Old cricket timers and administrators from Harare dominated a four team, two day Midwest Twenty20 (T20) Black Rhino tournament hosted by MidWest Rhinos in an effort to raise money towards the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy.
Harare Stragglers, captained by former national team player Trevor Gripper beat Midlands Old Boys in the final to grab the inaugural trophy. Gripper, who played Test and one-day international games for Zimbabwe, was full of praise for his team and other teams who travelled from Bulawayo to participate in the worthy cause of saving the black rhino.
“This was a fantastic tournament. The spirit of the game and the atmosphere was just electric. I just want to thank the boys from my team for wining this game and guys from Bulawayo and Kwekwe Queens for making this a success,” said Gripper after receiving the trophy and a crate of beers.
Stragglers won the final after upstaging Midlands Old Boys by 63 runs after the opening partnership of Gordon Brown (87) and Matt Krog (70) put a strong first wicket partnership of 134.
Bulawayo Busters, who had in their fold Andy Blignaut, failed to come to the party becoming the whipping boys of the tournament after failing to register a single win in all their games in two days. The tournament attracted Zimbabwe’s top umpire Russell Tiffin, who also took charge of the final game, Irish Ambassador Garrick Killiea and top businessmen from Kwekwe, Harare and Bulawayo. MidWest Franchise chairman Ken Connolly said the event will become part of MidWest Rhinos yearly calendar and will hopefully attract more teams and get better next year.
