Midlands in dominant position after Matabeleland batting fails again

Matabeleland seem to have given away their Logan Cup match against Midlands as they were hit by another batting nightmare on the second day of play at Bulawayo Athletic Club. The home side lost five quick wickets to end on 80 for five at the close of play, still needing 81 runs to make the visitors take a second innings.

This was after Midlands scored 353 all out in 99 overs in their first innings in reply to the 192 scored by the home side on the first day. Midlands resumed at their overnight score of 107 with Terrence Duffin and Sean Ervine resisting the pace in the early overs of the day. However the two did not last as the Matabeleland bowlers fought back.

Ervine was the first to leave the field of play when he edged a Norman Mukondiwa delivery weakly to second slip where an alert Tawanda Mupariwa took a diving catch to send him back for 20 runs, meaning that the Zimbabwean international added only one run to his overnight score of 19. Duffin followed in the next over when he was dismissed by Gregory Strydom, caught at leg gully by Mike McKillop for 74, which included 13 fours.

Midlands lost captain Dirk Viljoen for 55 when he was given out leg before wicket to spinner Mecury Kenny, and they went to lunch on 241 for five. After lunch the Matabeleland bowlers tightened the noose and that worked well for them as they manage to restrain most of the Midlands batsmen. Right-arm spinner Gavin Ewing grabbed the wicket of Kornford, bowling the middle-order batsman for 49. John Vaughan-Davies fell to McKillop a few overs after lunch, trapped leg before wicket for 10 runs.

Ewing finished off the Midlands batting line-up when he grabbed two wickets. He removed Paul Reilly leg before wicket for a duck and went on to bowl Campbell McMillan for 59 to finish off the visitors. Ewing proved to be the toast of the disappointing Matabeleland bowling attack, with the spinner taking five for 80 in his 28-over spell, with seven maidens. Pace bowler Strydom took two for 72 with one maiden in 19 overs, while Mukondiwa, Kenny and McKillop took a wicket apiece.

In their second innings Matabeleland changed their batting line-up, with Wisdom Siziba, who scored 103 in the first innings, opening with Keith Dabengwa. That ploy however did not yield any results as Dabengwa could score only 13 runs before he was bowled by Viljoen. Kenny was trapped leg before wicket by McMillan for only two runs, with Siziba failing to regain his terrific form of the first innings, scoring only 28 runs before being bowled by Vaughn-Davies.

Gregory Strydom had managed only five runs when he skied a ball from Kornford and saw McMillan take a brilliant catch at third man. Norman Mukondiwa, who was also brought up the order, could not stand the pressure piled on by the Midlands attack, and was trapped leg before wicket by McMillan for a duck. King and McKillop were left unbeaten with 19 and 0 respectively.

Matabeleland manager Derrick Townshend admitted that his boys were having a bad time but said the match was far from over. He was disappointed with the bowlers who he said should have restricted the visitors to a score of less than 300.