A season that had promised a lot for Mountaineers could end in disappointment if they stumble against Matabeleland Tuskers in the Castle Logan Cup cricket final at Mutare Sports Club on Wednesday.
The final will take place over five days in Mutare and one of the two teams will be crowned the champions on Sunday.
The Mutare-based side carried the favourites tag in all domestic competitions but have seen both the Stanbic Twenty20 and the Metbank Pro40 titles slip away.
It will be same case on Wednesday as they go into the field this morning again carrying the favourites tag, as they can afford to draw the match and still win the title because of their impressive record during the round-robin phase of the tournament.
Skipper Hamilton Masakadza and his men completed the round-robin stage of the tournament unbeaten but a loss to Tuskers could see them stumbling again at the final hurdle.
Former Zimbabwe international Gary Brent, now in charge at Mountaineers said they wanted to finish the season on a high and would go out for an outright victory.
“We are disappointed at failing to win the Metbank trophy and we are aware that season can end in disappointment for us if we fail to win this match.
“We know that a draw can be enough for us but we are not going to take any chances by trying to hold on for a draw as that could work against us because we know we are playing a good side,” Brent said.
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Tuskers skipper Gavin Ewing also told NewsDay Sport in a telephone interview that his team was aiming for an upset despite the odds being against them.
“We know we have nothing to lose as Mountaineers can still manage to win the match in the event that the match ends in a draw. We are just going to go out there and enjoy ourselves and I’m confident that with the quality in our side we can make it difficult for them (Mountaineers),” said Ewing.
With a lot at stake in this match, mind games had already entered the fray on Tuesday, with Ewing claiming that the Mountaineers’ grounds staff had prepared a flat wicket for the match anticipating a draw, a point that was disputed by Brent.
“We have had a look at the wicket and it looks pretty flat because it’s clear that the hosts know that a draw will be enough for them. So their tactic will obviously be to bat first and put as many runs on the board as possible but we have our own game plan to counter that,” said Ewing, who has scored 632 runs in nine matches for Tuskers this season.
Tuskers were also reportedly sweating over the fitness of experienced all-rounder Keith Dabengwa who will have to pass a late fitness test just before the match.
