da bet7： On the face of it, this match between the Zimbabwe Board XI and Gauteng B atKwekwe Sports Club should have been no contest
John Ward11-Jan-2002On the face of it, this match between the Zimbabwe Board XI and Gauteng B atKwekwe Sports Club should have been no contest. The home side contained sixplayers with over 100 Test match appearances between them, while Gauteng hadonly three players with any first-class experience behind them. But, whereZimbabwean teams are concerned, nothing can be taken for granted, and by theclose Gauteng had taken one Zimbabwean wicket for 53 after totalling anunexpected 355 with the bat.Gauteng are suffering the leanest period of their more than 100-yearhistory, and their deliberate policy is to rebuild with young players. Mostof the Zimbabweans, on the other hand, are on the verge of the Test team andeager to force their way in, or back.Rain is always a serious threat in Zimbabwe in January, but the country isexperiencing what is probably a brief dryish spell. The match began in hotweather under light cloudy skies that gradually cleared during the day. Thepitch looked good for batting, but was likely to live up to its reputationof taking spin from the first day.Jon Buxton-Forman won the toss for Gauteng B and was very happy to batfirst. Zimbabwe began with an attacking field, including four slips and agully, and the inexperienced Gauteng openers struggled to withstand the paceof Brighton Watambwa and Campbell Macmillan, backed up by an unnecessaryamount of `encouragement’ from the fielders. William Motaung made most ofthe early running with the bat, while Street was initially content to holdup an end.In keeping with the reputation of the pitch for taking spin, Raymond Pricecame on to bowl the ninth over of the match and immediately beat the bat.In his second over he had Motaung (18) caught at slip and Gauteng B were 27for one. Street showed a bit more aggression against the spinners, asoff-spinners Barney Rogers, then Richie Sims, bowled in tandem with Price.The small left-handed 17-year-old Sandile Masingemi (29) also played somegood strokes, but it was an absorbing struggle before being caught in thegully off Guy Whittall.Undisciplined Zimbabwe bowling after lunch handed the initiative to theGauteng batsmen. Regular full tosses, long hops and considerable widthallowed Street and Buxton-Forman to hit easy runs at will and forge anotable partnership with impunity. They added 92 together beforeBuxton-Forman, bogged down in the forties, pushed Whittall to silly mid-offto be dismissed for 46; 186 for three.The bowling tightened up a little without becoming threatening, and the16-year-old Vaughan van Jaarsveld was able to settle in without difficulty.He scored 15 before he unwisely called Street for a third run that wouldhave brought up the latter’s century, and narrowly failed to make hisground. Street’s century came in the following over, off his 228th ball.It was his first in any kind of adult inter-provincial cricket;unfortunately it will not go into the first-class records, despite the factthat five of Zimbabwe’s bowlers have Test match experience, even if not allof them bowled like it.He finally fell for 148, driving a return catch back to Mluleki Nkala, whothen yorked Andrew Locke first ball; Gauteng were now 287 for six. Fourballs later he bagged Mathew Harris (24), skying a hook, leaving one towonder why he did not bowl until after tea. The lower order did littleexcept for South Africa Under-19 player Gerard de Bruin, who hit a lustyunbeaten 29 before the compulsory declaration after 100 overs at 355 fornine. Nkala took three for 31, while Price’s three for 167 came off 38overs.Alistair Campbell and Mark Vermeulen showed their class more readily thantheir bowlers had done, with some effortless fours in the opening overs,until Vermeulen was reluctantly required to depart the crease, given outcontroversially caught at first slip off Shane Burger for 31; 49 for one.At the close Campbell had 17 and night-watchman Price 1, out of 53 for one.