 | |
| Personnel | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Donald Tiripano |
| Coach |  Njabulo Ncube |
| Team information | |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Home ground | Mutare Sports Club, Mutare |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| History | |
| First-class debut | Mashonaland Eagles in 2009-10 at Harare Sports Club |
The Mountaineers is one of five cricket Zimbabwean cricket franchises. They are a first-class cricket team, based in the Manicaland and Mashonaland East area. They play their home matches at Mutare Sports Club in Mutare. [1]
Following the decline of the standards of cricket in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Cricket decided to use a new set of teams for all the first-class, List A and Twenty20 formats of the domestic game. A total of 5 franchises were named, and the Mountaineers team was based in Manicaland. [2]
On their debut in this tournament, Mountaineers finished in third place in the group, with three wins from twelve games. [3] Their debut first-class match against Mashonaland Eagles was a draw, thanks mainly to captain Hamilton Masakadza's century. [4] Their first first-class win was against Southern Rocks, whom they crushed by eight wickets. [5] For their third-place finish, Mountaineers could not contest the final.
The Mountaineers had a brilliant tournament, winning the championship by defeating Mid West Rhinos in the final by three wickets. They underlined their dominance in the tournament, by finishing top of the pool with 6 wins from 8 games. [6] In the semi-final, they thrashed the Southern Rocks by seven wickets to enter the final. Players who starred for Mountaineers in that match included Hamilton Masakadza (44*), Tino Mawoyo (40), Stuart Matsikenyeri (36), and Shingirai Masakadza (3-20). [7] In the final against the Rhinos, Mountaineers restricted the opposition to a lowly first-innings score of 144, with captain Prosper Utseya taking 3-24. In return, Mountaineers themselves slipped down to 66-7, before a brilliant fightback by Shingirai Masakadza (41*) and Prosper Utseya (30*) in an unbeaten partnership and the winning runs were scored in style by Masakadza with a lofted six off Malcolm Waller. Rhinos captain Vusi Sibanda had tried nine bowlers, but nothing could break the partnership. [8]
Despite the fact, that the Mountaineers emerged victorious in this tournament, they were pretty shaky in the group stage. They had 3 wins from 5 games, while counterparts Mashonaland Eagles (the group-toppers), had a better record than them, with 4 wins from 5 games. [9] The Eagles were more dominant, as was proved by the 82-run downing given to them by Eagles bowler Ray Price who took figures of 5 for 12 off just 17 deliveries and took his 5th wicket as Natsai Mushangwe was stumped and the match ended. [10] Mountaineers got better in the final, and put the aforementioned disaster behind them to score a massive nine-wicket win and upset, with the victory mostly possible due to Hamilton Masakadza (64*) and Tatenda Taibu (37*). [11]
When the country was debuting in the 2009-10 Logan Cup, the team consisted of Zimbabwean international and domestic players. Key players at that time included Hamilton Masakadza (Captain), Timycen Maruma, Johnson Marumisa, Shingirai Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tino Mawoyo, Natsai Mushangwe, Njabulo Ncube (who later went on to join his home province Matabeleland Tuskers), Tatenda Taibu (who later on joined Southern Rocks), and Prosper Utseya. [12]
The Mountaineers made their first major overseas signing when they signed up South African all-rounder Greg Smith. [13]
The following season, there were many improvements in the squads. Former South African great fast bowler Allan Donald was named as the franchise's head coach, [14] while players like South Africa's Jonathan Beukes, Sean Ervine, [15] and more prominently, former South African great all-rounder Lance Klusener, who playing in 171 ODIs, had an average of 41.10 at an impressive strike-rate of 89.91, [16] Other signings include Liam Dawson, who scored, aged 21, scored 908 runs for Hampshire County Cricket Club, in the County Championship, and is supposed to have a long time contract with Mountaineers. [17]
For the 2011-12 season, Mountaineers signed overseas players such as Australian star fast bowler, Dirk Nannes, former Black Caps all-rounder Chris Harris, English wicket-keeper Phil Mustard, and Ned Eckersley. [18] Apart from that, former Zimbabwean seamer Gary Brent replaced Donald as coach. [19]
Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| No. | Name | Nat | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| 3 | Timycen Maruma | | 19 April 1988 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break googly | |
| Innocent Kaia | | 10 July 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | ||
| Kevin Kasuza | | 20 June 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| 12 | Tino Mawoyo | | 8 January 1986 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | |
| 10 | Hamilton Masakadza | | 9 August 1983 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Tinashe Chimbambo | | 8 February 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ||
| All-rounder | ||||||
| Roy Kaia | | 10 October 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| Forster Mutizwa | | 24 July 1985 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Tafadzwa Tsiga | | 13 July 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ||
| Richmond Mutumbami | | 11 June 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm offbreak | ||
| Joylord Gumbie | | 25 December 1995 | Right-handed | |||
| Spin Bowlers | ||||||
| Wellington Masakadza | | 4 October 1993 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | ||
| 13 | Natsai M'shangwe | | 9 February 1991 | Right-handed | Leg break | |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||||
| 15 | Donald Tiripano | | 17 March 1988 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Captain |
| 11 | Shingirai Masakadza | | 4 September 1986 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | |
| Victor Nyauchi | | 8 June 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ||
| William Mashinge | | 6 October 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ||
| 2 | Tendai Chatara | | 28 February 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
Source: ESPNCricinfo [20] [21]
Champion
Prosper Utseya is a retired Zimbabwean cricketer, who plays all formats of the game. He was the former captain of Zimbabwe from 2006 to 2010. He bowls right-arm off break and is a useful right-hand batsman. Utseya has not played any form of cricket since 2015.
Regis Wiriranai Chakabva is a Zimbabwean cricketer and vice-captain of the team in all formats of the game. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batter. He played through school-level cricket and started making his mark as a good batter with sound wicket-keeping abilities. He got picked to play for Zimbabwe.
The Southern Rocks is one of five Zimbabwean cricket franchises. They are a first-class cricket team, based in the Masvingo and Matabeleland South area. They play their home matches at Masvingo Sports Club in Masvingo. The team initially ceased to play after the 2013–14 season. In their 47 first-class matches they won 3, lost 27, and drew 17. However, in December 2020, Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed they would be one of the teams playing in the 2020–21 Logan Cup Southern Rocks won their first Logan Cup trophy in the same 2020–21 season.
Shingirai Winston Masakadza is a cricketer and former professional footballer from Zimbabwe. The brother of former Zimbabwe cricket captain Hamilton Masakadza, he is a pace bowler and middle-order batsmen. After making his first class debut for Easterns in 2008, he was called up to the Zimbabwe squad to face the West Indies in the Caribbean in February 2010. Before becoming a full-time cricketer, Massakadza played football for Dynamos, one of Zimbabwe's most popular clubs.
The Mashonaland Eagles is one of five cricket Zimbabwean cricket franchises. They are based in the Harare Metropolitan and Mashonaland Central area and play both first-class and limited overs cricket. They play their home matches at Harare Sports Club in Harare.
The 2009–10 Stanbic Bank 20 Series was a Twenty20 cricket competition held in Zimbabwe from 12–20 February 2010. It was won by the Mountaineers, who defeated the Mashonaland Eagles in the final by nine wickets.
The 2009–10 Logan Cup was a first-class cricket competition held in Zimbabwe from 14 September 2009 – 3 April 2010. It was won by the Mashonaland Eagles, who won due to finishing top of the table during the league stage of the competition, after drawing the final against the Mid West Rhinos.
The 2009–10 Zimbabwean cricket season consists of international matches played by the Zimbabwe national cricket team as well as Zimbabwean domestic cricket matches under the auspices of Zimbabwe Cricket.
