MATABELELAND v CFX ACADEMY

At Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 30, 31 March, 1 April 2001.

Day 2 report, by John Ward

Close of play score: CFX Academy 250; Matabeleland 457/6 (Strydom 6*, Mahachi 1*).

The second day's play between Matabeleland and the CFX Academy was dominated by a massive 267-run partnership for the fifth wicket between national captain Heath Streak (119) and upcoming all-rounder Mluleki Nkala (168). They enabled the home team to finish 207 runs ahead of the Academy on first innings and in a good position to force victory on the third and final day.

Matabeleland continued from their overnight score of 50 for one in reply to the Academy total of 320, with Mark Vermeulen talking on the role of aggressor while Ryan King was happy to sit in his shadow and keep his end up. Vermeulen appeared to be heading for a century when he was adjudged lbw to off-spinner Barney Rogers for 77 and dragged himself laboriously off the field rubbing the edge of his bat.

With the Academy using their spinners for most of the morning session, Mecury Kenny faced 38 deliveries in 25 minutes, probably some sort of record in modern cricket, helping himself to 13 runs off some of the wilder ones before being surprised and bowled by a faster ball from Sean Ervine.

King reached a marathon fifty just before lunch, but in trying to speed up after the break skied a catch to midwicket off left-arm spinner Ian Coulson. With Heath Streak joining him at the wicket, Mluleki Nkala began to exhibit his strokes, taking severe toll of the spinners and then driving the pace bowlers confidently. Very soon the aggressive pair had wrested any initiative the Academy had as they confidently took their team into the lead.

Streak followed Nkala to fifty just before tea, by which time Nkala was anticipating his maiden first-class century and Matabeleland a lead large enough for them to expect victory on the final day. The Academy were beginning to wilt in the field as the sun shone and they saw their hopes ebbing away.

After tea Nkala moved cautiously through the nineties before reaching three figures, which came off 186 balls. It took them both a while to regain the momentum afterwards, but then came a display of big hitting, with some huge sixes to be appreciated by the 58 spectators. Streak brought up his century with a six and the slaughter continued as the Academy fielders disappointed. Their eventual partnership added 267, just ten runs short of the all-time Zimbabwe fifth-wicket record (277 unbeaten by Murray Goodwin and Andy Flower in a Test match against Pakistan on this ground in 1997/98), before a tiring Streak lifted Lewis to long-off to depart for 119.

The declaration did not come and the Academy were made to regret five dropped catches during the Matabeleland innings. Both they and Nkala appeared on the point of exhaustion during the final half-hour, and the latter was finally bowled by Lewis, hitting across the line, for 168. The Academy commendably bowled 117 overs in the day, 12 more than the minimum requirement.

© Cricinfo