Logan Cup
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The Logan Cup is the premier domestic first-class cricket competition in Zimbabwe. It has been contested on a provincial basis since the 1903-04 season, when the country was still called Rhodesia, but has only attained first-class status since Zimbabwe became a full member of the ICC in 1992.
Prior to the 2006-07 season, the contesting teams were Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Masvingo, Midlands and Manicaland. Mashonaland, generally had the most success due to its location, which includes the capital Harare. As a result, the team has had the choice of the largest pool of players.
In 2007, the Logan Cup format was revamped and now includes the following teams, each from their respective geographical locations: Northerns, Southerns, Centrals, Westerns, Easterns and Kenya Select.
For the first time, the Logan Cup has included a foreign team. Kenya Select, which is essentially a Kenya "A" team, consists of many emerging players (Maurice Ouma, Hiren Varaiya etc) as well as several experienced players (Collins Obuya, Tony Suji etc).
Expected to perform well in the Logan Cup debut against an inexperienced Westerns outfit, they didn't live up to expectations. The match was largely won due to the inclusion of current international players Sean Williams, Christopher Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa and former international Charles Coventry, who hasn't represented Zimbabwe since May 2006.
The provinces are spread between the new teams, in the following way:
- Northerns: Harare Met. & Mashonaland Central
- Southerns: Masvingo & Matabeleland South
- Centrals: Midlands & Mashonaland West
- Westerns: Bulawayo Met. & Matabeleland North
- Easterns: Manicaland & Mashonaland East
While Westerns led the competition for the first two rounds, Easterns went on to win the 2006-07 tournament.
[edit] References
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack (annual)