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Youth Interactive Writer

TEENAGE sensation Kelis Ndhlovu is proving to be a great prospect for Zimbabwe women’s cricket. 

The 17-year-old continued with her fine performances when she atoned for Zimbabwe Under-19 Women cricket team’s batting woes with a scintillating bowling display that helped the side secure a nine-run win over hosts Omtex ICWC Cricket Institute Women’s Under-19 in a T20 practice match in Mumbai, India, during the week. 

The Zimbabwe women’s side were sent in to bat first after losing the toss and they struggled to make the scoreboard tick as they could only manage 88/9 in their 20 overs. 

However, the bowlers hit back for Zimbabwe when they restricted their opponents to 79 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted overs. 

All-rounder Ndhlovu was voted player of the match for her incredible bowling spell which yielded four wickets for just nine runs. The 17-year-old, who is also a member of the senior national team, had earlier on contributed 13 runs with the bat. 

Danielle Miekle was also in top form after taking two wickets for nine runs. The 15-year-old sensation was the team’s top scorer as she finished unbeaten on 14 runs, down the batting order. 

The team is in India for a three-week training camp as part of their preparations for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in South Africa next month.

Ndhlovu, who has already featured in the Zimbabwe Women’s senior team at such a young age, is expected to be one of the players to watch out for at the global cricket jamboree for the youth teams.

This is her second time to tour India with the national teams, having been part of the senior side in preparation for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers held in September this year.

India has become a popular training camp for the Zimbabwe cricket teams. The men’s Under-19 team is also currently in India where they are touring the Omtex ICWC Cricket institute. The institute is famed for its state of the art infrastructure, international standard cricket pitches – both indoors and outdoors – and provide opportunities to play plenty of matches.

Zimbabwe Cricket Director of Cricket, Hamilton Masakadza, recently expressed his admiration of the institute during a recent visit to India. “I am impressed with the OMTEX ICWC Cricket Institute setup. 

It provides top-class facilities. The indoor nets, the pitch vision, are very much the state of the art and the way the whole thing is built is easy for the youngsters to be able to use and develop their skills.

“This is a one-stop centre, which provides all the facilities throughout the year, even during the monsoon season. 

“The outfield cricket ground is also excellent and the trainees can just walk to the ground as it is close to their accommodation. That is another big plus for the youngsters,” said Masakadza. The women’s senior team also held a training camp in India as part of their preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier after receiving an invitation from Omtex ICWC. 

The Under-19 Women’s tour is crucial in the preparations for the upcoming ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for January 2023 in South Africa. 

As many as 16 teams will compete in the tournament, which will start on January 14. The Zimbabwe Under-19s will be part of the jamboree after they got automatic qualification to the global show-piece. 

They are among the 11 Full-Member nations that gained automatic entry to the inaugural edition along with Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe. 

Indonesia, Rwanda, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates booked their tickets through regional qualifiers. USA gained the fifth qualifying spot being the only Associate nation eligible to compete under ICC’s Event Pathway Participation Criteria in the Americas region.

Zimbabwe will be Group B at the tournament alongside England, Pakistan and Rwanda. The youth team is leaving no stone unturned in preparation for their first ever World Cup appearance. 

They toured South Africa recently where they played a five-match Twenty20 series against the South Africa Under-19 Women.

Summary scorecard:

Zimbabwe Under 19 Women won by 9 runs.

Zimbabwe Under-19 Women 88-9 in 20 overs (Danielle Miekle 14*, Kelis Ndhlovu 13; Vidal Raut 3-3, Neelakshi Talati 2-5)

OMTEXWC Under-19 Women 79-9 after 20 overs (Swami 9, Talati 8*; Kelis Ndhlovu 4-9, Danielle Miekle 2-9)