dyton mupawaenda
AT one stage in the last decade Zimbabwe’s position as a full member of the International Cricket Council was under severe threat with pressure being applied by some powerful forces to have them demoted.
However, there have been a number of positive developments in Zimbabwe’s cricket in recent years and there won’t be any such talk in the foreseeable future.
The standard of the game has improved a bit and cricket has become the number one family sport with recent Chevrons games attracting full houses at Harare Sports Club and Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
Actually, the qualifiers for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup finals held in Harare and Bulawayo in June had record crowds at Harare Sports Club where gates had to be closed for the big matches with authorities setting up fan parks at the nearby rugby field.
In July Zimbabwe successfully hosted the Zim Afro T10 league, the latest T10 tournament to be established by T Ten Global Sports, the same company behind the Abu Dhabi T10 in the United Arab Emirates and the Lanka 10 in Sri Lanka.
The Zimbabwe Cricket view was that the league would provide great entertainment for the fans, top-level competition for the players and vast exposure for investors.
“We are confident the Zim Afro T10 league will excite a global fan base, create massive mileage for its commercial partners and, more importantly, propel our cricket forward and lay a positive roadmap for how the game is perceived for future generations,” said ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani.
Prior to the tournament, Zimbabwe Cricket in collaboration with T10 Global Sports and Lahore Qalandars embarked on a ground-breaking initiative to discover and nurture emerging cricketing talent.
The inaugural player development program was aimed at identifying promising players, who have the potential to become future stars of the game.
It was a unique platform for aspiring cricketers in Zimbabwe to showcase their skills and compete for a chance to feature in inaugural Zim Afro T10 league.
This initiative would not have taken place had it not been for the Zim Afro T10 tournament and the direct involvement of foreign partners brought an international approach to talent identification with long term benefits to the local game.
So many times, especially when the Chevrons struggled, there are some quarters that have blamed lack of success of the national team to an over-reliance on Takashinga as a source of players. There is mischief in the claim but what it also reveals is that there seems to have been slow progress in identifying talent and developing the game outside of a Takashinga project that was launched and succeeded in taking the game to the marginalised.
Apart from helping in the talent identification process, the Zim Afro T10 League helped in another milestone for Zimbabwe Cricket as the country staged night matches for the first time ever.
Floodlights were used at Harare Sports Club after a 10-year wait. The benefits were soon to be enjoyed in domestic cricket as well with the just-ended T20 tournament’s knockout matches being played under lights.
However, Zimbabwe Cricket’s biggest challenge has been to spread the international game beyond Harare and Bulawayo as there have not been good facilities, especially to host full international matches in what are considered “minor provinces”.
It is therefore great news that Zimbabwe Cricket have set a target to build a 10 000-seater stadium in Victoria Falls with help from the International Cricket Council.
This is for purposes of Zimbabwe hosting the 2026 Under 19 Cricket World Cup and 2027 ICC World Cup tournaments and designs have already been made for a world class multi-purpose sports arena to be built at a cost of between US$5 million and US$10 million.
It was revealed this week that groundbreaking to mark the start of the grand project has been set for early December this year while currently the stakeholders are on the ground signing MoUs.
The massive project will be a game-changer in the country’s tourism, bringing a new segment of sports tourism that will attract the whole world to Victoria Falls.
Domestically, this project will help Zimbabwe Cricket spread the sport in Matabeleland North as part of their pledge to take cricket to all the country’s 10 provinces.
Victoria falls has always been a popular tourist resort but without any contribution from sport yet globally sports tourism has become an increasingly popular way for individuals to explore new destinations, experience different cultures, and engage in sports-related activities.
And ICC World Cup cricket fits the bill very well, especially now that a lot of work has been put on upgrading the Victoria Falls international airport while new tourism facilities have been built in recent months.
Work on the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls have already started and everything should be in place by the time the cricket stadium is completed.
Having an international facility in Victoria Falls also makes it easy for Zimbabwe Cricket to continue its development plans by hosting emerging countries like Zambia, Botswana and Namibia making its use continuous as opposed to once-off.
Also the idea of a multi-purpose sporting complex means Zimbabwe will be able to host many other disciplines there, especially international tournaments which will now have the major incentive of being next to one of the seven wonders of the world.
Events like Rugby Sevens and Netball World Cup will be possibilities as well as Victoria Falls will now be at the same level with the likes of Cape Town.
What emerged this week is that everyone involved in the grand Victoria Falls sports project are raring to go and sports tourism will soon be on the menu for the world class tourist resort.
Online Reporter