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NEWLY appointed Matabeleland Tuskers Cricket Franchise coach Wayne James has expressed his disappointment over lack of facilities to use for training purposes.James who was hired as the substantive Logan Cup champions’ gaffer last month has not had the best of starts on the job as he was forced to postpone his season’s preparations due to lack of resources.
In an interview yesterday, the coach who claimed to have given some of his personal money to Matabeleland Tuskers’ grounds men to fix the roller used to work on the wickets said he does not have a clue when they are going to start their training.
“I am very disappointed and the feeling is mutual with the players as everyone wants to get down to business and train but there are no facilities. This is beginning to frustrate everyone and one of the most disappointing things is that we do not even have the nets to practice at.
“The problem is not with the franchise but with the Zimbabwe Cricket because it hasn’t released any money to any of the franchises so that they work on their preparations.
“At this stage, there is nothing that we can do besides to sit and wait because without funding there is nothing to do. I think we are not the only ones affected but every other franchise,” said James.
Matabeleland Tuskers have won three consecutive Logan Cup titles and with the delay in starting the new season, it is highly likely that most of their players’ performances will be affected.
They had a few players who were busy during the winter break. Young Goodwill Mamhiyo and Keith Dabengwa were playing summer cricket in England.
Matabeleland Tuskers’ new captain Sean Williams has also been involved with the national team playing against India and Pakistan while promising opening batsman Brian Chari spent the better part of the off-season at the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy in Harare.
The Bulawayo-based cricket team at the weekend beat Falcon College’s first team in a training game and James is not reading much into that performance.
“Obviously against a school side we were going to win. We managed to score 106 runs and defended it well but after this training game, I had hoped we get down straight to business but there is nothing to do as we do not have nets to practice at,” James said.
The delay to start the season might also be a blessing in disguise for Matabeleland Tuskers as it means they will now miss some of their stars just for a few weeks.
The players that have been ruled out for the start of the season at Matabeleland Tuskers include hard-hitting Charles “Chopper” Coventry who has indicated to the coach that he will be playing in Dubai and Keegan Meth who is in Canada on personal business.
Repeated efforts to get a comment from the Matabeleland Tuskers chief executive officer Stanley Staddon were fruitless.
Online Reporter