dyton mupawaenda
Sport Reporter
English Cricket County side, Durham County Cricket Club arrived in the country yesterday for its pre-season tour.
The county cricket side made its maiden trip to Zimbabwe last year before going on to have a successful season in the Vitality T20 league.
As part of their pre-season tour, the English County side has returned to the country for another dance.
Durham Director of Cricket, Marcus North, expressed his side’s delight in touring Zimbabwe in an interview with the club’s website.
“We are extremely excited to be returning to Zimbabwe for our pre-season tour after receiving an invitation from Zimbabwe Cricket.
“Having returned last year, it was a great experience for the lads, which set us up perfectly for our successful 2023 sea-son,” said North.
During their upcoming tour to Zimbabwe, Durham County Cricket Club is set to play both the white and red-ball cricket.
North believes the county side will benefit from the pre-season tour.
“Our players and staff will gain valuable experience along with match preparation against quality opposition leading into our summer.
“As our successful winter training is coming to a close this tour will provide fantastic preparation for the lads,” he said.
Durham Cricket County Club will play two three-day warm-up fixtures before participating in the upcoming T20 domes-tic season league.
North feels Durham’s participation in the Zimbabwe T20 domestic season league will be key in his charges preparation for the upcoming Vitality Blast T20.
“The opportunity to feature in Zimbabwe’s domestic tournament is also really exciting, this will provide the whole squad with some good quality Vitality Blast T20 match practice which we wouldn’t be able to replicate back in Durham,” said Norton.
Durham is one of the two county sides expected to be hosted by Zimbabwe in their pre-season tour and North is happy with the relationship that is being built by the two parties.
“We have built up a strong relationship with Cricket Zimbabwe and this trip enables us to further work alongside an international governing body, we are very thankful to Cricket Zimbabwe for their support on this tour,” said North.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter