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Don Makanyanga
Sports Reporter
“EVERY time your heart is broken, a doorway cracks open to a world full of new beginnings, new opportunities.”
This quote from famed author Patti Roberts rings true when one looks at the career path of Zimbabwe Under-19 batting maestro, Beloved Biza.
Biza is in the form of her life and fresh from scoring four half-centuries for the Zimbabwe Under-19 team during their series whitewash (6-0) victory over Namibia last weekend.
Earlier in the month, she was named in the team of the tournament at the Kwibuka T20 Tournament during the Lady Chevrons trip to Rwanda for the Kwibuka T20 contest, where the senior women’s team finished runners-up behind eventual winners Uganda.
While she is predominantly a top-order batter, the 15-year-old aspires to be known as an all-rounder and has the world at her feet.
However, it has not always been like that.
After suffering a heartbreak due to failure to represent the country at the inaugural U-19 ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa last year, Biza was left a shattered mess.
She looked poised to making a debut at the first edition of the tournament, but suffered an eleventh-hour heartbreak as she fell short of the cut-off age to represent the country at the global showcase.
At that time, she was 13 and the cut-off age was 15.
“After being told that I was too young to represent the country, I was hurt,” she said. “But after some serious thought, I said to myself I am just 13 and there is a lot of time ahead for me to play at the tournament.
“I will always be up for another chance. It was only after that that I decided to work harder.”
Despite the heartbreak, Biza has continued to scale the ladder as she made her international debut for the Zimbabwe senior women’s cricket team earlier this year.
Described as a bright prospect for Zimbabwe after showing some glimpses of class at the Kwibuka T20 Tournament and recently in the just-ended World Cup warm-up series against Namibia, Biza is dreaming big.
“I am yet to achieve all my dreams and I want to go as far as I can in cricket,” she said.
“My dream is to play more games for the national team and also to play for an international club.”
Biza started off as a soccer player at St Aidans Primary School in Chitungwiza before switching to cricket after she was dragged to the field by her friends.
“I used to play soccer, yes,” she said.
“It was during those days when we did not train that I was dragged by friends to go for cricket training sessions.
“At first, I would sit and watch them play until one day, when I was asked to join. Since then, I have never looked back.”
Her appetite for the sport grew in leaps and bounds when Zimbabwe Under-19 skipper Kelis Ndlovhu returned from international duty.
“I remember this day when Kelis returned from national duty; just watching her and how she was being treated at school, I said to myself I want to be like her,” she said.
With few girls interested in the sport at the school, Biza saw herself playing more with the boys, something she feels has shaped her into being a resilient player.
With her only option of playing in the team being good with the bat, Biza worked on her batting, shaping her into the person she is today.
“After I fell in love with the sport, I played mostly with boys as the coach wanted people who batted,” she said.
“I said to myself, if I am to cement my place in the team, I need to work on my batting. That is how I fell in love with the bat and I have never looked back.”
Biza credits Ndhlovu for being the big sister who has helped shape her career.
Now, true to her self-affirmation, Biza looks poised to finally grace the ICC Under-19 World Cup in six months, when Zimbabwe participates at the second edition of the global showcase.
“I am looking forward to getting selected for the team that will participate at the World Cup and I am ready to do my best,” she said.
Online Reporter