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https://3-mob.com/sport/zc-plans-age-gr ... 26-season/

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) have said they are planning to expand their very popular National Premier League (NPL) club tournament to age-groups for the 2026/27 season.

Speaking exclusively to 3-mob.com, ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni confirmed the news.

Asked what the next plan was, after another successful season which saw SOGO Rangers crowned NPL champions and Gladiators the NPLT20 Blast winners, Makoni said, “We’re going to go even greater, even further next year where we’re introducing age-group NPL, from under-13s, under-15s and under-17s.

“So each club, the top eight clubs will be encouraged to have club teams for both boys and girls.”

The NPL already has a women’s version.


Age-group cricket is something many stakeholders have been calling for and the NPL will be a good platform for it. It develops a much more grounded pathway to the national team at best, or a brilliant first-class cricket career at worst.

It more than supplements the schools system in this regard.

Fantastic idea.

All well and good creating this comp but how is it going to develop the youngsters. There needs to be a clear pathway of development. I don't have faith in the current system to do this and to develop the players so that they can make the step up.

All this is to me is a box ticking exercise which looks good on the surface, but unless there is a clear programme, structure, pathway, and coaching, it's just another way for ZC to pretend to be doing things.

zimbos_05 wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 29, 2025 11:01 pm

All well and good creating this comp but how is it going to develop the youngsters. There needs to be a clear pathway of development. I don't have faith in the current system to do this and to develop the players so that they can make the step up.

All this is to me is a box ticking exercise which looks good on the surface, but unless there is a clear programme, structure, pathway, and coaching, it's just another way for ZC to pretend to be doing things.

I assuming to a degree it’s putting emphasis back on the clubs to help develop players. Instead of mostly school cricket and private coaching.
Sogo rangers had a diagram a little while back that explained how to progress from thier juniors to senior cricket.

Andy31 wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 30, 2025 12:16 am

I assuming to a degree it’s putting emphasis back on the clubs to help develop players. Instead of mostly school cricket and private coaching.
Sogo rangers had a diagram a little while back that explained how to progress from thier juniors to senior cricket.

Perhaps, but what's to stop the clubs from abusing their power. Takashinga for example could just pick their kids and their mates kids. Give them all the benefits but they don't actually develop the skill, the knowledge, and the techniques.

I applaud the initiative, but ZC has shown a very clear lack of structure and development for this to be super successful. By again putting the onus on the clubs, ZC is kind of saying, "we don't want to do the hard work, but want to benefit from the work others do"

In this instance, it is the job of the National Board to organise a competition, and then the job of those competing, in this case the clubs, to do the legwork required to try and win.

This feels like a good initiative.

That could be any clubs choice to pick friends kids. Clubs have more independence with development. And with the app and ability to check scores, the public can see what players/clubs actually develop talent.

aydee wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 30, 2025 12:12 pm

In this instance, it is the job of the National Board to organise a competition, and then the job of those competing, in this case the clubs, to do the legwork required to try and win.

This feels like a good initiative.

The board has a job to uphold the highest standards of players, coaches, and clubs. It can't just say, "here is a competition, now you can do whatever".

I like the initiative, I just don't have faith in ZC and many of the clubs that this will be as successful as it can be.

The idea of getting kids into a club environment is good.
However the big problem will be when they decide to play these games.
If it's during school time the "better" schools probably won't release the kids for what they perceive to be extra-curricular activities. They'd probably have to play the games on a Sunday.
There's always been a problem trying to get kids to play on a Sunday, particularly spoilt entitled white kids, but that's also ditto for some of the black lads now as well.
If they aimed for a school holiday there would be the same problem. During the April holidays the boys start thinking about rugby. The August holidays are the only good window.

The only clubs so far that appear to have any age groupers to call on are Sogo and Takaz. ZC spend a fair amount of their time hamstringing anyone that plays for Sogo. If you want to make your way in cricket here everyone knows to avoid Sogo like the plague.
How do clubs with no money or facilities now try and engage school kids? The idea is good, but the implimentation of it is not going to be easy. It's going to be tough to see it as anything other than some window dressing. Anyway let's hope it has traction because it's needed.

This new initiative to get kids to sign up with ZC, as I said before, is extremely damaging. Nobody with options is going to do that, even if they wanted to, they won't be able to.
Theyre literally asking kids to make a commitment to cricket that will at best only provide an extremely precarious living to about two players a year. The maths behind it is not to waste resources on people that won't hang around, but spending money on people that will, but arent good enough somehow is a better option? At best they end up with a compliant work force of mediocre franchise players for 4 months of the year.
It does suit them, there's no escaping it. Watching 30 something year old franchise players without a single option in life is not good. The only thing that doesn't sit well is a few of those guys for a few extra peanuts then help enforce a system that has put themselves down. The irony of that seems so sail over their heads. It's often hard to be sympathetic. You say nothing to a guy over 30 about your lot in life because he will tell on you. If you're going to be that weak mentally in your personal life you don't have the fortitude to survive the scrutiny of international cricket, that's an inescapable fact.
Without significant corporate buy-in its hard to see what the alternatives are though.

Gladiators have a lot of youngsters. Looks at their 2nd XI.

All the Chitungwiza, St. Aiden's lot basically filter into there.