AUSSIE TOUR CANCELLATION

I am saddened to read your editorial regarding the emigration of David Houghton and the cancellation of the Australian tour. Small countries such as Zimbabwe and New Zealand, from where I am writing, can ill afford to lose such talent from the game or its infrastructure. I am a regular reader of Zimbabwe Cricket Online and your editorials and I am saddened by the obvious troubles the game and the country is going through. In this age of pictures sometimes a few words paint a thousand words.

Regarding the Australian tour cancellation I am in full agreement with you. I believe Australia gladly disposed of its tour and showed its usual contempt for paying any attention to anyone other than the major drawcards of world cricket. It really does feel that Aus would be quite happy it was left alone to play England, South Africa and the West Indies in endless reciprocating five-Test series with the possibility of drafting in Sachin Tendulkar as a guest star or Shoaib Ahktar if he is likely to hit 100 mph. Incidentally all the fit, HAH, NZ bowlers seemed to bowl about 4-5 k's slower on our speed guns than the Aussie ones. I wonder where that leaves Brett Lee?

I realize my comments above may provoke the question of the recent cancellation of the tour of Pakistan by NZ and I can only offer that it had to be made in the very uncertain days immediately following the events of 11 September and has been rescheduled ASAP.

Please keep up your excellent work with Zimbabwe Cricket Online. I really enjoy the full, in-depth nature of your newsletter and the quality of the writing from all the contributors. It gives a broader understanding than the `last game and star' type efforts that characterize most cricket sites.

Edward Griggs (New Zealand)

LOGAN CUP FINAL

I was just wondering if there is going to be a Logan Cup Final this year. I'm not sure if it was just scrapped last year because Mashonaland won all their games making the final irrelevant - but then again, what are they doing this season?

I must say, although I am only viewing it through scorecards, that I think the move to the four-day game seems to have benefited the batsmen, and the scoring in general; fewer silly declarations, and allowing teams to win after conceding a large first innings total, as in the Manicaland v Mashonaland game earlier this season. It also seems to benefit their bowling, as I see Raymond Price broke the record for most wickets in a Logan Cup season.

Well done to Grant Flower, during his recent 235* he became the first player to score 2000 runs in the Logan cup, 20 Matches, 33 Innings, about time he took a lead from his brother in the test arena, he has the talent.

I don't why I like the Logan Cup so much, I just do. It may not be the strongest cricket competition in the world, but when the Sheffield Shield, the Ranji Trophy, the Currie Cup, etc., all started, there were few teams and one was always dominant - NSW, Bombay, Transvaal, etc. - but the actions of the ZCU with the Academy giving young players valuable first class experience, and also bringing them up as coaches, and also (I don't want to denigrate S Africa but..) the moves to involve the black majority, as to the point where any Logan Cup scorecard tells you that it is mixed, and on merit, not quotas, has to be respected.

That is why I think it would be a shame to lose the Academy to Masvingo, even though provincial cricket is better.

I just had an idea, even though the concept of the first-class warm-up match for tourists is sadly dying: maybe the ZCU, if the Academy loses its Logan Cup status, might prefer that the tourists play their warm-up matches, if they play any, against the Academy, or at least play one match against the Academy.

A distant, but avid fan of the Zimbabwean Cricket

Jon Meffen (New Zealand)

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