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Brandon Moyo
THE dream to represent Zimbabwe at a World Cup has come to a heart-wrenching end for budding talent Shaun Dzakatira who has returned home from South Africa after suffering an injury.
The young Bulawayo-based bowler was part of the Zimbabwe Under-19 team that will be competing at the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Under-19 World Cup, however, his road has come to an agonising end a few days before the start of the global showpiece.
Dzakatira is said to have suffered a back injury that will rule him out of the game for six weeks, during which he will be undergoing rehabilitation and treatment. The youngster has since been replaced by Ryan Simbi.
“Unfortunately Shaun Dzakatira had to go back home after sustaining a back injury. He complained of back pain and we had some MRI scans done. They confirmed a ligament injury on his back, he had pain radiating down his right leg.
“Given the level of cricket which we are playing now, he wouldn’t be able to participate so we have sent him back home and given him a programme which he is going to follow. We expect him to be on the cricket field within six weeks of rehab and treatment. Ryan Simbi has replaced Shaun Dzakatira, we wish him the best during this tour,” explained Zimbabwe Cricket Under-19s Physio Anesu Mupotaringa.
Dzakatira was one of the three boys from Bulawayo who made the national Under-19 team for the global showpiece alongside Munashe Chimusoro and Nathaniel Hlabangana.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Under-19s got their World Cup preparations up and running with a morale-boosting 27-runs (D/L Method) win over Ireland in their first official warm-up game on Sunday afternoon.
Ireland, batting first, were restricted to 217 /9 in 50 overs before rain stopped play with Zimbabwe on 167 /3 in 38 overs, 27 runs ahead on the Duckworth Lewis.
Zimbabwe skipper, Matthew Schonken led from the front with the ball as he finished with figures of 3/ 36 in his nine-over spell while Simbi also managed to put up a good performance in his first match, taking two wickets for 38 runs in 10 overs. Ireland’s highest scorer being Harry Dyer at number eight, with 44 not out.
In their chase, Zimbabwe were given a fine start by Ryan Kamwemba (52 runs off 73 balls) and Panashe Taruvinga (27 runs off 64 balls), who put on 91 for the first wicket. There was a stutter to the innings, as three wickets then went down for three runs, but Campbell MacMillan and Ronak Patel stood in the gap and took charge with a good partnership for the fourth wicket.
They added 73 together without being parted, MacMillan scoring 49 off 48 balls and Patel 21 runs off 36 deliveries, putting Zimbabwe well on course for victory. Rain intervened and put an end to the match, but Zimbabwe were easy victors by 27 runs on Duckworth-Lewis.
Zimbabwe’s next warm-up match is against the United States of America (USA) today. The Young Chevrons are in Group C of the World Cup which gets underway on Friday.
Zimbabwe’s opponents in Group C are Australia, Sri Lanka and Namibia. They will open their campaign on January 21 against Sri Lanka at the Kimberley Oval in the Northern Cape city of Kimberley before going on to take on Australia on January 25.
Their last group match will be against Namibia on January 27 at the same venue.
Five-time winners of the coveted silverware and defending champions India are placed in Group A with Bangladesh, Ireland, and the United States of America as they attempt to claim a record sixth Under-19 title.
Group B consists of South Africa, England, West Indies and Scotland, while Group D is made up of Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal.
The top three sides from each group progress to the Super Six phase of the event ahead of the semi-finals and final in Benoni.
Online Reporter