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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE baseball team coach Americo Juma has expressed satisfaction with his side’s preparations for an Easter tournament to be held in Durban, South Africa, from April 3-7.

Juma, a former national team player and African scout for the United States’ Major League Baseball, took the provisional 35-man squad through a gruelling three-day training session at Hamilton High School in Bulawayo at the weekend.

The national side will face South African provincial sides in the annual baseball event.

The training camp was the second in preparation for the tournament after the first held in December conducted by United States coach Bart Bratcher.

“The camp was a success. I am happy with what l have seen. The level of competition for places is very high, which is what every coach wants. Our goal was to assess the players and incorporate new boys into the squad. We are keen to do well in South Africa and are working hard to ensure that. The commitment shown by the boys is really impressive,” said Puma.

“The South African provincial sides are very strong because of the high performance academies they have and that places them at a higher level than us.

We did not do well in our first tour to South Africa in 2015. In 2016 we put in a lot of work and managed to bring home a bronze medal. This year we are expecting to do even better. The tournament will be an opportunity for us to gauge ourselves and see where we are in terms of progress,” he said.

The squad will regroup for another camp scheduled for the end of March 2018 at the same venue. – @innocentskizoe