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The Logan Cup season finished in bitter disappointment for Mountaineers, who had anticipated a place in the final, only to be pipped at the post by Midwest Rhinos, who beat them by eight wickets in three days at Mutare Sports Club. Struggling after two days, Mountaineers had no great heroics in their second innings and, despite early jitters, Rhinos got home mainly on the back of a devastating innings of 62 not out from Brendan Taylor.

Mountaineers resumed their second innings on 62 for three wickets, still 64 runs behind the Rhinos innings total. Things entered badly from the start, as Stuart Matsikenyeri (17) was dismissed lbw to Ed Rainsford without any addition to the score. Hamilton Masakadza took his responsibilities so seriously that he took 49 balls and 65 minutes to get off the mark, before he finally forced a ball through the covers for four. Soon after that he lost Timycen Maruma, who played on to Rainsford, playing back, for 4; Mountaineers were now 75 for five and looked to be tumbling headlong towards an early defeat.

They should have been worse off still, as Prosper Utseya was dropped off a sharp chance to second slip before he had scored, the ball travelling for four. Rhinos paid quite heavily for this error, as the pair almost doubled the total while in partnership, putting on 62 runs together. The deficit was erased just before lunch, so Mountaineers went in for the break just six runs ahead and with a little more hope of making a fight of it.

The afternoon session all but extinguished their hopes. Neither batsman lasted long after lunch. Utseya was the first to go, caught in the gully off Rainsford for 32, but the celebrations really took off with the fall of Masakadza. He had batted with the utmost restraint for 37 off 135 balls in just over three hours, but he fell another victim to Rainsford, pushing at a ball moving away outside off stump to give the wicketkeeper a straight-forward catch. Mountaineers had slumped to 144/7 and defeat seemed imminent.

But now was the time for real defiance. Shingi Masakadza and Natsai Mushangwe laid into the bowling with a vengeance, sharing the highest partnership of the innings as they hammered 73 together. Again, catches went down, until Masakadza finally sliced a low catch to third man to depart for 27. Mushangwe, the leading partner, raced to 53 off 49 balls, but was then adjudged lbw next ball; Taurai Muzarabani dismissed them both. The last wicket fell for 230, leaving Rhinos with 105 runs to win. Rainsford was the best bowler, taking four vital wickets for 46 and showing great determination and skill.

Rhinos have shown some fragile batting this season, so the target was not a foregone conclusion; the pitch was taking a bit of spin, and no respectable side should have been bowled out chasing that target unless they choked. Mountaineers went on the attack from the start, using Utseya as their second bowler with close fielders, and the openers seemed rendered strokeless. Bothwell Chapungu, nonplussed by a spinner from Utseya, was clean bowled for 2, but Brendan Taylor was taking no nonsense. He swung successive balls from Utseya over the pavilion for six, and continued to assault the spinner, despite losing Friday Kasteni, lbw padding up to Shingi Masakadza for 4.

Vusi Sibanda was almost a sleeping partner as Taylor laid into the bowlers, racing to his fifty off 34 balls. His off-side drives and leg-side flicks and pulls were particularly impressive. It was an off-driven four by Sibanda, followed by four byes from a wild delivery down the leg side, that finally took Rhinos to a well-earned victory and a place in next week's Logan Cup final against Mashonaland Eagles. Taylor finished unbeaten on 62 (42 balls) and Sibanda 23.
Mountaineers 212 (56.3 overs; Maruma 59, Rainsford 3/41) & 230 (69.3 overs; Mushangwe 53, Rainsford 4/46), Rhinos 338 (104.2 overs; Waller 117, Chitara 5/42) & 106/2 (17.4 overs; Taylor 62*, Utseya 1/28). Rhinos win by 8 wickets.

