Action Galore For Zimbabwe Cricket's Emerging Players and Both the Men's and Women's National Teams

By Ashley Dube 

Zimbabwe Cricket’s (ZC) Emerging Players squad is currently facing the Namibian Eagles in a limited over series that began on the 14^th of August. The series has shown ZC’s determination in its quest to widen its pool of players and to expose as many of them to international cricket.

Zimbabwe Women's assistant coach Sinikiwe Mpofu with player Christabel Chatonzwa during a training session in Harare. Photo by Zimbabwe Cricket on Twitter.

The squad is a perfect blend of youthful zest and experience. Stalwarts Chamu Chibhabha and Brian Chari are leading from the front as well as fringe national players such as Brian Mudzinganyama and Kevin Kasuza who are forming the batting unit. Seamer Tanaka Chivanga, who is relatively new to Zimbabwe’s cricket setup, is set to lead the bowling attack alongside Faraz Akram and Carl Mumba.

The most exciting bit however is the inclusion of five Under-19 players in the squad namely Tadiwa Nyangani, Brian Bennet, Steven Saul, and Matt Welch. Matt Welch is the younger brother to Leicestershire batsman Nick Welch who played for the Harare Kings in last year’s edition of the National Premier League. All matches are played in Windhoek. Zimbabwe's Emerging Players lost the first match to the Eagles by 112 runs. 

Zimbabwe Cricket's Emerging Players Squad, Tour of Namibia

Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Brian Chari, Chamu Chibhabha, Tanaka Chivanga, Kevin Kasuza

Tendekai Mataranyika, Brian Mudzinganyama, Carl Mumba, Richmond Mutumbami

Ainsley Ndlovu, Tinashe Nenhunzi, Steven Saul, Matt Welch, Tadiwa Nyangani. 

White Ball Tour of Ireland 

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe men's national cricket team went into the bio-secure bubble in preparation for the white ball tour of Ireland. ZC has not announced the squad as of yet but there is an expectation that the experienced pair of Craig Ervine and skipper Sean Williams will re-join the squad that faced Bangladesh. The senior men’s tour of Ireland consists of three ODIs and five T20 games. From there, Zimbabwe will proceed to face Scotland in three T20 internationals.

Zimbabwe Women's Ongoing Series Against Thailand Women 

The women’s national cricket team is currently hosting Thailand at Takashinga Sports Club in the country's capital. The series consists of four ODI matches. The four-match series will be followed up by three T20 internationals. Zimbabwe Women won the first ODI against Thailand Women by seven wickets through top-notch performances by skipper Mary-Anne Musonda, Josephine Nkomo, and Christabel Chatonzwa.