Mashonaland pull off thriller
The WCC season was finally underway in Zimbabwe, with Mashonaland playing host to Queensland on a diabolical Bulawayo track. Mashonaland Andy Cameron had reportedly been expecting an easy win going into the match, and given the team's strength on paper, it would be hard to blame him. The game that followed, however, bucked all expectations.
Queensland captain Daryl Cullinan won the toss and elected to bowl in what initially seemed to be a puzzling decision. His choice was soon paid off, however, as West Indian fastman Tino Best had Mashonaland opener Quentin Oulton caught behind for only 3 as the young batsman went for an elaborate drive too far outside of his offstump. Best followed this up with the perfect outswinger which caught the edge of John Lewis, the Mashonaland captain. Hazare was the next to strike for Queensland, with Gibbs playing back to a seaming ball that kept low and got through him. Youngster Quinn Roll tried to rescue the home team, hitting a battling 36 before Best returned with a blistering spell took Roll, Mullick (24) and Gavaskar (9), which left him with 5 wickets and Mashonaland on 6/117. Allrounder Ben Straw and keeper James Midlane tried to put on some more to the struggling total, but Hazare and Masood finished off them and the remaining tail to bowl out the hosts for a meagre 172 before the umpires had even considered calling stumps.
Cullinan's decision to bowl first was again backed up, this time by his batsmen as openers Gibbs and Bundela saw off the new ball bowlers Matthie and Prasad. Despite this, the two had only managed to put on 33 together before Ben Straw struck with his fifth ball, catching Herschelle Gibbs plumb in front for his first WCC wicket. First drop Sathish came entered the fray but was soon back in the dressing rooms after Straw had him out as well, this time caught behind off a bouncer that clearly surprised the batsman. New man Jones failed to make any impression before he popped one back to spinner Ben Joshi, who was looking ominous, spinning the ball from the cracks that had been evident from the first ball. He quickly dismissed Bundela soon after for a fighting 27 off 79, which left the visitors on a far from stable 4/77, which seemed to have sufficiently woken up the home crowd, who were rejoycing what seemed to be a rescue effort from the bowlers. Captain Cullinan, however, managed to add 27 to the score before being caught in the slips off a vicious spinner from Joshi, while at the other end Paynter seemed to be going nowhere, and seemed to be focused solely upon batting out the day. The next day was a far better day for batsmen, however, as keeper Bassano and Paynter put on almost 100 runs in a contrasting partnership; Bassano scored his 60 off 68 balls, while Paynter was striking at around 30. With the seamers doing little with the ball, it was up to Joshi to break the partnership, which he did with a wrong'un which Bassano edged to the slips. Matthie managed to bowl to bowl Hazare, while Joshi quelled wrapped off the tail in style, taking Mashonaland's first five-for, and ending with 7/80 as Queensland were out for 246, 74 in front.
What followed next was later described by manager Andy Cameron as 'the closest I've come to crying while watching cricket.' Needing to begin well to gain the initiative, the Zimbabwean openers again failed to put on any kind of platform, with John Lewis out for one to Masood, who was bowling incredibly fast in his opening spell. He eventually accounted for all of the top four, as Roll (2) stood no chance, while Gibbs (1 off 32) and Oulton (17 off 43) scraped around before succumbing to some beautiful deliveries. The home side were suddenly 4/32, still 42 behind. Rohan Gavaskar then fell for 27 to Best and the hosts were effectively 5/12. This wicket united Ben Straw and Patrick Mullick at the crease, and the two did not leave for another 147 runs. Both players brought up their fifties after batting out day 2 despite a few chances going begging in the field. It was Hazare who finally got the breakthrough, with Straw out for 88. Keeper James Midlane failed to continute the momentum and was out for 8, and Mullick soon followed for 81 as the home team crumbled again to be out for 266, a lead of 192.
The Queensland openers again bettered Mashonaland's, this time starting with 28 before Matthie clipped Gibbs' off bail, much to the crowds appreciation. With tea approaching, the batsmen were focused purely on preservation, but that didn't stop Joshi from having Sathish and Jones both caught for under 10, leaving Queensland 3 down with 131 to get. Brad Matthie had opener Bundela out for 38 just after the final session of the day began; 4 down, 111 to get. The next partnership between Paynter and Cullinan almost won Queensland the game, with the two adding 89 in what was sometimes a painfully slow display of batting. But it seemed to work for the visitors; at 4/170, the game seemed over, with Queensland needing only 22 with six wickets in hand. The crowd had already begun to filter out of the stadium, and again it was up to Joshi to break the partnership. A fizzing legbreak from the young spinner saw Paynter get a leading edge which ballooned back to the bowler. After 95 balls, Paynter was out for 28; 5 down, 22 runs left. In what proved to be a stroke of luck for the captain Lewis, he then called on Brad Matthie to bowl the next over, which saw Cullinan trapped in front for a gritty captain's innings of 69; 6 down, 22 runs left. With the fielders in for the kill, with only bowlers to come, the umpires offered light which the batsmen gratefully accepted.
Play began on the final day with only 8 runs needed for a Queensland victory, and four wickets still in hand, with first innings hero Bassano at the crease. A dramatic short passage of play was to follow. First Bassano was out, going for a wild swing off Matthie with no runs added to the score; 8 runs left, 3 wickets in hand. In the very next over, express bowler Danny Prasad had Hazare out for four with no runs added. Still 8 runs left, only 2 wickets in hand. Tino Best then managed a single, which brought Warasconi on strike, who was then caught in the six-man wide slip cordon off Prasad for a four ball duck. The crowd was going delirious as Queensland needed 7 for victory with only one wicket in hand. Best scraped another single, this time off Matthie, which left Masood to face Matthie, who served up an incredible swinging delivery which just clipped Masood's gloves and carried straight to Gibbs' chest in the slip cordon, giving Matthie five and Mashonaland an unlikely victory.
In the post match conference, manager Andy Cameron was evidently relieved.
"That was one of the most tense matches I've ever seen. Right from the start we had our backs against the walls, but the boys managed to pull through. Our bowlers were amazing, Joshi with ten and Matthie with his five in the last innings. The batsmen still need to brush off some of their offseason dust though, but I feel confident that they should be able to recover. All in all, a lucky win for us considering everything. Full credit to the Queensland boys who had us worried till the very end. We obviously underestimated them, and they showed that they're a class team who are really tough to beat."
Mashonaland fans took to the streets after the game to celebrate the game
Mashonaland 172
Roll 36 (77), Straw 24 (35), Mullick 24 (50)
Best 5/47 (20), Hazare 3/40 (13)
Queensland 246
Paynter 61* (192), Bassano 60 (68), Cullinan 27 (44)
Joshi 7/80 (25), Straw 2/49 (14)
Mashonaland 266
Straw 88 (130), Mullick 81 (161), Gavaskar 27 (43)
Masood 4/62 (22), Hazare 3/76 (19.5)
Queensland 187
Cullinan 69 (146), Bundela 38 (88), Paynter 28 (95)
Matthie 5/44 (18.5), Joshi 3/56 (24)