will be as inconsistent as they were last season; hopefully they will be less objectionable to the opposition.

The Logan Cup is Zimbabwe's one and only first-class competition, and so it should be given the respect it deserves. One expects comparatively good crowds in the smaller centres of Mutare and Kwekwe, but in Harare and Bulawayo especially will there be any real effort made to market the competition? Whatever they do the administrators are unlikely to draw in large crowds, but certainly the attendances could be improved with effort. This is the chance of the public to see the country's best players in action outside the international arena and to support their provinces, but unless it is marketed properly they will only be vaguely aware of these matches. It would be great to see a smattering of spectators on the stands at Harare Sports Club – realistically we cannot hope for more than that, but that should be the aim at present. I hope the Logan Cup is not going to be ignored.

If there is to be any effort to bring in the public, then they must be kept informed. Spectators want to know who is bowling, who is batting and what their individual scores are. Harare Sports Club has an excellent scoreboard, but will it be manned during these matches? We had the sad situation two years ago when matches were arranged at short notice between the national side and the Australian Cricket Academy, and the main scoreboard was not used because nobody could be found to run it at short notice. I very much suspect that Mashonaland will not bother; after all, it has been impossible to find a Mashonaland correspondent to contribute to this magazine! I hope the other provincial associations will do better, but in the main scoreboards need upgrading for this to happen. If this is not possible, good use of a public-address system is required.

THIS ISSUE

In this issue we are able to carry more school reports, and Clive Ruffell, as reliable as ever, reports on the club semi-finals. We have Heath Streak's international career covered in detail, up to the start of the Australian tour. We also have interviews with Henry Olonga, who is having a hard time of it at the moment but whose commitment has been vindicated with the diagnosis of a stress fracture, and Gavin Johnstone-Robertson, who has taken the most first-league wickets during the course of this season – at the age of 54.

Most other players have hung up their boots while 20 years younger. Gavin has never considered himself, or been considered by others, to be an exceptional player. How many others are there in the country who could be making fine contributions in club, or even provincial, cricket, but who no longer play? How much they as individuals and the country as a whole are missing through their absence! An almost complete lack of social cricket in Zimbabwe costs many people the opportunity to enjoy playing the game if they are unwilling or unable to commit a full Sunday for half the year to the game, and this is sad. Probably they cannot be won back, but one hopes that the current club players may nowadays be more encouraged to play on into their thirties and beyond. Gavin has shown what can be done.

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