Sports Reporter
St. AIDANS of Chitungwiza dominated the Rocview Cricket Academy Under-13 tournament held at Old Hararians and Alexandra Sports Club.
The Chitungwiza-based outfit came out tops after edging out Mashonaland East Cricket Association (MECA) by one wicket in a tense final at Old Hararians.
Overs in the final were reduced to three due to bad light and St. Aidans won the toss and put MECA in to bat first.
Hosts Rocview, who were celebrating their 10th anniversary, scored a quick-fire 28 for no loss in the third place playoff against Premier Cricket Academy from Mutare but they lost by 10 runs.
The tournament was organised into two pools. Pool A was hosted at Old Hararians and Pool B at Alexandra Sports Club, with five teams and six teams respectively.
Hosts Rocview Cricket Academy were grouped with Mashonaland East Cricket Association, Origens Sports Academy, Don’s Cricket Acdemy and All Stars Academy 2 in Pool A while Pool B consisted of All Stars Academy 1, Alfred Beit School, Kadoma Cricket Club, Nortonians Cricket Club, Premier Cricket Academy and St Aidens School.
Fifteen matches were played in Pool B while 10 took place in Pool A. Overs were adjusted for delays in time as per the agreed tournament rules, regulations and playing conditions.
The average number of overs played was five. In the league phase of the competition St Aidans School won all their games at Alexandra Sports Club while Premier Cricket Academy from Mutare won all but one of theirs and proceeded to the semi-finals at Old Hararians.
Other teams in the pool were Alfred Beit School, All Stars 1 Cricket Academy, Nortonians and Kadoma Cricket Club who finished third, fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
At Old Hararians, MECA, Rocview Cricket Club and All Starts 2 Academy each won three out of their four games but All Stars could not make the semis because of an inferior run rate.
Zimbabwe’s Test fast bowling sensation Blessing Muzarabani, quick left-armer and death bowling specialist Richard Ngarava, batsmen Tinashe Kamhunukamwe and batting consultant Stuart Matsikinyeri attended the tournament.
Also in attendance were the General Manager for Eagles Wonder Chisango and Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association Chairperson, Tafadzwa Madoro, who was the guest of honour.
Outstanding players were also rewarded with individual prizes for their efforts. Rocview Cricket Academy chairman Ronald Tapera said the tournament was a success.
“We would like to appreciate the teams that have made it to this year’s tournament, our first post the COVID-induced break.
“I am sure you will agree it was a successful one and we enjoyed a good day of cricket. We will look at the tournament objectively and address all gaps we have identified to ensure we improve the experience at our future events.
“We will consider having this tournament over more than one day as it has attracted more interest than we had hoped for. Once again, we thank Zimbabwe Cricket and HMCA for their support and guidance during out tournament,” said Tapera.
Individual Prizes
Best batsman – Dylone Nyamhuri (St. Aidan’s) 97 runs in 5 innings at an average of 48.50 and strike rate of 146.97.
Best bowler – Mufaro Dzotizei (MECA) 11 wickets in 6 innings at an economy rate of 4.15.
Player of the tournament (MVP) – Mufaro Dzotizei (MECA).
Best Girl performer – Privilege Takawira (Rocview).