Langa Mabena
Brandon Moyo
LOCAL cricket club, SOGO Rangers has gone international after announcing that former South Africa first-class cricketer, Ryan Maron has joined their ranks as the new head coach.
The Harare-based SOGO Rangers club roped in Maron ahead of the start of the ongoing 2024 National Premier League (NPL) T20 Blast which is taking place in Harare. He will be in charge for the duration of the T20 Blast.
So far, it has been a good start for Maron and his star-studded team. Regarded as one of the best fielding coaches in world cricket at the moment, Maron has previously worked with the West Indies, and Afghanistan national teams.
In an interview with online publication, SportsCast, Maron – who played 18 first-class matches for Western Province said the reason why he chose Zimbabwe was to try and build a stronger relationship with Zimbabwe Cricket, from the youth up to the senior level.
He added that his long-standing relationship with former Zimbabwe internationals, Alistair Campbell and Gary Brent was another motivation to join the ambitious Rangers side. Campbell and Brent are both involved with the Rangers.
“The motivation behind me coming to Zimbabwe and coaching is that I want to build a relationship with Zimbabwe Cricket. I would like to try to offer my services more to Zimbabwe, from youth to senior cricketers. I think it’s also important to work with coaches, to up-skill coaches.
“So the reason I’m here is to offer my services to the Rangers because I have a long-standing relationship with Alistair Campbell and Gary Brent.
“I’m trying to add my value with the Rangers team and put structures in place to try and take them forward, to improve the players and grow the game and in the long run benefit Zimbabwe cricket,” said Maron.
He added that he is looking to assist the entire Rangers team. He believes that Zimbabwe has abundant talent that needs to be nurtured with the right structures in place.
“I’m here to assist the team with Alistair, Dirk (Viljoen) and Gary, then Johnathan Campbell (Rangers captain) and the other players. I’m here to help the team and see if I can add value. So it wasn’t a massive negotiation and discussion. I’m doing it as an investment into my future with Zimbabwe Cricket, to see if I can add value and help the team go forward.
“To show them that if you put the right structures in place and if you can have the buy-in from your stakeholders and our players and assistant coaches, you can have a successful team. Because talent is abundant in Zimbabwe,” he said.
In their opening two matches of the NPL T20 Blast, Rangers – who have in their ranks the likes of Sean Williams, Ryan Burl, Nicholas Welch, and Johnathan Campbell – beat Takashinga Patriots 2 and Rainbow Cricket Club.
Their first game was against Takashinga and they registered a seven-wicket win before going on to register a 70-run victory over Rainbow. — @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter