Robin Mence has spoken to manager Derrick Townshend about the Matabeleland prospects for the Logan Cup next month.

The team for the first match was selected as follows:

Ross Craig, Charles Coventry, Mark Vermeulen, Dion Ebrahim, Neil van Rensburg, Mark Abrams, Steven Commerford, Warren Gilmour, Ian Englebrecht, Matthew Townsend, Steven Brown. 12th Man - Wisdom Siziba.

Eight of the players will be familiar to those who follow first-class cricket in Zimbabwe. Of the others Commerford is a right-arm fast-medium opening bowler and hard-hitting lower middle order bat, Brown an off-break bowler and Townshend a 17-year-old fast bowler, son of Derrick, currently at CBC. Siziba is an 18-year-old wicket-keeper/batsman who plays for BAC.

Selection was difficult - Mark Dekker and Adam Huckle have retired; Mahachi, Nkala and King are at the Academy; Rennie, Streak, Olonga and Mbangwa are in South Africa with national team, as are the Whittalls who would probably now represent Manicaland. Gavin Wren is injured and Alex Lucas back to university in South Africa. Mecury Kenny was not considered as the selectors have not yet seen him play and Nyakutse not selected after a disappointing year at the Academy. Apart from that, it was straight-forward!