Lara fever grips Zim
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 8:24 pm
http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=69&cat=5Lara fever grips Zim.
By Tinashe Kusema
A SHADOW of mystery has engulfed Zimbabwe’s cricket fraternity as a bidding war rages on for the priceless signature of the game’s biggest icon, Brain Lara, who is set to grace the second edition of the Stanbic Twenty20 Tournament in less than a fortnight.
Lara’s visit has never been in question but his destination appears to be the biggest mystery with the tournament’s appeal set to scale to dizzy heights due to his and other foreign internationals’ presence.
Last year’s losing finalists Mashonaland Eagles and the ambitious Southern Rocks are said to be favourites to land the Trinidad and Tobago-born left-handed batsman, according to information coming from within Zimbabwe Cricket.
“At the moment all we can do is confirm that Lara will indeed be taking part in the tournament next month, but we are not yet at liberty to divulge any information as we are still in contractual talks with him.
“Although we are not yet sure which team he will be playing for, both Rocks and Eagles have shown interest in acquiring his services,” said an impeccable ZC insider.
However, investigations by The Sunday Mail have revealed that Rocks are favourites to land Lara with the franchise’s Chief Executive Officer, Givemore Makoni, claiming to be in the final stages of negotiations to land him.
“Indeed we intend to have Lara within our ranks when we take part in the Twenty-20 tournament.
“In fact, we have already begun talks with him, which are going on smoothly, and they should be completed by the end of the coming week,” Makoni said.
Lara, a veteran of 131 Tests, of which the highlight of his career was his unbeaten 400 against England, now appears set on trying his hand at Twenty20 cricket.
Although wet under the nose in Twenty20 cricket, he played in 299 ODIs and scored 1 045 runs before retiring from the game in 2007.
His last visit to Zimbabwe was during the cricket awards ceremony at which he was the guest of honour and spoke warmly of his illustrious romance with the country and expressed his desire to continue visiting.
Should he sign, he is set to add depth to the Masvingo-based franchise that already has the likes of Kenyan star Steve Tikolo, former Zimbabwe skipper Tatenda Taibu, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chamunorwa Chibhabha and Craig Ervine.
While the two franchises — Rocks and Eagles — are concentrating their energy on Lara, their competitors have been busy on the market trying to boost their squads with some new blood.
Tuskers, Mountaineers and Eagles are reported to have finalised their acquisitions and are due in camp later this week.
Tuskers have not signed new players and have kept their confidence in their off-season buys Paul Horton (Lancashire), Neil Carter (Warwickshire) and Essex’s Adam Wheater, who they acquired specifically for the tournament.
Greg Smith is set to continue his romance with Mountaineers, who he helped claim the trophy earlier this year and will be aided by the arrival of retired South African all-rounder Lance Klusener, Sean Ervine and Free State Eagles’ Jonathan Beukes.
Last year’s losing finalists, Eagles, who might lose out on Lara, have brought in the trio of Dutch international Ryan Ten Doeschate, Nick Compton and Chad Keegan.
Doeschate will only play in the T-20, while Compton and Keegan are expected to stay longer and help resurrect Eagles’ surge to claim the Logan Cup and Pro 40-over competitions.
However, the biggest story of the tournament will be the presence of forgotten Kiwis international Lou Vincent, who has been signed by Kwekwe-based franchise Midwest Rhinos.
Vincent is part of the team’s new acquisitions that include the likes of on-fire Gary Balance and Paul Franks. He will figure in the tournament’s sub-plots as Zimbabwe is only the latest stop on his long road to the top-level.
It has been just over two years since Vincent gave up a New Zealand Cricket contract to join the rebel Indian Cricket League. But now he appears set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, who are seeking amnesty to return to the international fold.
He has been living mainly in Britain since moving on from the unofficial ICL and could also qualify to play for England in less than two years.
Reports from New Zealand have it that the 31-year-old has his heart set on a Kiwi comeback and a good outing in Zimbabwe could leave him within a footstep away.
Vincent is no rookie to competitive cricket with 1 332 runs in 23 Tests to his name while his shorter version cricket record has him with 2 413 runs in 100 ODIs.
Midwest chief executive officer Kenyon Ziehl has total confidence in the former New Zealand international, noting “he is an extremely talented individual and we are lucky to have him play for us this season”.
“We want to improve from our performance last season and believe that Vincent and the other players we have in our arsenal should do the job and give us the trophy,” he said.
