zimcricketnews.com

Zimbabwe's Under-15 side were on impressive form at the Ekurhuleni Cricket Festival in South Africa last week, ending the tournament unbeaten, while the Under-13's won seven out of their nine matches. Full details of the matches aren't available, but the U15 results were as follows:

30-over matches
Zimbabwe 148/8, EJCCA 123 all out. Zimbabwe won by 25 runs
Zimbabwe 176/5, Easterns 143/6. Zimbabwe won by 33 runs
EJCCA 187, Zimbabwe 188/7. Zimbabwe won by 3 runs
Namibia 148, Zimbabwe 150/8. Zimbabwe won by 2 wickets

Twenty20 matches
Zambia 51 all out, Zimbabwe 52/1. Zimbabwe won by 9 wickets
Northerns 98/6, Zimbabwe 100/1. Zimbabwe won by 9 wickets
SE Gauteng 88, Zimbabwe 89/7. Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets
Griqualand West 128/9, Zimbabwe 131/5. Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets
Zimbabwe 187, Easterns 167. Zimbabwe won by 20 runs.

Zimbabwe's U13 and U15 sides are heading to South Africa to take part in the Ekurhuleni Cricket Festival, to be held in Benoni between June 30th & July 5th. In the Under 13 age group, Zimbabwe will play against the Botswana Development and Invitational teams and a side from Swaziland. In the Under 15 section, Zimbabwe will face Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia and South African provincial sides Griqualand West, North West, South Gauteng and the Ekurhuleni team. The sides will play each other on a roundrobin basis, with 30-over matches in the morning and Twenty20 ties in the afternoon except on the final day when they will play 40-over fixtures.

The Zim teams taking part have been named as:
Under 13: Clive Chitumba, Stuart du Preez, Ryan Higgins, Luke Jongwe, Farai Kabike, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Patrick Mambo, Thabani Moyo, Jack Myers, Tafadzwa Potsekai, Campbell Saul, James Suddens and Daniel Wells. (Coach: Shepherd Makunura; Manager: Moses Chitare.)
Under 15: Matthew Bentley, James Bruce, Joy Chitate, Reason Deka, Hieronymo Kabvundura, Gordon Lindsay, Vuyisile Maphala, Isaac Mapimha, Luke Masasire, Tinashe Mungoshi, Tarisai Musakanda, Joseph Musorosekwa, Boyd Rouse, Michael Scruby and Peacemore Zimwa. (Coach: Clement Mahachi; Manager: Brian Rouse.)

I'm not hugely hopeful of much publicity being given to the results of these matches, but I'll post what I can track down.

CricInfo's Steven Price takes a look at the state of schools' cricket in Zimbabwe, and finds things to be in better shape than he expected, especially given the current economic situation there. The tone of the report, the first in a series on how the game is coping away from the top tier, indicates that he was expecting to find the sport in collapse, with little or no support working down from ZC:

In the aftermath of the World Cup, it was well publicised that Zimbabwe received approximately US$ 11 million from the ICC, and questions were inevitably raised as to how that sum was being spent, given the relatively few matches played by the team - they remain in self-imposed suspension from Test cricket - and the small number of players inside the country.

The board, and Peter Chingoka, its chairman, countered the queries with bullish rhetoric about the state of school and club cricket and the investment being made in those areas. But for all the confident talk there remained rumours all was not well, and so I decided to find out for myself.

Happily, that's not what he found - although conditions are hard, the game is flourishing as best it can under the circumstances:

The story in many of the schools was surprisingly good. "All the traditional junior and high schools are still playing cricket and the structures still seem to be there," one administrator told me. "All the age groups are still running." There was also good news among the government schools in high-density areas, where some were lucky enough to have ZC-funded coaches and many were still playing competitive cricket.

It's not all roses, though, as economic reality is forcing many to quit the sport after leaving school, and that may well have a knock-on effect further down the line. The full article is well worth a read, and is somewhat more positive than most of Price's pieces. Next in the series is a look at club cricket - and given the perceived problems with the quality of matches in the provincial & National Leagues, that one may not be so positive...
CricInfo - Battling on despite the hardships

Zimbabwe's various age-group sides have been announced, ahead of the traditional tours to South Africa over the next few months. The U19 squad for next year's U19 World Cup will also be chosen from the names listed here. The sides are:

Under-19
Tinashe Chimbambo, Tendai Chitongo, Hughes Dinembiri, Justin Gaisford, Kyle Jarvis, Edzai Jaure, Daniel Landman, Tendai Mashonganyika, Prince Masvaure, Stewart Matsika, Solomon Mire, Peter Moore, Simon Mugava, Mike Muguda, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Richmond Mutumbami, Njabulo Ncube, Reginald Nehonde, Trymore Taruvinga and Michael Vickery.

