Another cricketer lost to the world

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THE list of Zimbabwean-born cricket talent lost to the country continues to grow with another exciting player now donning the opponents’ colours.

Shane Snater (21) was born, bred and schooled in Harare, but is now pursuing his cricket career in the Netherlands.

The former Zimbabwe Under-19 and St John’s College all-rounder starred for the Dutch when they beat Zimbabwe in their third and final one-day game in the Netherlands in June.

“Playing against Zim was, of course, very special since I’ve grown up watching most of the Zimbabwe guys play cricket, and playing against a few of them,” said Snater, who took three wickets for 30 runs in their 149-run win over Zimbabwe.

“So as you can imagine, I was very grateful for this opportunity, so I wanted to perform and do well against Zim,” he continued.

Zimbabwe cricket coach Heath Streak is on record lamenting the loss of cricketers to other countries.

“It’s been tough for Zimbabwe to retain some of these players and hence we are constantly rebuilding.

“If you look around the world and look at Zimbabweans internationally, we’ve got the likes of Gary Ballance, the Curran boys Sam and Tom, who just debuted for England, and Kyle Jarvis playing county cricket successfully,” Streak was quoted as saying.

Snater is the latest name to that list that also includes Hilton Cartwright, who now plays for Australia.

Will Snater have a change of heart in the future?

“Never say never, but at the moment the answer is no.

“I am really focused on playing for the Netherlands and cementing a permanent place in the Dutch side. My first goal is to help the Netherlands qualify for the 2019 World Cup.

“With a Dutch surname and a Dutch passport, I had always wanted to come over here to play cricket,” he said.

He cherishes his six months at the Darren Lehman Cricket Academy in Adelaide, Australia for his development.

“After school in Zimbabwe, I played a season of club cricket in the UK, Sherborne Cricket Club, and then had the opportunity to go to the Darren Lehman Cricket Academy in Adelaide Australia for six months.

“Here I made some great connections which is how I ended up doing a first season in the Netherlands last year and it’s taken off from there.

“So as you can see, I have travelled the world to work on my game, I’m really passionate about cricket.”

He says he is still in contact with some of his old buddies and is happy to see other Zimbabwean born players doing well abroad.

“I have very fond memories of school derbies throughout age group cricket, as well as having two great last seasons at St John’s.

“I’m in touch with them and a number of them are all over the world playing cricket.

“To be honest, it’s always great to see other guys who grew up in Zim do well wherever they are in the world.”

Snater has a big thanks to individuals who have helped his career thus far.

“My St John’s coaches Ross Nel and Lenny de Grandhomme. I also need to give huge credit to the coaching staff at the Darren Lehman Academy for helping me to bring my game to the next level and work on my strengths and weaknesses.” —Sportszone.co.zw

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