Under 18's Tour To SA

[zimfan1]

[quoteChawaguta bullish ahead of SA tour
Austin Karonga • 2 July 2013 11:48PM • 0 comments

Share this article: Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinShare on pinterest_shareShare on google_plusone_shareShare on emailMore Sharing Services1HARARE - Zimbabwe national cricket Under-18 coach, Walter Chawaguta, is confident his team will put up a good show during the annual South African Cricket Festival.

The team leaves Wednesday morning for a week-long festival at the Eastern Junior Club Cricket Association (EJCCA) in Benoni.

“We bat right down the order and so we are going as a confident and well-motivated team. The spirit is high...you can tell by the enjoyable banter on our WhatsApp phone group,” said Chawaguta.

“We have focused for the past month on many one-on-one sessions; though it’s a pity we have been unable to have any warm-up matches.

“Fielding has been my main concern and we have made it a priority and they seem to be developing into a sharp unit.”

The team is captained by top-order left-hand batsman Eddie Byrom.

The St John’s College batsman recently turned 16 and played for the Zimbabwe Under-18s in last December’s South African Cricket Week in Cape Town.

Chawaguta, a former Zimbabwe senior national team coach, is also hopeful that the prospect of a place at the Under-19 World Cup squad will inspire the players to play to their full potential.

The Under-19 World Cup will be held in Dubai in March next year.

“With the Under-19 World Cup in Dubai in March next year we are looking to blood a few younger players for continuity, who would still be there in 2016,” added Chawaguta.

“That should be a big motivational factor — we have earmarked a few already but someone who really shines on tour now could still be invited to the World Cup trials this August.”

The annual EJCCA Festival (Under-18) is headquartered at Benoni’s Willowmoore Park and Zimbabwe will play three of their opening five Twenty20 matches between July 3 and 5 on the ODI international ground, which is also headquarters of the Africa Cricket Association.

The Under-18 section also features three teams from the strong South African Easterns franchise, Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique.

Normally the winter pitches in Benoni are slow and favour spin, with outfields often dry and spongy, making fast runs difficult.

“We have got a strong unit of four spinners and have done a lot of work with them these past few months,” Chawaguta said.

“The spin department comprise of leg spinner Kyle Hopper, Jeremy Ives (left-arm), Richie Lock (off-spin) and Ahsen Ali Aqil (off-spin).

“The seam attack will be spearheaded by three St John’s College speedsters Brad Evans, Gary King and Shane Snater as well as Branden Watson of Falcon College in Matebeleland.”

Harare Spare Parts and tyre specialists, Drum City (Pvt) Ltd, have sponsored the kit for both the Under-16 and Under-18 teams.

Meanwhile, Under-18 tour manager, Nick Singo from Zimbabwe Cricket, insists on moulding a well-disciplined team on tour.

“They (players) must represent their country with pride, take responsibility and remember this is a festival where the spirit of the game is emphasised,” said Singo.

“We’ll go all out to win and play our best, of course, and I expect our main opposition to come from the hosts Easterns and also Namibia, who sometimes bring several of their Under-19 World Cup players.”

Zimbabwe Under-18 squad: Eddie Byrom (captain, St John’s), Gary King (vice-captain, St John’s), Tatenda Chiradza (Prince Edward), Shaun Nyamutsa (Peterhouse), Tufail Zaheer (Prince Edward), Nazim Patel(Prince Edward), Brad Evans (St John’s), Kyle Hopper (St John’s), Richie Lock (St John’s), Shane Snater (St John’s), Ahsen Ali Aqil (home school), Jeremy Ives (St George’s), Branden Watson (Falcon College).

][/quote]

Probably one of the stronger under 18 sides we have had in a while, Eddie Byrom and Brad Evans have done well in recent schools cricket.

Also good to see 3 player of Asian decent in the sqaud.

[CrimsonAvenger]

Probably one of the stronger under 18 sides we have had in a while, Eddie Byrom and Brad Evans have done well in recent schools cricket.

Also good to see 3 player of Asian decent in the sqaud.

Yes, and Chiradza too. But hadn't heard of the Asian origin players till this squad at all. Any info on them? I thought some usual names from schools cricket were missing, but can't remember exactly. Biggest stage for Byrom and Welch in U16 for sure.

[ZIMDOGGY]

a modern day zimbabwe team with 8 whites, 3 curries and 2 brothers?

shocked!

[eugene]

a modern day zimbabwe team with 8 whites, 3 curries and 2 brothers?

shocked!

Maybe Zimbabwe's administrators are getting tired of losing?

[CrimsonAvenger]

I think at age group levels, and for tournaments like this, the teams must be getting selected based on "who can afford" to go. I am assuming that the kids' families are raising money to make this possible. I remember Glen Byrom putting up an appeal in his blog a few years back to make such a tour possible for the kids (even when Eddie was not involved). There are some families coming forward to sponsor the kids. And that could have resulted in deciding who gets to tour as well. All speculation, but plausible. Googly / gargamel / cock can shed more light, may be.

[foreignfield]

I was sort of thinking the same, Crimson, but:

Tbh, it looks like a trend to me. All those age-group sides are primarily picked from a couple of private schools, as far as I can see -- and the black kids there are obviously more into other sports, as someone (Googly?) has observed. The scholarships which gave us the best of the current crop of black cricketers (Taibu, Hami, Elton , Vusi) are a thing of the past, I believe, so that production line is effectively closed. Small wonder that the majority of the black talent in recent times have been bowlers -- you don't need the greatest facilities and coaching to bowl fast.

The supposedly "racist" ZCU has done more to spread the game in the past (by producing good players/role models) than all those devolopment schemes of recent times. Of course it helped that there were less hungry mouths in admin to feed ...

[CrimsonAvenger]

That is true, we can look at this from those two standpoints. These kids could be using this for showcasing as well, and might jump ship at the earliest opportunity. It has happened with the U19 teams regularly in the last few years now. But the point, ultimately is, we have severe issues running through the grass root levels. Hope we can expect better from this lot.

[cock]

It amazes me that there are 4 St John's U/17 boys on the tour. As far as I know their side as U/16 last year played St George's twice in 50 over cricket and they also met in the final of the St John's U/16 20/20 tournament. On all three occasions St George's won but not one boy from that St George's side is in the Zim side. How good is our selection or is it the same old story that a known name gets you further than actual performance.

[jaybro]

How good are these kids ??? I've heard a few of you talk about this Eddy Byrom kid is he a potential star ??

what about the others any people to watch out for it's been a while since we've had some young talent to get excited about ??

I guess if they're any good England will snap em up lol

[eugene]

None of the talented ones will ever play for Zimbabwe beyond the age-group sides, unless something drastic changes.