Bulawayo cricket sides aim higher

THE three Bulawayo teams competing in this year’s edition of the country’s elite club cricket competition, the National Premier League (NPL) are confident of securing a top eight finish.

There are 14 teams in the league.

The three teams representing Bulawayo are Amakhosi Cricket Club, Queens Cricket Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC) and all have a similar goal which is to finish higher in the rankings.

In interviews with Zimpapers Sports Hub, the coaches stressed the importance of upping their game.

BAC have been the most successful of the three teams, winning two matches out of their five games and their coach, Flemming Nkomo said finishing higher than what they did last season will be good for the club.

He said his wish was that the other two teams, Queens and Amakhosi make it to the top eight which will be good for the province. A top eight finish would guarantee them a spot in the T20 edition of the NPL.

“We want to finish higher than last year. We have won two out of five matches and right now we are trying to pick ourselves up. Our target now is to win all our remaining games if not 90 percent and we have had experienced players like Tafara Mupariwa assisting the boys.

“A higher finish will be crucial not only to us but to the province as well. It would be nice to have all our teams as a province make it to the top,” said Nkomo.

His counterpart at Queens, Stanslaus Rukato shared similar sentiments, adding that it has, so far, been a good experience for the youngsters and also a top eight finish would prove that they are as good as the other teams.

“The most important thing is about grooming young players and give them the opportunity and exposure at the highest level. A top eight finish would be a big bonus, it will show that we are not far off,” said Rukato.

After winning their first game of the season this past week, Amakhosi coach, Thabo Mboyi said they will be taking it one step at a time but hopes they continue from where they left and keep up the momentum.

Prior to their 148 runs win over Golden Bulls, Amakhosi were the only team from Bulawayo who had not registered a win after four matches.

“It’s always a good feeling to win and we hope that we will continue with the same performance levels and keep up the momentum.

“The guys are happy, the mood in camp is great and now all that we have to do is put in the hard work and continue with where we left.

“For now, we just want to take it one step at a time.

“If we reach the top eight then we would have done a good job,” said Mboyi.
After the completion of five matches, BAC, Queens and Amakhosi are in positions nine, 10 and 11 respectively on the log standings. BAC has 20 points while Queens and Amakhosi are on 10 points each and are separated by net run rate. — @brandon_malvin