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Brandon Moyo, [email protected]

THE past year was not the best of them all for cricket in Zimbabwe, with the senior men’s national cricket team misfiring from all fronts to a point where they found themselves at the mercy of “minnows” in the continent.

However, the recently ended 2024 African Games in the Ghanaian capital of Accra provided Zimbabwe with the platform to once again assert their dominance as an African cricket powerhouse.

The Chevrons may be the only Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) missing out on the upcoming T20I World Cup,  with Uganda and Namibia going through, but at the African Games, the youthful team managed to flex its muscles.

At the Games, Zimbabwe Emerging played five matches and convincingly won all of them, something which their technical advisor and renowned cricket development coach Steve Mangongo was impressed with.

For the former Chevrons gaffer, the team’s performance at the African Games is the kind of thing and standard that is expected from a nation with such a rich cricketing history. Apart from their brilliant showing in the field of play, Mangongo was also impressed by their off-field behaviour.

“It was top drawer. These are the standards expected of a Test nation like Zimbabwe. Minnows, we are expected to crush and these boys did exactly so. I salute these fine young future national team players for the work they have done in the past nine weeks. The discipline off the field has been exemplary,” said Mangongo.

Mangongo is the head coach of Zimbabwe Cricket’s (ZC) developmental high-performance programme, which features the country’s upcoming talent under the age of 25 and believes that the signs for the country’s next big players are already there. The hard work they have been putting on is paying off.

“We at High Performance have fostered a culture of hard work and the signs are looking good for the long-term objective of creating a foundation for solid players of international quality,” he said.

On their road to African glory, Zimbabwe beat Namibia by 35 runs in their opening game of the tournament before going on to register a four-wicket win over Tanzania in their second group encounter. Their last group game was against Nigeria and they flexed their muscles with a crushing 10-wicket win.

In the semi-finals, Zimbabwe faced a Kenyan team that had the likes of Collins Obuya, Shem Ngoche, Nelson Odhiambo and Rakep Patel.

The quartet brought in a wealth of experience for Kenya, having played in the 2011 World Cup with Obuya also playing in the 2003 edition.
Zimbabwe managed to hold their nerves and register a 70-run win.

In the final, it was a re-match of the opening game between Zimbabwe and Namibia and the Chevrons, once again were at their best to register a commanding eight-wicket win and bring home the gold medal.

In the final, Zimbabwe were asked to bowl first and went on to restrict Namibia to just 113/7 in their 20 overs. They chased down the target in 14, 5 overs, finishing on 114/2 having lost only the wickets of Rodney Mupfudza (24 runs off 25 balls) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (58 runs off 40 deliveries).

The duo notched up a 55-run stand for the first wicket partnership.

Zimbabwe’s performance in the final put a smile on Mangongo’s face.

“The bowling was disciplined all round and Namibia was simply strangled. On the batting front, our boys exhibited composure, good temperament and most importantly, technical competency. Great foundation by Rodney Mupfudza and Tadiwa Marumani,” said Mangongo.

Former national team all-rounder and captain, Elton Chigumbura was the head coach while Njabulo Ncube was the bowling coach. Tarisayi Sembezeya and Travor Vambe were manager and physiotherapist respectively.

Following their triumph at the African Games, ZC rewarded the team with US$80 000 that will be shared among the team members, including the coaching and support staff. The Lady Chevrons also received a similar amount after they won gold as well.

“Winning has never felt so good and I wish to personally congratulate our emerging men’s team on conquering all their opponents at the African Games in Accra, to make it a golden double for us after our women’s team also scooped gold.

“Just like the ladies did, you competed extraordinarily well and in doing so, you have proved that as a country we have what it takes to be among cricket’s elite,” said ZC chairperson Tavengwa Mukuhlani.

Most of Zimbabwe Emerging players were Under-25s. – @brandon_malvin