Tuskers end Logan Cup campaign strongly with big win over Rhinos

Tuskers – 591 and 233-7 declared in 59.5 overs (Nkosana Mpofu 89, Ali Hamid 40, Luke Jongwe 21; Victor Chirwa 5/83, Prince Masvaure 1/37, Takudzwanashe Kaitano 1/43)

Rhinos – 137 and 177 all out in 63.1 overs (Ben Curran 61, Bright Matsiwe 24, Antum Naqvi 21; Ainsley Ndlovu 6/19, Nkosana Mpofu 1/23, Mgcini Dube 1/39)

Tuskers won by 510 runs

Rhinos were 65 for no wicket overnight, with Ben Curran on 47 and Bright Matsiwe 14, with only a draw to hope for after Tuskers had declared with a lead of 687 runs.

To earn that draw Rhinos would have had to bat all day – and they have a strong enough batting line-up for this to be a good possibility on a pitch so full of runs.

However, few of the team were up for the challenge.

Curran reached 61 before he was second out, and then followed a steady fall of wickets which led to defeat halfway through the afternoon session.

Antum Naqvi, a key batter after his amazing form earlier this season, could only manage 21.

The one man to knuckle down and make Tuskers fight was Prince Masvaure, who went in at number five and was still unbeaten when the last wicket fell, having scored 11 not out off 77 balls in an hour and a half.

The end came quickly, as Ndlovu with his left-arm spin broke through the middle order and at one stage took three wickets in four balls, while Rhinos plunged from 175 for six to 177 all out.

Ndlovu’s final figures were six for 19 off 11.1 overs, with eight maidens.

The remarkable margin of this defeat is not quite a record for Zimbabwean cricket, as during their tour of England in 2000 the Zimbabwean team beat the English county Gloucestershire by 524 runs.

This has brought the curtain down on the 2023/24 Logan Cup campaign, with Tuskers finishing in third place behind the newly crowned champions Mega Market Mountaineers and the first runners-up Southern Rocks.

2023/24 LOGAN CUP POINTS TABLE