EJCCA in SA: Welch, Matigimu lead challenge in U16

[Jemisi]

There is hope if the country gets out of its current political quagmire. Not sure exactly how big an 'if' that is.

[foreignfield]

v Easterns Invitation: Easterns 35 all out (K. Matigimu 2-7); Zimbabwe 36-0 (N. Welch 15 no, D, Vermaak 15 no). Zimbabwe won by 10 w8ickets.

v Easterns u15: Easterns 75/7 (K. Jaure 2-6. W. Mubayiwa 2-15, W. Huchu 2-15); Zimbabwe 76/2 (n. Welch 30, W. Huchu 20 no). Zimbabwe won by 8 wickets.

v Namibia: Namibia 69/9 (K. Jaure 2-15, B. Sly 2-11, W. Huchu 2-15, W. Mubayiwa 2-8); Zimbabwe 70/2 (N. Welch 40 no). Zimbabwe won by 8 wickets.

v Easterns u14: Zimbabwe 184/4 (K. Matigimu 32, N. Welch 28, W. Huchu 61 no, K. Jaure 35 no); Easterns 54 all out (T. Muzamhindo 2-2, J. Schadendorf 3-7, B. Sly 1-12, L. Butler 1-10, N. Welch 2-14). Zimbabwe won by 133 runs.

v Swaziland: Zimbabwe 171/5 (N. Welch 73, W. Huchu 34, K. Matigimu 48); Swaziland 50 all out (K. Jaure 2-5, L. Butler 2-4, W. Mubayiwa 2-0). Zimbabwe won by 149 runs.

The Zim u16 boys finished on a high at the EJCCA festival. Davies Murwendo was awarded most promising bowler. He could not be awarded best bowler as he lacked the wickets but had the best bowling returns by a distance. I will say it again, the most promising young seamer I have seen for a long time. Nick Welch won best batsman, once again nearly 100 runs more than the next best batter. Had we not had low totals to chase, this margin may have been even bigger, he is in sublime form! Ryan Murray was rightfully adjudged best keeper. Walter Huchu won Player of The Festival for performance with bat an ball, outstanding leadership and conduct both on and off the field. Makorokoto, young man. Zim were unbeaten and all the boys received medals accordingly.
Our thanks to the EJCCA for a fantastic tournament. It would be great to see Murwendo, Jaure, Gimu, Huchu, Murray and Welch be afforded further opportunities, these boys are currently performing well above their age group.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/zimbabwe ... 3517010860

[sloandog]

Just spoke to Robin Brown on E-mail, and asked him about Eddie Byrom. He said he's going to be better than Andy Flower if he continues developing....interesting ay. :

Big call

massive call

[aydee]

Both teams won all their games! I don't remember the results being as encouraging as this in these tournaments in the recent past...

[sloandog]

Both teams won all their games! I don't remember the results being as encouraging as this in these tournaments in the recent past...

This crop seems to have a few genuine stars in there. The last bunch had some very good school cricketers like Moor, Bently etc, but it seems there's a few more Malcolm Lake/Ryan Burl esq batters here.

And it sounds like there's some exciting young black bowlers.

[eugene]

Just spoke to Robin Brown on E-mail, and asked him about Eddie Byrom. He said he's going to be better than Andy Flower if he continues developing....interesting ay. Oh btw Kenya got dicked by Scotland

I am sure Andy Flower will enjoy coaching him for England in a few years time.

[foreignfield]

As encouraging as it seems one has to bear in mind the standard of the opposition, which was, on average, decidedly lower than you usually get in the CSA Week: Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, our U-18s vs. Easterns U-16s, our U-16s vs. Easterns U-14s & U-15s.

But anyway, it's nice to see our boys winning.

[eugene]

Swaziland play cricket?

[foreignfield]

Swaziland play cricket?

History of cricket in Swaziland

Cricket in Swaziland started in late 1970 with the white expatriates who came into Swaziland to work. The game was played among these expatriates at their exclusive country clubs. The local Swazi people were not welcome so it eventually died out in the early 1990s. A group of five people then decided to revive cricket and take it to the local people. Work initially started in 2005 with the schools that were still playing cricket and Swaziland was eventually accepted as Affiliate Member of the ICC in June 2007

Courtesy of the ICC.

Swaziland last played in the World Cricket League Africa Division Two tournament in 2010 with some success, finishing third out of six behind Zambia and Ghana.

[Googly]

That would make Eddie potentially the premier batsman on the planet at some stage in his career. That's a big call. I've watched him a bit. He's got great technique and practices hard. He bats a bit slowly and doesn't hit the ball hard enough and runs poorly between the wickets and a bit flamboyant. He should have scored way more runs than he has though. There's a small glitch there somewhere that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it's a mental thing, but pretty sure he'll conquer it. Maybe not aggressive enough? He's got great hands, moves his feet well and can bat long (always a big big plus in my book). One of the few batters here that is aware of his faults and is prepared to work on them. I think he's got enormous potential. He needs a few innings in a row where he bats freely and stays in and then for sure he's up and running properly. Would like to see him get much stronger and play more compact, crisp shots as well. Also likes to nudge and noodle a bit too much behind square, he does it well though, but a crisp shot in front would often be a better option. Really good player of spin. Bats at his best when everyone is collapsing around him and he has to anchor. To be a top batter you need to be able to take the game away from the opposition. He needs to work on this. Absolutely no doubt in my mind that he has the potential to be world class. I think that within the next year or so we'll see how good he really is as he hasn't really filled out yet. Damn I'm good!!