FIRST CRICKET MATCH IN MATABELELAND
1999/06/11
A researcher at the Archives in Harare has just
unearthed the scorecard of the first interracial cricket match
ever played in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.
The game was played at Bulawayo early in 1894 on the old Police
Ground, between a Colonial XI and the Matabele Cricket and Social
Club. The Ladies Entertainment Committe put on a delightful
spread of sadza garnished with cucumbers, mopani worms and
cottage cheese, and tea, gin and tonic, or rufaro, as
appropriate.
J Kumalo, captaining the Matabele, won the toss and elected to
bat first. Scores were as follows:
MATABELE XI
| Kumalo, P | Caught and bowled Smith, J | 4 |
| Kumalo, C | Stumped Smith, B | 9 |
| Kumalo,A | Bowled Smith, J | 17 |
| Kumalo, F | Hit wicket | 11 |
| Kumalo, Z | Bowled Smith, M | 0 |
| Kumalo, G | Not out | 287 |
| Kumalo, S | Caught Smith, M, bowled Smith, C | 2 |
| Kumalo, P | Stumped Smith, B | 1 |
| Kumalo, A | Run out (Smith, M) | 0 |
| Kumalo, F | Bowled Smith, C | 2 |
| Kumalo, Z | Not out | 3 |
| TOTAL | (9 wickets, declared) | 336 |
COLONIAL XI
| Smith,P | Stabbed, Kumalo, J | 0 |
| Smith, C | Bludgeoned with blunt instrument, Kumalo, X | 0 |
| Smith, B | Robbed, Kumalo, Y | 0 |
| Smith, M | Impaled, Kumalo, X | 0 |
| Smith, J | Clubbed, Kumalo, Y | 0 |
| Smith, A | Stabbed, Kumalo, J, Kumalo, G, and a number of unidentified spectators | 0 |
| Smith, J.C. | Decapitated, Kumalo, X | 0 |
| Smith, N | Mutilated, Kumalo, Y | 0 |
| Smith, O | Speared, Kumalo, G | 0 |
| Smith, Q | Beaten to death with cricket bat, Kumalo, G | 0 |
| Goldstein | Ran | 1 |
| TOTAL | (For 3 dead, 7 wounded and one missing) | 1 |
Result: Matabeleland won by 335 runs.
Man of the Match: Smith Q (Posthumous award).
After the match the players adjourned to the Clubhouse, except
for the Matabele side, who were taken into custody by the BSAP.
Godfrey Kumalo, for his excellent knock of 287, was unlucky not
to be made Man of the Match, but it was felt that the way he had
despatched Quentin Smith was just not cricket. Also, his score of
287 consisted of just one boundary. The remaining runs were
scored when he smashed the ball into the Matabele spectators
stand and it could not be recovered until Major Smith, BSAP,
brought the Gatling out from town. Meanwhile, Kumalo and his
partner ran 283 in singles.
Solomon Goldstein, for his top score of 1, was
also ruled ineligible as Man of the Match. He had struck a good
shot to extra cover, and could easily have run 3, but (perhaps
wisely) he did not turn around at the non-striker's end. He
simply kept on running, disappearing eventually into the trees
beyond the boundary, and hasn't been seen since.
It was generally agreed by the survivors that the Matabele were
the stronger team on the day. A full match report appeared in the
Chronicle on the day after the match, under the heading,
Bulawayo, Place of Slaughter.
It was a fine day, and spectators remarked that contests between
the Colonists and the Matabele could become a permanent feature
of Rhodesian society.
A suburb of Bulawayo is to be named after the Matabeleland
captain. However, it has been decided not to honour the English
captain in the same way, as the name "Smith" is
altogether too commonplace.