adminTHE Zim Afro T10 cricket tournament came to a fitting end on Saturday with superstar musician Jah Prayzah bringing the curtain down with a vintage performance.
After 10 days of intense competition on the field, including three games on a day, and music off it, the inaugural Zim Afro T10 was a huge success.
Many people were not sure if this would work out and it’s easy to understand because it’s a format that we had never seen being played in this country.
We are used to the fireworks of T20 cricket, the short format of the gentleman’s game, which has taken the world by storm.
The multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League, in particular, has been such a massive global hit, bringing together some of the best players in the world for a rumble in the Asian powerhouse.
The organisers of the T10 tournament promised us a short and explosive version, which we would all fall in love with, and they were not wrong.
Every game was very explosive and as the days went by, many fans began to warm up to this version of the game and by the final day, on Saturday, it became clear that many had been converted.
But, this was clearly more than just a sporting event.
This was something bigger than just sport because it gave this country another chance to show the world that it doesn’t only have the capacity to host such big events but we can provide a safe environment for them.
A few weeks ago, we had many countries, including the Americans, the Scots and the Irish, battling to qualify for the next ICC Cricket World Cup.
The massive event, held in both Harare and Bulawayo, was a success and passed without any incident.
In years gone by, the presence of the Scottish and Irish teams here would have triggered a storm in the political corridors of those countries.
Sport had been hijacked by some politicians in those countries and was now being used as a secret weapon to fight certain causes.
The madness started when England boycotted their World Cup match here in 2003 claiming that the security of their players could not be guaranteed.
Now, all that has changed and earlier this year it was revealed that the England and Wales Cricket Board were considering reviving bilateral tours between the Zimbabwe and England national teams.
We could be seeing the Chevrons touring England as early as next year and we could see the England national team coming here for a Test and ODI series.
After all, it’s now acceptable that an England World Cup winning captain, Eoin Morgan, can come and play in a tournament in Zimbabwe, as was the case with the Zim Afro T10 tournament, without any fuss or concern.
For our country, this is huge because it tells us the progress that we have made on that front.
We have clearly been branding our nation, bit by bit, and sport is playing a huge part in all that.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter