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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER England World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan says he has fallen in love with Zimbabwe following his experience with the Zim Afro T10 that began last week.
Morgan, who is captain of Harare Hurricanes, is in the country for the first time on cricket business.
He told journalists that the few days he has spent in Zimbabwe have been mind-blowing, and just came short of regretting not having toured for international cricket during his career spanning 16 years with Ireland and England.
“The experience has been amazing so far. It’s more of a first time in Zimbabwe. England didn’t tour here while I played; 16 or so years that I played. So it’s been a great experience for me.
“Off the field, the people have been absolutely loving, very welcoming, very excited, very delighted that a tournament has come that has got a lot of international calibre of players, particularly current players; and this ground is just wonderful.
“It reminds me a lot of the Caribbean actually because it has Caribbean style and feel with the grass bank on one side and then the stands and the old pavilion on this side.
“The atmosphere that is created with a lot of the far side of the ground over the course of the three days, with singing and just a general festival type atmosphere is one that is really good for the game. So, I hope it continues and gets better,” said Morgan.
The 36-year-old retired from international cricket earlier this year.
He was captain during England’s transformation from also-rans in 2015 to 50-over world champions four years later at Lord’s.
The Zim Afro T10, organised by Zimbabwe Cricket and T Ten Global Sports, is franchise cricket’s first foray into Zimbabwe and has been an absolute carnival of cricket.
Five franchises — Harare Hurricanes, Durban Qalandars, Cape Town Samp Army, Bulawayo Braves and the Johannesburg Buffaloes — are participating in the tournament.
Hurricanes registered their second consecutive win yesterday defeating the Joburg Buffaloes by two runs at the Harare Sports Club.
Table-toppers Cape Town Samp Army continued to be a step ahead of their rivals, as they eased past the Durban Qalandars and won by four wickets, with an over to spare, last night. The Cape Town Samp Army have now won four games on the bounce and are top of the points table.
Summary scores:
Harare Hurricanes – 106/6 (Robin Uthappa – 31, Evin Lewis – 19; Noor Ahmad – 2/20, Mohammad Hafeez – 1/6) won by 2 runs against
Joburg Buffaloes – 104/7 (Ravi Bopara – 39*, Will Smeed – 21; Nandre Burger – 3/12, Chris Mpofu – 2/17
Durban Qalandars – 91/5 (Hazratullah Zazai – 43, George Linde – 25*; Karim Janat – 2/17, Mujeeb Ur Rahman – 1/11) lost by 4 wickets against
Cape Town Samp Army – 95/6 (Karim Janat – 48*, Rahmanullah Gurbaz – 13; Daryn Dupavillon – 2/16, Tendai Chatara – 2/22)
Online Reporter