From backyard cricket to the World Cup Dion Myers

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
CRICKETER Dion Myers remembers vividly his early childhood as what began as a hobby of some sort in the family garden is fast presenting him with opportunities to conquer the world.

Myers, who was recently appointed captain of the Zimbabwe Under-19 team currently in South Africa for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, acquainted himself with the cricket ball and bat as early as he was three years old, playing backyard cricket with his brother Jack, who was 10 then.

And now he has a huge responsibility in his hands as he leads the Zimbabwe youth team in the 2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which began in South Africa yesterday.

Cricket runs in the Myers family. His brother Jack also played for the Zimbabwe Under-19 seven years ago but did not get the opportunity to represent the nation at the World Cup.

Now Dion Myers, an upcoming all-rounder, wants to surpass the heights reached by his brother by going further and challenge for a place in the Chevrons senior side in a few years.

“How did I discover that I am talented? It’s a long story. Back home when I was about three years old, my brother was 10 and he always wanted someone to bowl to him.

“Apparently I was the closest. So when I was three years old, I was already playing backyard cricket with him and I think because I used to bowl so much to him that’s why I became an all-rounder in the end,” reminisced Dion.

“I’m looking forward to play for the national team. I have said that after this World Cup I am hoping that on a personal level I do perform and in the end help the team win matches.

“If I get the opportunity to play for the senior national team, I would definitely want to. Cricket is something that I really want to do in the future and make a name for myself and bring pride to my nation at the international stage,” said Dion Myers.

The 17-year-old, who is also a talented hockey player, has since learnt to balance his responsibilities, also having been named the school head boy at St. George’s College in Harare.

This year promises to be more hectic as he also has to focus more on his studies ahead of the final ‘A’ Level examinations. It demands a lot of concentration and sacrifices as well and Dion Myers, who comes from a very supportive family, is happy to be surrounded by such people.

“It’s also a bit of pressure but I think my parent and my friends always to maintain everything and keep everything balanced especially my father (Daniel).

“He always hustled me about doing my schoolwork because I have always come home late sometimes doing cricket, hockey and other sports.

“So all my engagements are always quite a bit but my parents always help me out to keep everything balanced and help me with career guidance.

“Sometimes I have to cut off time with friends and seeing people because I used to do it when I had enough time. With the captaincy of the national team, I think they have really helped me out a lot to manage my schedules at school, at home and with friends and I am grateful for that.

“My father didn’t actually play cricket, he was mostly a soccer person but he is always watching our games and he has ended up learning the game much more,” said Dion Myers.

Dion Myers is a product of the Zimbabwe Cricket, having played for the national age-group teams from the national Under-13s and also honing his skills at his school, St. George’s College in Harare.

As Zimbabwe open their campaign against Bangladesh today, Dion Myers believes the tournament is a springboard for him and many of his teammates to make a statement on the talent that abounds in Zimbabwe.

He is not new to the pressures of this tournament having been a member of the previous Zimbabwean team that participated in New Zealand two years ago.

Dion Myers, who will be in Upper Six this year, will be joined by fellow St. George’s College teammates Gareth Chirawu (who finished Upper six last year), and Emmanuel Bawa, currently in Form Four.

Zimbabwe finished 11th out of 16 teams at the previous World Cup in New Zealand. They had taken 10th spot at the 2016 tournament staged in Bangladesh.

Dion Myers is aiming for improved performances this time around. Zimbabwe are in Group C together with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Scotland.

“Everyone in the team is very excited. We are really just waiting to play the first game and get the tournament underway. Everyone is just looking to express themselves and to show the world that this team is one of the best Under-19 teams that Zimbabwe has produced in quite a while.

“We are all excited and really booming to get going. With that said, everyone just wants to do their best for the team and the vibe is really good around the team.”

The Zimbabwe youth team featured in a Quadrangular tournament in South Africa as part of their final preparations and recorded good wins over South Africa and New Zealand on their way to a third-place finish.

They also played champions and favourites India and their spirited chase just fell short in a 23-run defeat.
“The warm-up games went alright. We could have gotten a few more positive results. They were quite pretty close games and it shows the talent that we have in our teams.

“So I think the other teams should really watch out because we won’t settle for nothing less. We will definitely be on the front foot throughout the whole tournament. It doesn’t matter which team we play.

“We are just going to play our game and do well for our country. I think the team is very much prepared for the task at hand. We know the conditions well since we are just a few kilometres up north and we know what we need to do.

“Zimbabwe’s chances are very high this time around because of the way we have been set up by our head coach Prosper Utseya.
“He has shown full confidence in us as players and he knows that throughout the group stages all we have to do is just to keep a level head and play to our best. We really don’t care who we play. “So that’s how we are looking to go into it and we know if we play with that kind of confidence and fearless mindset I know we will play well,” said Dion Myers.

Some of the world’s best players have showcased their talent at previous editions of the Under-19 World Cup including top-ranked Test batsman Steve Smith, top-ranked ODI and T20 batsman Virat Kohli, England Test captain Joe Root and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

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