adminSports Reporter
ORGANISERS of the annual Baines Junior Dumisani Mankunzini Winter Cricket Festival have intensified preparations for tournament by holding coaching clinics at some schools that will compete at the event later this month.
Twenty primary schools from Bulawayo and three guest teams will compete at the fifth edition of the festival set for July 29-30.
Organiser of the tournament, former leg spinner Dumisani Mankunzini and his team held a coaching clinic at Waterford Primary yesterday.
“We’re rounding up our preparations here at Waterford as we want them to be well prepared when they come for the tournament. This will be the first time that Waterford participates at our Winter Cricket Festival. We started training them on Monday and we’re rounding up today,” said Mankunzini.
Last week they held coaching clinics at Njube’s Helemu and Mpopoma’s Lukhanyiso and Nkulumane Primary Schools.
Mankunzini said they will also hold similar clinics at Baines Junior, Imgiqika, Gampu and Emakhandeni.
He believes local schools will be able to match competition from guest teams that will participate at the tournament. Cubs Cricket Academy from Botswana and South Africa’s Alberton Cricket Club and Durban Cricket Agency are the guest teams.
With defending champions Milton Junior out of this year’s edition, Mtshingwe and Baines Junior are favourites to land the title.
Milton won the tournament twice in 2013 and last year. Other previous winners of the competition are Baines Junior, who won the inaugural edition in 2012, and Mtshingwe Primary of Emakhandeni.
Baines Junior, Mtshingwe, Gampu, Greenfield, Imgiqika, Hillside Junior, Lukhanyiso and Emakhandeni Primary are among schools that have registered for the tournament.
derick.khumalo