Mountaineers 1st innings  	
                                                R  	M  	B  	4s  	6s  	SR
TMK Mawoyo 	c †Wessels b Rainsford 	        1 	10 	13 	0 	0 	7.69
B Mlambo 	c †Wessels b Muzarabani 	12 	26 	8 	2 	0 	150.00
H Masakadza* 	c †Wessels b Chinouya 	        47 	91 	72 	6 	0 	65.27
T Taibu† 	lbw b Rainsford 	        4 	16 	13 	0 	0 	30.76
S Matsikenyeri 	c Waller b Cremer 	        8 	70 	41 	0 	0 	19.51
P Utseya 	b Mugava 	                30 	69 	66 	3 	0 	45.45
T Maruma 	c Waller b Cremer 	        59 	104 	80 	6 	3 	73.75
SW Masakadza 	lbw b Mugava 	                15 	20 	28 	3 	0 	53.57
N Mushangwe 	c Waller b Cremer 	        4 	10 	12 	1 	0 	33.33
N Ncube 	c Sibanda b Rainsford 	        22 	22 	15 	2 	2 	146.66
TL Chatara 	not out 	                0 	7 	1 	0 	0 	0.00
	Extras 	(w 1, nb 9) 	                10 					
	Total 	(all out; 56.3 overs; 227 mins) 212 	(3.75 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-9 (Mawoyo, 2.2 ov), 2-17 (Mlambo, 5.2 ov), 3-26 (Taibu, 8.5 ov), 
4-78 (H Masakadza, 22.4 ov), 5-88 (Matsikenyeri, 25.4 ov), 6-132 (Utseya, 42.1 ov), 
7-164 (SW Masakadza, 48.3 ov), 8-177 (Mushangwe, 51.4 ov), 9-200 (Maruma, 55.5 ov), 
10-212 (Ncube, 56.3 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 		
EC Rainsford 	10.3 	1 	41 	3 	3.90 	(8nb, 1w) 	
T Muzarabani 	9 	1 	35 	1 	3.88 	(1nb) 	
MT Chinouya 	8 	1 	30 	1 	3.75 		
AG Cremer 	22 	5 	76 	3 	3.45 		
SM Mugava 	7 	1 	30 	2 	4.28 		


Mid West Rhinos 1st innings 	
                                                        R 	M 	B 	4s 	6s 	SR
BM Chapungu 	b Ncube 	                        15 	28 	26 	1 	0 	57.69
F Kasteni 	lbw b SW Masakadza 	                5 	23 	10 	1 	0 	50.00
BRM Taylor 	b SW Masakadza 	                        31 	94 	70 	4 	1 	44.28
V Sibanda* 	c †Taibu b Chatara 	                55 	168 	124 	5 	2 	44.35
MN Waller 	c SW Masakadza b H Masakadza 	        117 	323 	162 	16 	2 	72.22
MH Wessels† 	c Mlambo b Chatara 	                0 	5 	1 	0 	0 	0.00
AG Cremer 	lbw b Chatara 	                        63 	178 	136 	8 	0 	46.32
EC Rainsford 	lbw b Utseya 	                        22 	9 	54 	1 	1 	40.74
T Muzarabani 	lbw b Chatara 	                        9 	4 	27 	2 	0 	33.33
SM Mugava 	c Ncube b Chatara 	                3 	1 	16 	0 	0 	18.75
MT Chinouya 	not out 	                        0 	5 	2 	0 	0 	0.00
	Extras 	(b 7, lb 8, w 1, nb 2) 	                18 					
	Total 	(all out; 104.2 overs; 419 mins) 	338 	(3.23 runs per over)

Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Kasteni, 4.6 ov), 2-21 (Chapungu, 5.6 ov), 3-83 (Taylor, 28.3 ov), 
4-135 (Sibanda, 46.3 ov), 5-135 (Wessels, 46.4 ov), 6-286 (Waller, 82.4 ov), 7-313 (Cremer, 92.2 ov), 
8-335 (Rainsford, 99.4 ov), 9-337 (Muzarabani, 101.6 ov), 10-338 (Mugava, 104.2 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 		
SW Masakadza 	21 	4 	66 	2 	3.14 	(2nb) 	
N Ncube 	22 	5 	68 	1 	3.09 		
TL Chatara 	22.2 	10 	42 	5 	1.88 	(1w) 	
N Mushangwe 	4 	0 	17 	0 	4.25 		
P Utseya 	17 	2 	57 	1 	3.35 		
T Maruma 	8 	1 	52 	0 	6.50 		
H Masakadza 	10 	4 	21 	1 	2.10 		


