Double Headers

122 8: Zimbabwe - Late starters Senior domestic cricket in Zimbabwe – then part of the colony of Rhodesia – began in 1903/04, with the first competition for the Logan Cup. The cup was initially contested by teams representing Mashonaland, Matabeleland, and Midlands, and these three were later joined by Manicaland and, for a while, a team from Northern Rhodesia. The competition – not yet first- class – was held in most subsequent years, but was almost invariably a two- horse race between the sides from Mashonaland (with players essentially drawn from the city of Salisbury) and Matabeleland (drawing largely from Bulawayo). By 1967/68, the cup had been won outright 23 times by Mashonaland and 22 times by Matabeleland, with only single wins by Midlands in 1951/52 and by Northern Rhodesia in 1964/65 interrupting the two giants’ hegemony. 1967/68 marked Matabeleland’s last success in the competition for over 25 years, as teams from Mashonaland won every tournament from 1968/69 to 1994/95 inclusive. Such was Mashonaland’s dominance over this period that for some seasons the inter-provincial competition was not held, with the cup being awarded instead to the winners of the National League club competition. Even when the Logan Cup became a first-class competition in 1993/94 (following Zimbabwe’s admission as a full member of the ICC), the familiar pattern of success for a side from Salisbury – now Harare – continued, for a couple of seasons at least. But the winners since the late 1960s were not always a side called simply ‘Mashonaland’. In 1968/69, and again in 1987/88 and 1988/89, the winners were ‘Mashonaland A’, while in 1980/81, 1981/82 and 1992/93 they were Mashonaland age-group sides – the Under-25s in the 1980s, and the Under-24s in 1992/93. Such was the dominance of Mashonaland that it was clearly judged to be fairest if its talent were spread over a number of teams. Not that this prevented their sides from winning, but at least it allowed for some closer competition, and a little more uncertainty over the outcome of individual matches. 98 The same pattern continued into the Logan Cup’s first-class period. In 1996/97 and again in 1999/2000 Mashonaland was represented by a single side (and unsurprisingly won the cup both times), but in all other years up to and including 2001/02 it had two or even three teams in the competition, as follows: 1993/94 and 1994/95 Mashonaland, Mashonaland Under-24, and Mashonaland Country Districts 1995/96 Mashonaland, Young Mashonaland, and Mashonaland Country Districts 1997/98-1998/99, and 2000/01-2001/02 Mashonaland and Mashonaland A I have sought advice from John Ward, expert on all things to do with cricket in Zimbabwe, as to the separateness of these teams. Did they all represent the same cricketing entity, and how rigidly was the separation 98 The material regarding the early history of the Logan Cup is derived from an article on the competition on page 67 of Zimbabwe Cricket Year 1998.