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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
WINNING the Pro50 Championship title has given Bulawayo Metropolitan Tuskers belief that they can effectively compete for all formats of the game next season.
Tuskers, who had a dreadful season in the Logan Cup, clinched the Pro50 Championship title after a seven-run win over Manicaland Mountaineers via the Duckworth-Lewis method at Mutare Sports Club on Saturday.
The Duckworth-Lewis method was implemented after the match was cut short due to bad light.
The victory, their fourth in five matches, gave them an unassailable lead of 18 points on the log standings, seven more than their nearest rivals Midlands Rhinos, with one round of games to go.
Bulawayo Metropolitan Cricket chairman Vumi Moyo said:
“The lads have shown that if they want to win they can do so. I was and still disappointed with the uninspiring show exhibited during the Logan Cup, but now that we’ve won the Pro50 Championship, I think we should celebrate this feat. What this clearly shows is that if our players come to the party we can win games. Our target for next season is to win the Logan Cup and go for the shorter version titles as well.”
Moyo said there is a need to revisit Tuskers’ development strategies and will meet schools to see how best talented youngsters are kept in the game after they complete school.
“I think we have a problem with our development system, which is not producing cricketers. We risk being a stopover for players that would have been deemed excess baggage by other provinces.
“There’s need to revisit our development system, have a strategic workshop with all stakeholders, including schools, so that we find ways of producing players for the franchise.
“To be successful, we really need to identify and nurture these youngsters. We just have to be aggressive with our development programmes,” Moyo said.
The BMC chairman is hopeful that Tuskers will end the 2016/17 season by claiming the Twenty20 title.
Dates for the season ending tournament, Twenty20 are yet to be released.
Pro50 Championship points table
P W L Tied N/R Pts
Bulawayo Metro Tuskers 5 4 1 0 0 18
Midlands Rhinos 5 2 2 0 1 11
Manicaland M 5 2 3 0 0 8
Harare Metro Eagles 5 1 3 0 1 6
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