adminSenior Sports Reporter
A provisional national baseball team camp concluded at Hamilton High School in Bulawayo yesterday where the squad was supposed to be trimmed. The skills enhancing gathering started at the end of an inter-provincial baseball competition at the school last weekend. Bulawayo came out tops at the tournament to defend the title they had won at another national event staged in Gweru in August.
Morris Banda, the Zimbabwe Baseball Association interim president said the squad of 24 which was in camp would be trimmed to 18 players and four coaches for the trip to an Easter tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa next year.
“The camp has been a success; we managed to assess the players and also to know their playing abilities, from now we can play combinations in terms of their fielding and batting abilities. We have not had a national team for two years so we have had a look at our coaches since we are looking for substantive coaches who are going to take the lead in coaching the team,’’ said Banda.
Americo Juma, John Madziro, Washington Nyika and Yutaro Tazawa are the interim national team coaches. Juma who works in South Africa is attached to Major League Baseball project that they are running in the neighbouring country.
Banda said during the time of the camp, they were also hosting four Japanese who have been helping them out in various ways. Masuro Ito, Kenji Ohmae, Shigeaki Masaoka and Yasuko Masaoka make up the Japanese group who are in the country until tomorrow.
Online Reporter