Mupariwa and Trenchard join the Rock and the Rhinos

[zimfan1]

Mupariwa joins Southern Rocks PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 29 September 2012 19:40

Senior Sports Reporter

FORMER national cricket team bowler Tawanda Mupariwa has left Matabeleland Tuskers to join Southern Rocks.

Matabeleland Tuskers chief executive officer Stanley Staddon who confirmed Mupariwa’s departure said he was saddened by the development as he felt the player still had a lot to offer the Bulawayo-based franchise. He outlined that Mupariwa left Tuskers because he felt he could get more game time at Rocks. With Tuskers boasting of national team pace bowlers Christopher Mpofu, Njabulo Ncube, Glenn Querl and Keegan Meth, Mupariwa’s chances of being part of the team’s bowling attack were slim.

“We have lost Tawanda Mupariwa to Southern Rocks, it was sad to let him go but he felt he could get more game time there so we could not stand in his way. I could not guarantee that he was going to play because that is up to the selectors, coach and captain,” said Staddon.

Mupariwa is already training with his new teammates in Masvingo in preparation for the new season which gets underway early next month.

Since making his first class debut for Matabeleland in 2001, Mupariwa has never played for any other province or franchise outside Bulawayo. He was sidelined for the better part of last season by a knee injury and only played towards the end of the season.

The 27-year-old Mupariwa has played one Test, 35 ODIs and four Twenty20 Internationals for Zimbabwe since making his international debut in 2004 but has been ignored for national duty for the past three years and the move to Rocks could be a quest to push for place in the national team. He was called up to the 30- man squad for the International Cricket Council World Twenty20 but failed to make it into the final 15 man squad for the trip to Sri Lanka.

At Rocks, Mupariwa is set to reunite with former Tuskers coach David Houghton who has been reassigned by Zimbabwe Cricket to the franchise which has a bad record in the country’s premier first class competition, the Logan Cup.

Mupariwa is the second player to part ways with Tuskers after batsman Steven Trenchard decided not to take up a pay-as-you-play offer from the franchise and opted for a similar arrangement with the Midwest Rhinos.

Tuskers have already lost their two influential overseas signings Adam Wheater and Paul Horton who were part of the team which lifted the Logan Cup for two consecutive seasons.

http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/index.php?o ... Itemid=142

[Jemisi]

Good news for Rocks. And for the competition. Silly to have him sitting on the sidelines.