The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
MANY times, sportspersons have failed to plan for life after retirement by investing their earnings wisely and advancing their academic qualifications.
A few sportspersons have put their careers on hold while pursuing education and most of the times that means giving up a source of income. A few have juggled their sporting careers and their studies.
Locally, national team cricketer Hamilton Masakadza had to put his international career on hold while studying in South Africa, Clemence Matawu of Chicken Inn FC has twice missed out on attending the Soccer Stars of the Year banquet because he was writing examinations at the National University of Science and Technology while Bulawayo City midfielder Kelvin Madzongwe is mulling heading back to the United States of America to further his studies.
National women cricket team all rounder Mary-Anne Musonda has managed to find balance between playing sport and seeking academic excellence.
Musonda has left for South Africa for her Master of Commerce in Development Finance at the University of Cape Town. She is already a holder of a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Business Finance from the University of KwaZulu-Natal from where she graduated in 2015.
Fortunately for Musonda, whose studies are being paid for by her mother, she will be able to participate in cricket while in the neighbouring country and when time permits represent her country in international cricket on an earn-as-you-play arrangement. The 25-year-old Musonda left for South Africa yesterday and will be across the Limpopo River until the end of next year.
She feels blessed that she has been able to pursue both her sporting career and further her studies and has made the two a priority.
“It was always part of my goals to reach Masters level, I don’t look at cricket and education as two different things I do, they have always happened simultaneously. I am open to the idea of being an “earn-as-you-play” for the national team, it’s flexible enough. Going back to school doesn’t limit the personal goals I’ve have set out for myself. I consider it a blessing to be able to pursue my academics and cricket. Not everyone is able to juggle the two successfully,’’ said Musonda.
She made the decision to pursue her Masters last year and asked Zimbabwe Cricket to give her a six-month contract when female cricketers were tied down in September last year. When the contracts were signed, Musonda had already secured a place at UCT.
Born on 4 August 1991 at Avenues Maternity Clinic in Harare, Musonda went to Hermann Gmeiner Primary School in Harare. From there she headed to Kwekwe High School for her Ordinary Levels where she passed all the 10 subjects she sat for. Musonda did her Advanced Levels at Saint John’s Emerald Hill from where she picked up nine points.
Her cricket career started off at Kwekwe High School where at the beginning she was a pace bowler before becoming a spinner because of injury. She was initially a hockey player but ditched that sport when she took up cricket. Blessed with height, Musonda is also a basketball player and turned out for Vixens last year.
“I started playing cricket in Form One in 2004, my first coach, the late Craig Majawa is the reason why I took up cricket, he made me believe I will be an excellent cricketer. I have always been an all rounder, I started off as a pace bowler but picked up an injury and now I am an off spinner. I played a lot of sports at school, my hockey coach and cricket one were friends so the cricket coach asked me to take up the sport.
After ditching hockey I also took up basketball. I played for Vixens in the Harare Basketball League on and off because of cricket in 2016,’’ Musonda said.
Her national team debut came when she was in Form Two in 2005 during the Africa World Cup qualifiers which the Zimbabwean women won in Kenya.
School commitments, however, stopped her from being part of the national team for the global qualifiers.
While studying in South Africa, Musonda got an opportunity to represent KZN Inland, with the team playing against five other provincial sides. She said she got a lot of game time with consistent practice and that helped in terms of form and game preparation.
Musonda was the most outstanding player for Zimbabwe at the International Cricket Council Women’s World Cup qualifier held in Sri Lanka this month. She top scored in all of Zimbabwe’s four matches against Ireland, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
Musonda finished the tournament with 113 runs, scored at an average of 28.25 and a best score of 35 not out against Thailand.
Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup to be held from 26 June to 23 July in the United Kingdom.
“I top scored in all the matches, my approach was to put my team in a winning position. The competition was very challenging, it was uncomfortable because we played against teams we had not played much against or never played before, we went in there looking for two wins, we targeted Ireland and Thailand, the Ireland game was a game we could have won, had we occupied the crease more, their batting was decent, for us it was about building partnerships.
“It’s disappointing, for women’s cricket it was going to be quite a big thing to get ODI status, it would have opened many doors, personally I went there very expectant, a lot was at stake, we were close to making a name for ourselves,’’ said Musonda.
She describes herself as being opinionated, tells it as it is but as the same time being a motivator. The only girl and last born in a family of four wants to continue playing cricket for another 10 years before she sets up her own academy.
“I am a simple person, opinionated, frank and quite honest, I would like to think I am a motivator, I want to see people achieve their goals, I want to be part of their success story, especially girls. I want to continue playing cricket for another 10 years, then get into promoting women’s cricket, for me its opening an academy specifically for females for all sports, primarily cricket,’’ said Musonda.
Her advice to up-and-coming cricketers is that they should be in no doubt in what they are doing. In that way, she believes they can achieve their goals.
“As a woman it’s important to be confident in your abilities, who you are, that is the centre of attitude towards anything. Once you are confident, whatever you, do put your mind to it,’’ said Musonda.
She is a Christian and a member of the Life and Liberty Churches International, which she started attending in 2015, having been a congregant at Methodist Church from a young age.
@Mdawini_29
