No miracles, no real surprises, even - Zimbabwe lost the First Test match against India by an innings. Our team is playing on pitches that overwhelmingly favour the opposition, they lack the spark which appears only occasionally these days that enables them to play above themselves, and virtually all the cricket supporters I have spoken to believe we are not playing our strongest team anyway.

That said, there was still quite a bit of good to be taken from that Nagpur Test match. Unfortunately Andy Flower failed, but he did get two magnificent deliveries that could have dismissed anybody. As I write, he is on his way back again in Delhi, although dismissed in the nineties for the first time in a Test match.

It was good to see Stuart Carlisle, leading from the front as captain, batting with perhaps more authority than he has ever shown before in a Test match. He was tragically run out, with his highest Test score, in the first innings and then sawn off by an umpiring error in the second innings after making a bold start to a difficult task. Grant Flower appeared to be the victim of umpiring errors in both innings, so the age-old problem is always there.

One of Zimbabwe's highlights of the match was the advance shown by all-rounder Travis Friend. He batted confidently in both innings, to be unbeaten, while his bowling is developing in accuracy even in conditions that don't really suit him. If he can keep free from injury, he could be our replacement for Heath Streak well before Streak even leaves the scene. If we can get two all-rounders of that quality in the same side it will be a priceless asset - but he still has to keep working hard and keep learning.

The Board XI finished their season disappointingly, drawing against KwaZulu-Natal in the three-day match when a victory would have put them on top of the table and winning the one-day game when it was too late. They finished third and second respectively in the Pool B log, given below.

One encouraging feature noted by the team's latest captain Guy Whittall was the improvement in the form and confidence of Hamilton Masakadza with the bat. We have tried to arrange an interview with Hamilton between his return from Durban and his departure for the University of the Free State, but unfortunately it has been impossible to discover his whereabouts!

We now have a weekend of Logan Cup cricket before us, the fixtures being as follows:

	Manicaland      vs.     Mashonaland       Mutare
	Matabeleland    vs.     Midlands          BAC
	CFX Academy     vs.     Mashonaland 'A'   Academy

UCB Bowl Tables 2001/02

Pool A

Three-day             P    W    L     D    Bat  Bowl    Pts
Western Province B    6    3    1     2   22.94   22   74.94
Eastern Province B    6    2    1     3   22.02   21   63.02
Free State B          6    2    0     4   22.28   20   62.28
Namibia               6    2    3     1   19.10   21   60.10
Boland B              6    2    0     4   16.60   18   54.60
Griqualand West B     6    1    3     2   17.04   22   49.04
KZN Inland            6    0    4     2   13.22   13   26.22

Points deducted for slow over-rates:
None

                                              Bonus
One-day               P    W    L   Tied   NR   Pts   Pts    NRR
Western Province B    6    5    0     0     1     0    22   0.31
Free State B          6    4    1     0     1     3    21   1.52
Boland B              6    4    2     0     0     0    16   0.19
Namibia               6    3    3     0     0     1    13   0.44
Eastern Province B    6    3    3     0     0     1    13  -0.40
Griqualand West B     6    1    5     0     0     0     4  -0.42
KZN Inland            6    0    6     0     0     0     0  -1.26

Pool B

Three-day             P    W    L     D    Bat  Bowl    Pts
Northerns B           6    3    0     3   20.20   15   65.20
KwaZulu-Natal B       6    2    0     4   19.84   21   60.84
Zimbabwe Board XI     6    2    1     3   21.94   16   57.94
Easterns B            6    1    1     4   17.94   17   44.94
Border B              6    1    2     3   11.56   19   40.56
North West B          6    0    1     5   19.30   14   33.30
Gauteng B             6    0    4     2   17.06   16   33.06

Points deducted for slow over-rates:
None

                                                Bonus
One-day               P    W    L   Tied   NR   Pts   Pts    NRR
Border B              6    4    1     0     1     2    20   0.25
Zimbabwe Board XI     6    4    1     0     1     1    19   0.61
Northerns B           6    3    1     0     2     1    17   0.61
North West B          6    3    2     0     1     0    14  -0.02
Easterns B            6    2    4     0     0     1     9   0.09
Gauteng B             6    2    4     0     0     1     9  -0.12
KwaZulu-Natal B       6    0    5     0     1     0     2  -1.19

As at 26 February 2002
 

Supplied by Andrew Samson
Official Statistician of the United Cricket Board of South Africa

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