The 2010–11 Logan Cup was a first-class cricket competition held in Zimbabwe from 6 September 2010 to 3 April 2011. The tournament was won by the Matabeleland Tuskers, who defeated the Mountaineers by 18 runs in the final.
Tendai Larry Chatara is an international cricketer who represents the Zimbabwe national cricket team. A tall, wiry fast bowler with appreciable pace and the ability to move the ball away from the right-hander, Chatara has risen quickly to prominence since his first-class debut for Mountaineers in 2009. Though he was not good academically in school, he is one of the most talented pace prospects of his country.
The 2011–12 Stanbic Bank 20 Series was a Twenty20 cricket competition held in Zimbabwe from 25 November – 4 December 2011. It was the third edition of the Stanbic Bank 20 Series, the premier Twenty20 cricket competition in Zimbabwe. It was won by Mountaineers who defeated Mashonaland Eagles by 27 runs in a thrilling final, in which they defended 142 and dismissed the Eagles for 115 mostly due to the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, Shingirai Masakadza. Mountaineers were particularly strong throughout the tournament, and played some high standard of cricket, that saw them first finish top of the group with 3 wins of 4 matches, then overhaul the heavily favored Matabeleland Tuskers in the 1st Semi at Harare. It was the same time that Mashonaland Eagles the eventual losing finalists, defeated the favored Mid West Rhinos by 53 runs coming from the brink of elimination to earn the playoff final berth against Matabeleland Tuskers. Southern Rocks had a forgettable tournament, finishing in last place in the group stage. In the playoff final, Eagles scored 207/7 mostly due to Essex and Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate's fiery 121* off 58 balls, and Tuskers were defeated by 23 runs despite a blowing half-century from the tournament's highest run-scorer Chris Gayle and another blazing one by Steven Trenchard.
Kevin Tatenda Kasuza is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is primarily a batsman and represented Zimbabwe at Under-19 level.
Tinotenda Confidence Mutombodzi is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He began his career as a leg-spin bowler, but now plays principally as a batsman. He made his One Day International debut against the West Indies in February 2013, and his T20 International debut in March 2013.
Wellington Pedzisai Masakadza is a Zimbabwean cricketer who has played first-class and limited overs matches for the Mountaineers and the Mashonaland Eagles. He made his One Day International debut for Zimbabwe against Ireland on 9 October 2015. He made his Twenty20 International debut for Zimbabwe against Afghanistan on 26 October 2015.
Peter Joseph Moor is a Zimbabwean cricketer, who now plays for Ireland. He plays as a wicket-keeper batsman and is a former vice-captain for the Zimbabwe cricket team. Moor holds an Irish passport, and since 2021, he played cricket in Ireland with an aim to qualify to play for the Ireland cricket team. In June 2022, Moor was selected in an Ireland Development XI to play a four-day game against Gloucestershire 2nd XI. On 4 April 2023, Moor made his international debut for Ireland.
Carl Mumba is a Zimbabwean cricketer who plays for Mid West Rhinos. He made his Test cricket debut for the Zimbabwe cricket team in October 2016.
Kudzai James Taibu is a former Zimbabwean cricketer who represented Mashonaland and Manicaland in Zimbabwean domestic cricket. He played as a right-handed top-order batsman and occasional wicket-keeper.
The Zimbabwean Domestic Twenty20, formerly known as the Stanbic Bank Twenty20 and the Metropolitan Bank Twenty20, is the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Zimbabwe. It was first played in 2006–07 and is organised by Zimbabwe Cricket.
The 2015–16 Logan Cup was a first-class cricket competition held in Zimbabwe from 25 November 2014 to 5 March 2015. The tournament was won by the Mashonaland Eagles, who claimed their second title.
The 2012–13 Pro50 Championship was the eleventh edition of the Pro50 Championship, a List A cricket tournament in Zimbabwe. The competition began on 6 October 2012 and the final was played on 19 January 2013.
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|---|---|
| First-class teams | |
| Former first-class teams | |
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