The Matabeleland trial match took place at BAC over the weekend and was the first occasion that the players have come together in preparation for the Logan Cup early next year. Fortunately the rain held off and despite some stoppages, the match was able to be completed, although the result was a draw.

From the original squads named, Jacobs withdrew due to business commitments, van Rensburg with a cracked finger, Engelbrecht was called into the national A side and young Gavin Ewing withdrew with a shoulder strain. These players were replaced by Mukadam and Staddon, with the two 12th men coming into the match.

Mahachi's XI won the toss, electing to field in hot overcast conditions. This decision seemed to be correct with King's XI 125 for five but then two partnerships, both in the seventies, saw King's XI through to 313 in 82.2 overs. Ryan King, who always looks full of promise, played a superb innings of 132 and was helped by 43 from wicketkeeper Warren Gilmour. The bowling was led by Mukindiwa with three for 58 in 14 overs and Mecury Kenny with three for 73 in 23 overs.

Mahachis XI found the total somewhat beyond them and only managed 201 in 64.4 overs, with only Wisdom Siziba 51, Naik 54 and Mukondiwa 33 not out showing any resistance. The pick of the bowlers were Mapariwa with three for 18 and Townshend with 3 for 65.

Batting a second time, King's XI scored quickly and reached 119 for two in 17 overs, with King again leading the way with 58 not out and young Greg Strydom with 59 off only 42 balls. Strydom's 50 came in 33 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. A player with potential, he was probably unlucky not to have made the Zimbabwe Under-19 side. This left Mahachi's XI 231 to score in 37 overs at a rate of just over six runs per over. In attempting to achieve this target they scored 152 for eight, with Kenny 46 in 44 balls and Mahachi 42 not out. Strydom finished the day with two for 4 in his solitary over.

The game exposed a few players to the protracted game and they acquitted themselves well, but it is still blatantly obvious that most players still feel they are playing limited-overs cricket and are not prepared to concentrate on the longer version of the game.

The new players benefited from the experience and the same players will now train together for the next few weeks when the final squad will be announced. Matabeleland will have to work hard at this competition as the other teams will be of equal strength with the inclusion of the latest batch of CFX Academy players who have now been allocated to the various provinces.

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