The Sunday News
MASVINGO Province emerged victorious at the National Association of Secondary School Heads cricket national finals that were played at the Heath Streak Cricket Academy on Friday last week when they overcame Midlands by an emphatic eight wickets haul in the final.
However, the national schools showcase only managed to attract six provinces with the other four in a no-show.
Nash head-in-charge of cricket Deborah Manyoba said it was unfortunate some provinces failed to pitch without providing any reasons.
The provincial teams were pooled into two groups with Bulawayo, Mashonaland East and Matabeleland South in Group A while Group B comprised Matabeleland North, Midlands and Masvingo.
Mashonaland East won their two group matches, beating Bulawayo by 28 runs and Matabeleland South by 10 wickets while Bulawayo won against Matabeleland South by 28 runs.
In the other group, Masvingo topped the standings with two wins over Matabeleland North and Midlands by nine wickets and eight wickets respectively.
Midlands came second following a 67-run victory over Matabeleland North.
The semi-finals pitted Masvingo against Bulawayo and the former managed to progress with a nine-wicket victory while Midlands made it into the finals courtesy of a 26-run victory over Mashonaland East. Bulawayo took third place as they dispatched Mashonaland East by eight wickets in the third place play-off match.
In the final, Midlands went in to bat first but they were restricted to 62 runs all out by their opponents Masvingo, who went on to attain a match winning score of 64 runs for only two wickets.
Guest of honour at the event, Heath Streak Multi-sports Academy chief executive officer Joseph Rego commended Nash for organising the tournament saying it would nurture talent and produce future stars.
“I congratulate the organisers of this tournament, Nash for affording the children of our country an opportunity to showcase their talent and I am positive among you there could be one or two Elton Chigumburas and Hamilton Masakadzas who will one day make Zimbabwe proud at international level.
“Cricket is no longer a game for the elite as it has been spread to all corners of the world and being played and followed by people from various backgrounds in life. The country which considers cricket to be an elite sport was the first to be knocked out of the World Cup,” he said.
The tournament is an annual event meant to nurture talent and foster competition among provincial school teams.
