The Logan
Cup
Zimbabwe's
First Class Contest
This information is
taken from an article by John
Ward
In March 1899, Lord
Hawke brought an English cricket
team to Bulawayo and won two
matches, against a Bulawayo XVIII
and a Rhodesian XV. Politician
J.D. Logan was present at these
matches and was much impressed by
the Rhodesians, 5 of whom had
undertaken the two week journey
from Salisbury to play (Salisbury
is now Harare). He asked that
Lord Hawke buy from England a cup
for cricket competition between
Bulawayo and Salisbury.
The Logan Cup cost
Lord Hawke 100 guineas. It is
silver and 75 centimetres high.
Like the Ashes, which never leave
Lord's, the Logan Cup is
permanently housed at Harare
Sports Club.
The first Logan Cup
matches were played in 1903/04.
Gwelo (now Gweru) also entered
the competition. In the first
ever Logan Cup match hosts
Bulawayo defeated Salisbury by 54
runs, after trailing by 199 runs
on the first innings. Bulawayo
then defeated Gwelo by an innings
to take the Cup.
After a time, the
teams competing in the Logan Cup
became the provinces of
Matabeleland and Mashonaland,
rather than representing the
cities. Before World War I
Bulawayo were the usual winners
of the Logan Cup, and competition
after that was closer, with
Matabeleland slightly stronger.
Since the sixties, however,
Mashonaland has dominated cricket
so well that briefly the Logan
Cup became a club competition. It
has now returned to being between
provinces, however Matabeleland
fields only one team and
Mashonaland three. So the
competition is now:
- Mashonaland
- Mashonaland Under 24
- Mashonaland Districts
- Matabeleland
The competition
consists of 3 rounds and a final.
Points are allocated for first
innings or outright wins, with
bonus bowling and batting points
available also.
The Logan Cup was
granted first class status, in
accordance with Zimbabwe's status
as a test nation, in 1993-94.
Rhodesia had played cricket as a
first class team, mainly in the
South African domestic
competitions, from 1905 until
independence in 1980. Matches
involving Zimbabwe from then
until test status in 1992 were
also first class. Mashonaland
Under 24 defeated Matabeleland on
first innings in the final to win
the inaugural first class Logan
Cup.
Matabeleland win the
1995/96 Logan Cup
The final of the
1995/96 Logan Cup belonged to
Matabeleland keeper Wayne James.
He took 11 catches and made 2
stumpings to set a new record for
wicketkeeping dismissals in a
first class match. He also made
99 and 99 not out, facing the
last ball of the game which was
bowled down leg side for 4
byes.
