adminRicky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
THE country’s oldest all-black cricket club, Takashinga Cricket Academy is set to participate in the fourth edition of the Baines Junior Dumisani Mankunzini Winter Cricket Festival next month.
Based in Harare’s sprawling suburb of Highfield, Takashinga is one of the most recognised academies in the country as it churned out a number of national team cricketers, notably former skipper and wicketkeeper batsman Tatenda Taibu.
Taibu made his first-class debut at the age of 16, and his debut for the national team in 2001, at 18. In 2003, he was appointed vice-captain to former pace bowler Heath Streak, before going on to make his own piece of history as the first black captain of the senior national cricket side.
Organisers of the festival have also extended an invitation to the Heath Streak Academy team.
Should the Heath Streak Academy confirm its participation, four guest teams and 19 Bulawayo primary schools would take part in tournament set for July 23-24.
The other guest teams that have already confirmed are Botswana’s Cubs Cricket Academy and Alberton Cricket Club of South Africa.
“Like we said before, the Baines Junior Dumisani Mankunzini Winter Cricket Festival is getting better with each passing year and we’re happy to announce that Takashinga Cricket Academy have confirmed their availabitlity. It’s an honour to have them because a number of our national team cricketers came through their academy. We share a similar vision of having previously disadvantaged aspiring cricketers developed through participating at our competitions,” Mankunzini said.
The former national Under-19 cricket leg spinner said schools’ support since the founding of the Baines festival pressed them to make the tournament bigger and better.
“Schools have been supportive of this initiative and we’ve grown from strength to strength with each passing edition. Initially we wanted 22 schools, but most of them responded late and we reduced to 19, but next year we will try to include more. As it is, our coaches are conducting free training sessions around the schools so that we have competitive teams at the tournament,” he said.
The tournament debuted with only four schools in 2012 and doubled in 2013 before further growing to 12 last year.
Inaugural tournament winners Baines Junior, 2013 victors Milton Junior and defending champions Mtshingwe Primary of Emakhandeni are among the competing schools in this year’s edition.
Online Reporter