adminRicky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
THE inaugural Dumisani Mankunzini Cricket Initiative (DMCI) Under-14 tournament scheduled for this weekend at Milton High School has been pushed back by a week and will now be held at Christian Brothers College (CBC).
The competition, a brainchild of Mankunzini, a former Matabeleland Tuskers and national Under-19 leg spin bowler, will now run from March 18-19.
Twelve schools, Milton, Hamilton, Petra, Founders, Goldridge, Churchill, Kyle College, Prince Edward, Jameson, Mutare Boys High, Marondera High and CBC will feature in the tournament.
Mankunzini, founder of the DMCI that holds annual tournaments for primary schools at Baines Junior, came up with the Under-14s concept to monitor development of junior cricketers from primary to secondary level.
Some cricketers that took part in previous DMCI primary school editions who are expected to compete at the CBC tournament are Takudzwa Takarusenga, who is at Milton High and the Prince Edward duo of Tendai Takavengwa and Butshilo Ncube.
“What we’re doing as DMCI is to play a part in developing cricket and complement efforts by Zimbabwe Cricket to identify and nurture talent. This is our first tournament for high school kids and it came about after realising that there are lots of competitions for Under-19s, but none for Under-14s, who are basically Form Ones,” said Mankunzini.
“We’ve been holding our Baines Junior Winter Cricket Festival for the past four years and we thought of moving a step further and follow some of the players that are now in secondary school who played in our primary schools’ tournament.”
The tournament winners will get a trophy, $500 and a kit donated by Intercape.
Online Reporter