Chronicle Editor
Rashiwe Murisa, Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe women’s cricket team are placing emphasis on fitness ahead of the 2019 Regional Qualifier to be held in this country in May.
The team has since started camp with just under three months remaining before the tournament roars into life.
The Qualifier will be held from May 5 to 13 at Old Hararians, Harare Sports Club and Takashinga Sports Club.
Team manager, Samu Nkiwane, told The Herald the team have plunged into an intense fitness training programme to condition the girls for the rigorous tournament which will feature nine teams from the continent.
“Preparations have already begun and the girls are already in camp. We are running an intense fitness programme for the next three months to make sure that the girls are fit.
“We are playing matches every weekend with the boys’ under-16 team just to make sure the girls are fit physically and mentally for the tournament,” said Nkiwane.
Zimbabwe Cricket were handed the chance to host the tournament by the International Cricket Council.Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe will face off in the qualifier to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier, which is the ultimate eliminator for the prestigious ICC Women T20 World Cup next year.
Nkiwane is optimistic they will triumph after they recently whitewashed Namibia in a five-match T20 series in Walvis Bay.
“Obviously, we want to come out tops because we are looking beyond the regional competitions but we want to qualify for other tournaments,” she said.
The top two teams from the Africa qualifier will proceed to the global qualifying tournament.
Online Reporter