Wenslus Murape
NATIONAL Premier League (NPL) T20 Blast tournament director, Wonder Chisango has said that the country’s on-going premier club cricket competition is the key to the growth and development of cricket in Zimbabwe.
Chisango was speaking to Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) at Harare Sports Club where he enjoyed watching budding talents play alongside their heroes. He said they have their eyes set to offering youngsters the right platform to grow and develop their game.
The ongoing NPL T20 Blast features eight clubs, who managed to finish in the top eight of the 45-over version of the tournament. The eight teams that made the T20 Blast are SOGO Rangers, Takashinga Patriots 1, Gladiators Cricket Club, Westside Cricket Club, Rainbow Cricket Club, Takashinga Patriots 2, Mbizo Cricket Club and Queens Cricket Club.
Chisango added that they are looking at exposing talent that, somehow, wouldn’t have the opportunities.
“We are looking at development, and also young and upcoming players coming through. You see the likes of Ryan Kamwemba who was signed from Strikers and is now playing for Takashinga 2. He is a former Zimbabwe Under-19 wicket keeper and those are the kind of things we want to see.
“We want to see young upcoming players stepping up and also playing with their role models. Imagine growing up looking up to people like Ngarava, Muzarabani and now having to play with them or face them. So, that kind of thing is what we are looking at. We are also looking at making sure that we tap into the untapped talent that we have in the country,” said Chisango.
Some of the players that have had a splendid outing in the tournament include Jayden Schadendorf. The 25-year-old, who is in the books of SOGO Rangers, is the tournament’s leading run scorer. In seven innings, he has two centuries and one half century.
Zimbabwe Under-19 international, Panashe Taruvinga has also had another good campaign.
The 18-year-old Gladiators batter is the second leading runs scorer with 264 runs including a century and one half century.
Benjamin Banks – who plays for SOGO Rangers is another player that has had a good season. The youngster has picked up 11 wickets in seven innings and is the fourth leading wicket taker behind Wellington Masakadza (14 wickets), Tapiwa Mufudza (12 wickets) and Munashe Zata (11 wickets).
Apart from assisting with the development of cricket, Chisango said the tournament also helps in keeping national team players fit and in the right condition. He added that the tournament has also attracted players from outside Zimbabwe.
“We have T20 Qualifiers coming up in Kenya in the next month or two so if you are having national team players playing in this league, they are getting some game time. It’s also an opportunity for the selectors and coaches to see up and coming talent and how they can harness whatever they have seen here and get them through the national team ranks or representative sides.
“We would want this to be an international tournament of some sort. Now we are looking at our local players and I am happy that it has aroused some interest in African countries. We have a couple of players from Nigeria and it’s impressive that they take our tournament with the best regard so as organisers we are happy with that,” he said.
Online Reporter