Seamer Keegan Meth’s four wickets for Matabeleland Tuskers left the Logan Cup cricket final wide open after Mountaineers had bowled out the latter for a paltry 195 in their first innings at Mutare Sports Club Wednesday.
At stumps on day one Mountaineers were reeling at 56 for four after Meth had ripped through the hosts’ top order to finish the day with impressive bowling figures of four wickets for 14 runs in nine overs.
Skipper Hamilton Masakadza was unbeaten on 18 runs, while hard hitting all-rounder Timycen Maruma was yet to get off the mark.
Meth’s brilliant spell helped lift his team’s hopes after they had looked down and out after the Mountaineers’ bowlers had bowled equally superbly to dismiss Tuskers for 195 runs.
Earlier Tuskers won the toss and elected to bat first on a wicket that assisted the bowlers resulting in 13 wickets falling on the day.
With Tuskers missing the services of their regular openers Paul Horton, Terrence Duffin and skipper Gavin Ewing, it was Mbekezeli Mabuza who top scored with 54 runs while tail-ender Tawanda Mupariwa chipped in with 34 runs.
Tuskers’ biggest undoing was their failure to build any meaningful partnerships as their middle order which has experienced players like Charles Coventry (1) and Keith Dabengwa (3) meekly folded under pressure.
Their biggest partnership came from the tail-enders, with the eighth wicket partnership stand of 41 runs the second highest top scorer Mupariwa and Christopher Mpofu (18).
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Chatara and fast improving leg spinner Natsai Mushangwe were the chief tormenters after taking three wickets apiece.
Tuskers never allowed their opponents to settle as they went about trying to defend the relatively low score and had opener Tino Mawoyo back in the pavilion for a duck as early as the second over.
South African Jonathan Beukes also perished without troubling the scorers after being trapped lbw by Meth, who had earlier dismissed Benard Mlambo in the same manner for 18 runs.
