Ministry holds cricket training for teachers

Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
WITH the country still in introspection and heartbroken over the manner in which Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup during qualifiers held here, the Sports Ministry is preparing future cricket players with the hosting of a training workshop for primary school teachers in Bulawayo.

Fifty participants including eight community volunteers will be trained in basic cricket coaching as a way of ensuring grooming of players begins at an early age as part of a wider talent identification programme.

The five-day workshop kicks off tomorrow at Bulawayo Athletic Club.

Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation, provincial officer, Rita Kutsirayi said they have registered 50 participants, targeting primary school teachers who they believe are the bedrock of grooming future stars of the game.

The course will be facilitated by Chris Phiri and Trevor Phiri.

“We picked eight teachers from each of the five districts in Bulawayo and they are being joined by community volunteers who assist at various sporting institutions. As a ministry we felt it is important for teaching of sport to start at a tender age hence we engaged Zimbabwe Cricket to provide us with facilitators and they readily agreed. We are aiming at producing stars from a young age and grooming them along the way until they are ripe to shine at national level,” said Kutsirayi.

Teachers are going to be taught elementary coaching in aspects of cricket such as bowling, batting, fielding, how to get runs, signals and dismissals.
Zimbabwe were left shattered when the Chevrons flattered to deceive during the 2018 Cricket World Cup qualifiers that were held in the country last month.

The Chevrons fell to minnows United Arabs Emirates in the final match of the Group Six Stage with a three-run loss to fail to qualify for the World Cup to be held in England next year.

The defeat saw Zimbabwe making history of being the first ICC Full Member nation to hand a victory to the UAE. The blame game has once again erupted following the firing of the technical department led by Heath Streak while a section of the fans have blamed the officials for failing to come up with a long term developmental plan.