da realsbet： The CFX Academy made a valiant effort to win the match againstMatabeleland at the Country Club, Harare, but the rain which hadwashed out more than half the second day’s play proved too muchfor them, as they were unable to bowl their opponents out
John Ward02-Apr-2000The CFX Academy made a valiant effort to win the match againstMatabeleland at the Country Club, Harare, but the rain which hadwashed out more than half the second day’s play proved too muchfor them, as they were unable to bowl their opponents out asecond time. The final will therefore be contested betweenMashonaland and Manicaland at Harare Sports Club in a three-daymatch beginning next Friday, 7 April.The Academy began the day needing 65 runs to reach 300 with threewickets standing. The 300 was crucial since, as long as they wonthe match, the extra batting point would take them ahead ofMashonaland into the final against Manicaland next weekend. Amere 250 would leave them level on points, and the ZimbabweCricket Union had apparently not legislated for a tie-break weretwo teams to be equal on points, although requested to do so bythe Academy before the match. An enthralling battle resulted intheir reaching their target, but they owed much to the Matabelefielding, with at least six possible catches going down.They soon lost new batsman Clement Mahachi (0), who hit a fulltoss straight back to Keith Dabengwa for a return catch. Butthen came a determined partnership between the injured JasonYoung and Gregg Haakonsen. Both had their luck: Haakonsen earlyon gave a hard chance high to the right of slip off Dabengwa,while Young, sweeping at Engelbrecht, skyed a ball high tomidwicket and had given up his innings as lost when the ballpopped out of the hands of the waiting fielder. They continuedto bat positively and the target was in sight, at 290, when Youngdrove at Senyo Nyakutse, with the new ball, and was bowled.This left the last pair to score ten runs, and they kept theirheads and their luck. An attempted pull by Haakonsen flew overthe slips for four, and Hondo gave a low sharp chance to slip on299. He then skyed a ball towards square leg which the fielder,running full tilt, just failed to hold, and the batsmen scamperedthrough for the critical run. They continued to look for runsuntil Haakonsen was stumped off Dabengwa for a courageous 45,leaving Hondo not out with 5 and the total 316, a lead of 140.The Academy still needed to win the match in order to qualify forthe final, and they had a further 90 overs maximum in which to doso. Matabeleland openers Wisdom Siziba and Charles Coventryshowed no sign of throwing it away before lunch, putting on adetermined 32 together by the interval.The afternoon session was crucial to the Academy’s hopes, but itwas to prove almost fruitless. They picked up only one wicket,at 40, when Coventry (17) fended off a ball from Friend to bepicked up smartly by Richard Sims at short leg. But thereafterthe bowlers toiled to no effect as Siziba stood firm, graduallyplaying his strokes against loose balls, and the more aggressiveVermeulen looked in fine form, driving and pulling witheffortless power and timing. Vermeulen was particularly severeon Friend, hitting him out of the attack, although he had to bemore watchful when Strang brought himself on. At tea the courseof the match was moving swiftly towards a draw, with Matabelelandon 133 for one (Siziba 40, Vermeulen 56), and 39 overs left forplay.After tea, the runs continued, with Vermeulen driving severalhandsome fours, and even Siziba got in on the act, takingeverybody by surprise by hitting Lamb high over midwicket forfour. He finally reached his maiden first-class fifty, but thenallowed it to go to his head. He lofted Lamb over his head forfour but then, trying another big hit, edged a ball over theslips to be caught by Strang running back, for 54. But he hadmade the match virtually safe.Vermeulen moved on towards his century, driving Sims for 6, 4 and6 in the same over. In the following over he drove Sims again tothe boundary to reach three figures, at which point, Matabeleland207 for two and 67 runs ahead, the teams agreed to call the matchoff as a draw. Well though the Academy had batted, they did nothave the bowling power to force their way through to the final inthe reduced time allowed them in this match.