adminNgqabutho Moyo, Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket team has returned from its South Africa (CSA) Franchise Cubs Week tour. They met fierce competition, finishing sixth out of eight teams that participated in the tournament in Stellenbosch.
The Walter Chawaguta-coached side finished the tournament with just one win.
The other teams were South Africa Under-17 Invitation XI, Cobras, Dolphins, Knights, Lions, Titans and Warriors.
Zimbabwe’s poor performance shows that there is a lot of work to do ahead of the International Cricket Council Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh next year.
Captain Craig Murray was the most promising cricketer of the lot with the bat, scoring a total of 159 runs that included two half-centuries at an average of 31.80 and a top score of 80.
With ball in hand, the trio of Davies Murwendo, William Mashinge and Tendai Matigimu finished with five wickets apiece.
The players will now continue on their learning curve and gain more experience by playing in the on-going domestic tournaments in the various formats of the game — T20, Pro50 and the four-day Logan Cup with some expected to take part in the on-going Midlands Cricket Festival.
Meanwhile, action on the first day of the Midlands Cricket Festival saw South Africa’s Keasney College beat Zimbabwe’s Peterhouse by three wickets. Peterhouse won the toss and chose to bat first and scored 220 all out while Keasney College scored 224 for seven wickets with Keasney College’s Ross Koekemoer scoring 69 runs and Seb Pau making 41 which was enough to win the match.
The three-day cricket festival has attracted four South African colleges and as many Zimbabwean schools.
Fixtures
Today
Day Two: Michaelhouse vs Clifton, Hilton College vs Bishops, Kearsney College vs St John’s (Zimbabwe)
Maritzburg College vs Peterhouse (Zimbabwe)
Day Three: Michaelhouse vs Bishops, Kearsney College vs Clifton, Maritzburg College vs St John’s (Zimbabwe), Hilton College vs Peterhouse (Zimbabwe)
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