Zimbabwe will finish their one-off Test against South Africa without Brian Bennett after the opener failed a post-impact assessment for mild concussion on the second morning in Bulawayo. Thirty-six-year-old Prince Masvaure has been drafted in under the concussion-substitute regulation and will take Bennett’s place for the remainder of the match.
South Africa had declared overnight on 418 for 9, leaving Zimbabwe’s top order an awkward half-hour to negotiate. It proved costly. Takudzwanashe Kaitano nicked off in the third over, Nick Welch followed two balls later, and then Bennett, who had moved briskly to 19 from 25 deliveries, took a blow to the helmet while trying to pull a Kwena Maphaka bouncer in the sixth over. The ball brushed the top edge before thudding into the grille.
Initial on-field checks suggested Bennett was fit to continue. He even faced three more balls from debutant quick Codi Yusuf – already on a mini roll after removing Kaitano and Welch – yet the opener’s discomfort soon became obvious. He walked off in the eighth over, leaving Zimbabwe 30 for 2 and short of their in-form run-maker.
The timing is cruel. Bennett arrived in this series fresh from a punchy 139 against England in Nottingham and had strung together three successive fifty-plus scores. His absence removes the one Zimbabwean batter currently playing with genuine tempo and confidence.
Masvaure, by contrast, last played Test cricket in Belfast eleven months ago, making a tidy 50 in the first innings. Domestically he remains reliable: 165 runs at 41.25 in this season’s Logan Cup, including an unbeaten 50, underline that point. What he lacks in flair he tends to make up for with time at the crease, and Zimbabwe will gladly take that after a shaky start.
The concussion-sub rule allows Masvaure to bat in Bennett’s slot and field anywhere except as wicketkeeper. Whether the left-hander can steady Zimbabwe against a lively South African attack is another matter, but for a side already trailing by a sizeable first-innings total, simply getting through the day intact feels like the immediate goal.
