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Utseya tipped for top award

Sports Reporter

NATIONAL cricket captain Prosper Utseya is the favourite to clinch the 2009 player-of-the-year award next month.

Utseya is among the finalists for the Cricketer of the Year award and the shortlist also includes top-order batsman Hamilton Masakadza, spinner Raymond Price and fast-medium pace bowler Tawanda Mupariwa.

This follows a selection meeting in the capital last week by 15 judges, comprising, ZC administrators, the national selection panel and members of the media fraternity from across the country.

The judges deliberated over the short-listed candidates in a variety of award categories, including;

1. Cricketer of the Year,
2. Batsman of the Year,
3. Bowler of the Year,
4. Female Cricketer of the Year,
5. Rookie of the Year,
6. Best School's Cricketer,
7. Umpire of the Year and
8. Coach of the Year.

The awards recognise achievements attained during the 2008/2009 season which ended in March this year.

"The annual cricket awards were created to pay special tribute to the leading cricketers of the day and honor those who have played a significant role in administering and developing the sport in Zimbabwe," said ZC head of media and communications, Shingai Rhuhwaya. ZC will also use this award to reveal the names and corporate identities of the recently launched franchises.

"There has been much anticipation about how the new franchises will be branded and invited guest will be the first to get a sneak peek at how each of the five franchises will be represented in the coming season", said Rhuhwaya.

Sponsored by Croco Motors, the awards ceremony will be take place in Bulawayo in August.

Meanwhile, following a ZC Board resolution to restructure the Cricket Committee earlier this year, ZC last week announced the new members of the committee: Alistair Campbell (Chairman), Andrew Waller, Stanley Staddon, Jackie du Preez, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, Walter Chawaguta and Dirk Viljoen.

Various Zimbabwe Cricket Board committees are run to help monitor and/or establish Zimbabwe Cricket policy: the Cricket Committee is one such.

This committee assists the board specifically by reviewing and making recommendations regarding domestic and international fixtures, the coaching, umpiring and scoring structures at both provincial and national levels and player contracts.

Zimbabwe Cricket awards back

By Mehluli Sibanda,

THE nominees for the 2009 Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) Awards have been shortlisted with captain Prosper Utseya, Raymond Price, Tawanda Mupariwa and Hamilton Masakadza vying for the most prestigious cricket award of the season, Cricketer of the Year.




A panel of 15 judges comprising, ZC administrators, the national selection panel and members of the media fraternity from across the country, met in Harare on Wednesday 15 July 2009 to deliberate over the short-listed candidates in a variety of award categories including: Cricketer of theYear, Batsman of the Year, Bowler of the Year, Female Cricketer of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Best School’s Cricketer, Umpire of the Year and Coach of the Year. The awards recognise achievements attained during the 2008/2009 season which ended in March this year.
“The annual cricket awards were created to pay special tribute to the leading cricketers of the day and honor those who have played a significant role in administering and developing the sport in Zimbabwe,” said ZC head of media and communications, Shingai Rhuhwaya. ZC will also use the award-giving ceremony to reveal the names and corporate identities of the recently launched franchises. “There has been much anticipation about how the new franchises will be branded and invited guest will be the first to get a sneak peek at how each of the five franchises will be represented in the coming season,” added Rhuhwaya.
The awards ceremony will take place in Bulawayo for the first time in August and is sponsored by Croco Motors.
She added that the awards have not been held for the past three years due to the harsh economic climate, which was prevailing in the country. “We were not able to hold any awards ceremony because there was a lot of demands on our finances but now things have stabilised and there is a possibility of a sponsor for the awards. These awards are meant to recognise excellence on the part of players and other individuals who have made a significant contribution to the game and these include the media,” said Rhuhwaya.
The best male cricketer, best female cricketer, best bowler, best batsman, best rookie, most outstanding scorer, best umpire, best schools cricketer and the best schools administrator would be rewarded for their excellence during the 2008/2009 season.
National team top order batsmen Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri and all-rounder Elton Chigumbura are the front runners for the batsman’s award.
Wicketkeeper Foster Mutizwa, who played in all the five One-Day Internationals against Kenya in January this year after Tatenda Taibu’s kit was left behind on the national team’s return from Bangladesh, is the favourite for the rookie of the year award together with Malcolm Waller who made his debut for the national team against Bangladesh.
Women national team all-rounder Thandolwenkosi Mlilo, who inspired Westerns to victory during the provincial tournament held in Harare in April is the leading contender for the female cricketer of the year.
Zimbabwe A coach Stephen Mangongo, who led Easterns to two domestic titles the Faithwear one-day competition and the Logan Cup, is the leading contender for the coach of the year award. His assistant at Zimbabwe A level Clement Mahachi who was the coach of Westerns when they won the Metropolitan Bank Twenty20 and finished second in the Faithwear is also in the running for the award.
Zimbabwe national team medium pace bowler Tawanda Mupariwa is set to get a special recognition for becoming the fastest Zimbabwean bowler to get to the 50 wicket mark in One-Day International cricket, a feat he achieved during Zimbabwe’s end of year home series against Sri Lanka.
Mupariwa got to the mark in 28 ODIs and beat the previous record, which was held by fellow fast bowler Eddo Brandes who got 50 wickets in 37 ODIs.
Former Zimbabwe senior national team captain Tatenda Taibu walked away with the player of the year award at the 2005 awards.