Guy Whittall dominated proceedings for a second day running at Mutare Sports Club yesterday, sending a signal to the (absent) selectors that they are crazy to continue ignoring him. Hitting a career best 247 (36 fours, 3 sixes), he then proceeded to rip the heart out of the Mashonaland batting with three for 32 off 17 overs.

Stung by non-selection for Zimbabwe's tour of India when he reckoned he was back to his best, Whittall has resolved to keep his mouth shut and produce results. The recent A tour of South Africa was only moderately successful by his standards, a fact he readily concedes and attributes to a sense of angst, disbelief and mental laxity at his continued rejection.

It's well known that he needs to bring the right set of screwdrivers to the ground and Mashonaland will be ruing the day they were chosen to highlight his current grievances. Resuming at his overnight score of 121, he took another 126 runs (137 balls, 164 minutes) with such disdainful ease that he looked capable of quadrupling that overnight score. Ignoring the singles, he penetrated the deep defensive cordon almost at will, finally gifting a bored miss-hit slog to cow-corner as he grew tired of nursing the tail. In contrast to the previous day a crowd of 100 plus spectators – including black kids bussed in by the Manicaland Cricket Association from the high-density suburbs – were present to applaud his efforts.

Adiel Kugotsi (34) also hit his first-class best during a 107-run partnership with Whittall for the seventh wicket. Experienced bowlers like Barney Rogers and Patrick Gada should never have allowed schoolboy Kugotsi to settle and prosper. The bowlers who suffered most were Gada (one for 107) and Simon Seager (four for 140) whilst de facto captain/wicket-keeper Donald `Bomber' Campbell shuffled his field and captain (Gus Mackay) endlessly around the boundary.

Declaring on 513 for nine at the fall of Whittall's wicket, Manicaland had made their biggest score in living memory. Needing 363 to avoid the follow-on, Mashonaland started well but were reeling at 164 for five at stumps. With a 97-run opening partnership between Butterworth (42) and Malloch-Brown (76) the prospects for draw were high, but a direct throw by Tino Mawoyo to remove Ryan Butterworth opened the door for Whittall. Producing reverse in-swinging off-cutters with the old ball, he settled into a long back-of-length spell that proved irresistible. Amongst his victims was veteran national batsman Craig Evans, who for the umpteenth time in his career was adjudged lbw, and for the umpteenth time departed a wronged man.

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