The Logan Cup is the premier domestic

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

competition in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. It is named after James Douglas Logan.

History

The first recorded cricket match in what was known at the time as

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...

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 between teams representing

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and

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

. In 1903, James Douglas Logan presented Rhodesia's cricket teams with a cup to compete for, which was named the Logan Cup after him. At first-class level, Rhodesia entered a team in the South African

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premi ...

in 1904–05, and then for most South African seasons from 1929–30 until 1978–79.

First-class

The Logan Cup became first-class along with

'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 Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

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.

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were also invited to compete in the competition during 2006–07, but finished last despite showing promise.

Franchise era

The competition was again relaunched for the 2009–10 season, with five franchises: Mashonaland Eagles,

Matabeleland Tuskers The Matabeleland Tuskers is one of five Zimbabwean cricket franchises. They are a first-class cricket team, based in the Bulawayo Metropolitan and Matabeleland North area. They play their home matches at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. They were ...

, Mid West Rhinos,

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and

Southern Rocks 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 ceas ...

. 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 to 2016–17. In 2017–18 a new academy-based team of young players, Rising Stars, brought the number of competing teams back to five. On 4 May 2020, Zimbabwe Cricket voided the 2019–20 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

with no winner being declared. The 2020–21 season saw the return of Rocks, who last played in the 2013–14 tournament. In March 2021, Rocks won their first ever Logan Cup title.

Champions

This table lists all the champions of the Logan Cup during the competition's first-class era.

History

First-class

Franchise era

Champions

References

See also