adminMehluli Sibanda Senior Sports Reporter
MATABELELAND Tuskers will be looking for a perfect start to the country’s domestic cricket season when they clash with Mountaineers in a Pro50 Championship match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo this morning.Last season was not a great one for the Bulawayo based franchise and they would be out to quickly forget that when the new season starts today.
Wayne James, the Tuskers head coach, said their fine tuning had gone well with the final training session held last Friday leading to the squad being trimmed down to 15 players. Yesterday, the team met for the announcement of the 11 players who will take to the field this morning.
“We are ready to roll, all our preparations have gone well, we are ready for the new season. We have never won the 50 over competition so hopefully we can do a lot better,’’ said James.
Tuskers have bolstered their squad with the signing of left arm seamer Brian Vitori and all rounder Luke Jongwe, players with experience at international level. Vitori relocated to Bulawayo from Harare last weekend while Jongwe has been part of the preparations for the new season since they started last month.
While Vitori will add strength to the Tuskers bowling attack, Jongwe is a promising all rounder with lots of potential to succeed either with the bat in the middle order or with the ball in hand while bowling medium pace.
Besides Vitori and Jongwe, James will pin his hopes of a fine start to the season on Bonaparte Mujuru, Nkosana Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa, Sean Williams, skipper Godwill Mamhiyo, Tawanda Mupariwa as well as Christopher Mpofu.
Tuskers begin the season without top order batsman Brian Chari and off spin bowler John Nyumbu who are with the national team in Bangladesh. They could lose seam bowlers Vitori and Mupariwa if the two are called up for the One-Day International matches in Bangladesh later on this month but Chari is returning home at the conclusion of the third Test match.
Mountaineers who are coached by Shepherd Makunura, will have to do without batsman Hamilton Masakadza, bowlers Tendai Chatara, Natsai Mushangwe and Shingirai Masakadza who are also in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Tuskers and Mountaineers will meet in a Logan Cup four-day fixture at the same venue, which will get underway on Tuesday.
In another Pro50 Championship match today, Mashonaland Eagles come up against MidWest Rhinos at Old Hararians, which is the home ground of Eagles because of the annual rehabilitation of Harare Sports Club. The two teams also square off in a Logan Cup encounter at the same venue, a match which runs from Tuesday up to Friday.
Matabeleland Tuskers squad
Bonaparte Mujuru, Nkosana Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa, Sean Williams, Godwill Mamhiyo, Luke Jongwe, Tawanda Mupariwa, Dalubuhle Mboyi(wicketkeeper), Brian Vitori, Steven Chimhamhiwa, Christopher Mpofu, Tony Mupariwa, Kevin Kandala, Thabo Mboyi, Divesh Hassani.
Online Reporter