BPL - Update

 Believe it or not, this season’s IPL is the ninth iteration of the tournament…and it began with something of a damp squib as Chattogram got a mere 89-9 in the opening fixture. Sylhet then ‘chased’ that down with 45 balls left in the game. The most impressive performance in the inaugural game came from Rejaur Raja whose 4-14 lead us out for best bowling figures.

 

It is very hard to judge which team or player is doing well as one team, Sylhet, have played twice, whilst the other teams have played once. The fact that Sylhet have won both their games means that they lead the way in the league and have the highest run-scorer (Najmul Hossain Shanto – 91) and highest wicket taker (Rejaur Rahman -5).

 

With the bat the highest score is 67 – scored twice so far; once by Rony Talukdar in Rangpur’s win over Comilla and again today by Shakib Al Hasan in Barishal’s loss to Sylhet. Talukdar’s came a ball quicker than Shakib’s…..and he’s also not an arrogant idiot so I will give him the edge.

 

This tournament is a big’un – with games running until February 16^th. 

Kenya Quadrangular Women's T20 Series

 3 of the four teams that participated in this tournament left with something to hold their heads high about. Uganda and Kenya got to the final and Tanzania put up some great individual performances….Qatar lost all six games – only getting over 100 in their final game.

 

Uganda qualified for the final losing only a solitary game against Tanzania and were the strong favourites. This confidence only grew after they got Kenya out for a mere 80 runs. Evelyn Anyipo saving her best for last with a devasting spell of 3-12 – the fourth best score of the tournament. Uganda knocked off the total in 11.3 overs for the loss of 4 batters.

Despite not reaching the final, Tanzania ended the tournament with both the highest run scorer and best bowler. Fatuma Kibusu was the only batter to get a century – 101* off 62 balls versus Qatar, and finished with the most runs – 221 @36.83. Her team-mate Perice Kamunya’s 10 wickets @ 12 made her the best of the bowlers. 

Logan Cup Update

 

The match between second place Mountaineers and winless Southern Rocks was the one that caught the eye most this week – not least because of the continuing good form of Ben Compton.

 

Compton had already bagged the tournament’s highest score in the last round of matches – and then bettered it this time out. His 256 ball 217 was Compton’s first ever double ton. It couldn’t have come at a better time for his Mountaineers side after they had fallen 14 runs short in the first innings. This was in stark contrast to their second innings lead of 482 after they declared on 468-9. He will not grab the headlines as much, but Victor Nyauchi continues to be quietly impressive. He registered nine wickets across the two innings including a fivefer in the Southern Rocks capitulation this morning.

 

Ben Compton is, as you can imagine, the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 461 @ 76.83 whilst Mashonaland’s Tapiwa Mufudza leads the way for most wickets. He added 6 wickets in the innings victory against Matabeleland in the other game in this round. He now has 19 wickets @ 21.68.

 

Games continue on the 7^th of January. 

Kenya Quadrangular Women's T20 Series

  Kenya are in the middle of a quite extensive Quadrangular series between themselves, Uganda, Tanzania and Qatar. After 6 matches Uganda are the runaway leaders with 3 wins from 3 matches. Despite this they have not had any individual players dominate their matches instead that honour has gone to 2^nd place Kenya (2W and 1L) and 3^rd place Tanzania (1W and 2L),

Kenya are leading the way with the ball – most notably through Flavia Odhiambo who registered 4-22 in their win against Tanzania and has the overall most wickets with 6 from her 3 games.

 

Meanwhile it is Tanzania who are dominating with the bat. They beat Qatar yesterday by 77 runs scoring the tournament’s first three figure score. Their score of 175 comfortably beating the second highest score of the tournament – 98 , the reply to that monumental total. They have been supported by Fatuma Kibasu, whose score of 52 is the highest score of the tournament, and Saum Mtae, who scored 49 runs in that match and leads the way overall with 87 at an average of 29 across her three matches.

The tournament continues through until the 21^st of December. 

Logan Cup Update

 The pick of this week’s round of matches came from table-topping Mashonaland versus winless Mountaineers.

 

The Mashonaland bowlers started the game well and Tanaka Chivange was the most impressive of the crop as he scored the tournament’s fifth fiver – leaking 63 runs in the process. Chasing the Mountaineers 329 in the first innings, Craig Ervine was the difference as his 93 runs saw them take a first innings lead of 24 runs. Craig Ervine continues his great performances with the bat as the Mashonaland man now has 377 runs at an average of 125.66.

Last year’s breakout sensation, Ben Compton, then took the game by the scruff of the neck and bagged the tournament’s highest score. His 154 was instrumental to the Mountaineers second innings total of 345.

 

As is often the case in run heavy games, it meandered into a draw that keeps Mashonaland in top spot and lifts Mountaineers off the bottom.

 

In the other fixture, Matabeleland beat the Mid West Rhinos, thanks to Sean Williams who is having a great season with both bat and ball – it is however as a bowler that he is catching the eye the most. His 6 wickets in this match sees him on 17 wickets @ 14.41 – 3 more than second place who has played a game more than he has.

 

The final round before the Christmas break starts on Saturday. 

Abu Dhabi T10 League Round Up

 

In a tournament where it doesn’t really matter who wins, Deccan Gladiators beat New York Strikers in today’s final.

Eoin Morgan ended with the highest individual score for finalists New York. He bagged 87* off 35 balls against the Northern Warriors in their final group game. The final group game for Delhi Bulls also saw Mohammad Taimur get the tournament’s second four-fer against Chennai Braves.

 

Overall it was Nicholas Pooran who finished as the highest run scorer – as he has been throughout the tournament. He scored 345 across 10 games with a high score of 80. Dwaine Pretorious and Jordan Thompson both ended with 12 wickets but the Saffer had the better average at 13.08.

Logan Cup Update

 

The second round of the Logan Cup saw something for fans of both bat and ball.

 

Mashonaland registered a 9 wicket win in a game that looked like it was heading for a draw. The two first innings totals were substantial. First off Ryan Burl got 138 in Mid West Rhinos in a total of 455. This was then nearly matched by Craig Ervine who got 124 – and the total was surpassed for Mashonaland as they were all out for 581. It seemed unlikely to get a result until the Rhinos were all out for 190 meaning Mashonaland only needed to knock off 67 runs. The win sees them win back to back to games to kick off their campaign. Craig Ervine is the tournament’s top run scorer with 284 runs across the two games.

 

The other match was a more bowler friendly affair as Mashonaland kicked their campaign off with a win and handed the Southern Rocks back-to-back losses. There were 2 6-fers in the campaign. Sean Williams 6-47 was the most economical of the match and the most economical in the tournament, however Priviledge Chesa 6-66 when added to his 5-70 in the first innings sees him with 11 for the match and 13 for the tournament. He is the best bowler so far.

 

The next round of games starts on Saturday.