Logan Cup
 |
|
| Countries |
 Zimbabwe
|
|---|---|
| Format | first-class |
| First tournament | 1903–04 First-class since 1993–94 |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Current champion | Mashonaland Eagles |
| Most successful | Mashonaland (9 titles) |
The Logan Cup is the premier domestic first-class cricket competition in Zimbabwe. The current champions are the Mashonaland Eagles.
The first recorded cricket match in what was known at the time as Rhodesia was played in August 1890 near Fort Victoria. Within the next ten years, matches were played with more regularity and the most significant match was competed between Salisbury and Bulawayo. The standard of cricket improved when Rhodesia entered a team into the South African Currie Cup, and in 1903 James Douglas Logan presented Rhodesia's cricket teams with a cup to compete for, which was named the Logan Cup after him.
The competition became first-class along with Zimbabwe's elevation to Test status in 1992, and the first competition to hold first-class status was the 1993–94 Logan Cup, won by Mashonaland Under-24s. Mashonaland, essentially a representative Harare side has historically been the strongest team in the country since the late 1960s, and between 1993 and 2005 they won the tournament nine times out of twelve. The competition was not played in the 2005–06 season, due to "internal strife", both within Zimbabwean cricket, and the political set-up of the country. Upon the competition's return in 2006–07 it was relaunched with teams representing new areas, rather than the traditional provinces. Kenya were also invited to compete in the competition during 2006–07, but finished last despite showing promise.
The competition was again relaunched for the 2009–10 season, with five franchises: Mashonaland Eagles, Matabeleland Tuskers, Mid West Rhinos, Mountaineers and Southern Rocks. After the 2013-14 season Southern Rocks, consistently the weakest of the five teams, had their franchise suspended, leaving four teams to compete from 2014–15 onwards.
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