Under-17
Wisdom Bandura, Tendai Chatara, Steven Chimamhiwa, Gary Chirimuuta, Keith David, Craig Dollar, Dylan Higgins, Kudakwashe Huni, Roy Kaia, Andrew Lindsay, Malvern Maphosa, Dean Mazhawidza, Jethro Mhandu, Edgar Muchibwa, Tony Mupariwa, Natsayi Mushangwe and Mazaru Zambuko.

Under-16
George Banda, John Burgess, Brian Chari, Malvern Chiwara, Tochukwu Enewerem, Bradley Ferreira, Baxton Gopito, Ronnie Makohwera, Paul Maloney, Godwell Mamhiyo, Tanaka Matsiya, Grobelaar Mazambara, Calum Price, Kudzai Sauramba, Shadreck Shawarira, Lennon Simairi and Corey van Rensburg.

Under-14
Ryan Burl, Bright Dzowa, Tapiwa Gamanya, Tinashe Ganyani, Martin Hulbert, Vaence Kucherera, Charles Kunje, Malcolm Lake, Alistair Macleod, Cornelius Maparura, Odecious Mhanje, Michael Mlambo, Ronald Moyo, Tarisai Musakanda, Andre Odendaal and Matthew Wicks.

Under-13
Nathan Arnold, Desmond Chigwedere, Saul Campbell, Clive Chitumba, Keagan Higgins, Jeremy Ives, Farai Kabike, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Peter Lindsay, Patrick Mambo, Thabani Moyo, Tafara Mupariwa, Linsley Ndlovu and Tendai Nyamayaro.
zimcricket.org - Five national age-group squads named

Zimbabwe 'A' player Prince Masvaure scored 178 runs and picked up 6 wickets in the tourney to make sure Churchill finished top of the table at the Ballantyne KwikSpar Twenty20, part of the St John's Cricket Festival which took part last weekend. Churchill dominated the tourney, losing only one match (by 45 runs to Peterhouse).

The final tournament table was:

                 Pld  Pts   NRR
1 Churchill HS     4   11  8.69
2 Falcon College   4    9  6.55
3 Peterhouse       4  5.5  5.99
4 St John's        4  2.5  5.99
5 St George's      4  2.5  5.74

Zimbabwe Standard - Churchill's 'V' for Victory in 20/20

St George's College took the CABS Schools Twenty20 title this weekend, thanks to a one-run win over defending champions Churchill High who were looking for their third successive title. St George's scored 173 batting first, but Churchill fell short by the closest possible margin in reply.
zimcricket.org - Schools showcase talent as St George’s College wrestle Twenty20 title

Womens' Inter-Provincial tournament will take place in Kwekwe from the 20-24 April, while age-group inter-provincials will take place from 11-14 April, at the following locations:
U11: Watershed College
U13: Petra High School, Bulawayo
U14: Falcon College
U16: Lomagundi College
U17: Churchill High School, Harare
U19: Old Hararians Sports Club
Northerns will be fielding 2 sides is each age category, to reflect the larger player base in and around Harare. Hopefully ZC will actually release some results from these tournaments...
zimcricket.org - Women’s teams selected | Age-group interprovincials set for after Easter

1st Round
Zim U19 (184/5) bt Northerns U19 (110) by 74 runs
Zim U16 (134/5) bt Northerns U16 (133/4) by 5 wickets
Zim U14 (111/7) bt Northerns U14 (79) by 32 runs

2nd Round
Zim U19 (154/2) bt Northerns U19 (153/7) by 8 wickets
Zim U16 (130/8) bt Northerns U16 (153) by 23 runs
Zim U14 (103/9, 20 overs) drew with Northerns U14 (103/5, 20 overs)

Good results all round for all three teams on this trip.

Zim U19 (208/8) bt Northerns U19 (207) by 2 wickets
Zim U16 (250) bt Northerns U16 (125) by 125 runs
Northerns U14 (183) bt Zim U14 (173) by 10 runs

Zimbabwe's U14, U16 and U19 sides have left for their short tour of South Africa. The sides will play 4 50-over and 2 20-over matches each, against sides from Northern and Gauteng provinces. The squads are:

U19
V Chaitezvi (captain), R Chakabva, P Charumbira, T Chisoro, K Jarvis, F Kasteni, T Mahlunge, A Manyumwa, T Maruma P Masvaure, S Mwakayeni, T Ngulube, A Smith and M Vickery.

U16
P Moor (captain), M Chamburuka, G Chirimuuta, C Dollar, D Higgins, K Hook, K Huni, E Jaure, K Kaia, A Lindsay, D Mazhawidza, P Moor and C van Rensburg.

U14
B Rouse (captain), M Bentley, J Bruce, J Chitate, M Chitehwe, H Kabvundura, V Maphala, I Mapimha, L Masasire, M Nkiwane, M Scrubby, A van Heerden and P Zimwa.
zimcricket.org - National junior sides embark on tour of SA