Mountaineers 2nd innings 	
                                                R 	M 	B 	4s 	6s 	SR
B Mlambo 	c Kasteni b Chinouya 	        26 	39 	28 	6 	0 	92.85
TMK Mawoyo 	lbw b Cremer 	                12 	34 	21 	3 	0 	57.14
H Masakadza* 	c †Wessels b Rainsford 	        37 	182 	135 	4 	1 	27.40
T Taibu† 	b Chinouya 	                4 	7 	5 	1 	0 	80.00
S Matsikenyeri 	lbw b Rainsford 	        17 	29 	24 	4 	0 	70.83
T Maruma 	b Rainsford 	                4 	36 	25 	1 	0 	16.00
P Utseya 	c Cremer b Rainsford 	        32 	91 	62 	5 	0 	51.61
SW Masakadza 	c Chinouya b Muzarabani 	27 	77 	63 	3 	0 	42.85
N Mushangwe 	lbw b Muzarabani 	        53 	73 	50 	5 	2 	106.00
TL Chatara 	lbw b Cremer 	                7 	13 	11 	0 	1 	63.63
N Ncube 	not out 	                1 	5 	2 	0 	0 	50.00
	Extras 	(b 1, nb 9) 	                10 					
	Total 	(all out; 69.3 overs; 298 mins) 230 	(3.30 runs per over)

Fall of wickets: 1-41 (Mawoyo, 7.1 ov), 2-41 (Mlambo, 8.3 ov), 3-45 (Taibu, 10.2 ov), 
4-62 (Matsikenyeri, 17.5 ov), 5-75 (Maruma, 25.3 ov), 6-137 (Utseya, 47.3 ov), 
7-144 (H Masakadza, 49.2 ov), 8-217 (SW Masakadza, 66.2 ov), 9-222 (Mushangwe, 68.2 ov), 
10-230 (Chatara, 69.3 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 		
EC Rainsford 	16.2 	2 	46 	4 	2.81 	(8nb) 	
T Muzarabani 	9 	4 	30 	2 	3.33 	(1nb) 	
AG Cremer 	19.3 	5 	86 	2 	4.41 		
MT Chinouya 	16.4 	7 	51 	2 	3.06 		
SM Mugava 	7 	1 	12 	0 	1.71 		
F Kasteni 	1 	0 	4 	0 	4.00 		


Mid West Rhinos 2nd innings (target: 105 runs) 	
                                                        R 	M 	B 	4s 	6s 	SR
BM Chapungu 	b Utseya 	                        2 	14 	16 	0 	0 	12.50
F Kasteni 	lbw b Chatara 	                        4 	32 	18 	1 	0 	22.22
BRM Taylor 	not out 	                        62 	70 	41 	6 	3 	151.21
V Sibanda* 	not out 	                        23 	53 	31 	3 	0 	74.19
	Extras 	(b 4, lb 5, w 6) 	                15 					
	Total 	(2 wickets; 17.4 overs; 85 mins) 	106 	(6.00 runs per over)

Did not bat: AG Cremer, MN Waller, MH Wessels†, EC Rainsford, T Muzarabani, MT Chinouya, SM Mugava

Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Chapungu, 3.5 ov), 2-23 (Kasteni, 6.5 ov)

Bowling 	O 	M 	R 	W 	Econ 		
SW Masakadza 	5 	1 	21 	0 	4.20 		
P Utseya 	4 	1 	28 	1 	7.00 		
TL Chatara 	4.4 	0 	32 	1 	6.85 	(2w) 	
N Ncube 	4 	0 	16 	0 	4.00