The Sunday News
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
THE highest ranked Zimbabwean female batter in T20 cricket, Sharne Mayers is set to take part in the third edition of the Fairbreak Invitational T20 tournament, to be held in the United States of America (USA) later this year.
The 30-year-old cricketer will participate at the two-week competition from 14 to 30 September. Mayers, who will be making her debut at the prestigious event, will join her fellow Lady Chevrons stars, Kelis Ndhlovu, Nomvelo Sibanda and Mary-Anne Musonda who have also been invited at Fairbreak. Sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament will be staged in Houston, Texas and will feature six teams.
Zimbabwe Cricket Women confirmed the development in a Twitter post. Mayers, who is also the third highest run scorer for Zimbabwe in Women’s T20 internationals and has the highest average, will now get the chance to play with some of the best female cricketers in the world. The upcoming edition will be the tournament’s second instalment of the year after the first one was held in Hong Kong in April at Kowloon Cricket Club. The upcoming event will be a follow-up event as the organisers, Fairbreak Global, are looking at hosting the championship two times a year.
Fairbreak Global seeks to establish gender equality hence the new tournament. The inaugural Fairbreak Invitational T20 took place in partnership with Cricket Hong Kong in Dubai in May last year. Lady Chevrons skipper, Musonda took part in the previous edition of the championship where she was playing for Tornadoes in what was an unimpressive campaign for the team.
However, the teenage sensation, Ndhlovu and Sibanda will also be making their debut appearances just like Mayers. Playing in such tournaments against some of the world’s best female cricketers will give Mayers and the other Zimbabwean stars the much needed international exposure which will come in handy in helping the Lady Chevrons and other players back home.
The previous edition of the championship was won by Warriors who thumped Falcons by 93 runs in the final. Batting first, Warriors finished on 230/4 in 20 overs before going on to restrict their opponents to 137/8. Musonda’s Tornadoes finished at the bottom of the standings with zero wins from five matches. – @brandon_malvin
