FORMER Zimbabwe senior women’s cricket team captain Sharne Mayers was in red hot form as she hit a career-best 232 not out as her club Renegades Cricket Academy beat Eastern women’s cricket team in a 50 over game on Saturday.
Mayers opened the batting and was in imperious form, showing her class on her way to a double century in a 50 overs club match, hitting 27 boundaries and three maximums.
She was not afraid to play her shots as wickets tumbled around her leaving her to carry the day for her team.
The former Lady Chevrons’ star was the opposing captain’s nightmare as she scored runs all around the ground making it difficult to set a field for her.
The 28- year-old scored most of her runs in front of square and her three sixes were hit straight down the ground.
The gulf in class between the Bulawayo born top order batter and her teammates on the day, was evident as the second highest score were 58 extras conceded by the opposition bowlers while Sarah Nettleton who scored 28 runs was third highest run scorer for a team total of 365 runs.
Mayers who has also represented Zimbabwe at hockey moved to South Africa to pursue her dream of becoming a professional cricketer and joined Central Gauteng Lionesses where she is rubbing shoulders with some of South Africa women’s cricket national team players.
Like many of her Zimbabwe women’s cricket teammates she was left frustrated after Zimbabwe were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) because of government interference in sport in 2019 and had to re-evaluate the trajectory her career was taking, hence her move to South Africa.
The superb double century by Mayers was a timely reminder to the selectors and administrators that they must do everything in their powers to get her back in the national fold especially now that Zimbabwe women were granted Test and ODI status by ICC.
Mayers last played for the Lady Chevrons against Namibia in the final of the Africa T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Harare in May 2019 and was conspicuous by her absence when Pakistan toured Zimbabwe in February.
Speaking to Goodwill Mamhiyo on the Africa Sports Consultancy Youtube channel, Mayers said she would not be representing the Lady Chevrons in the immediate future.
“Zimbabwe Cricket has been great, they have afforded me so many amazing opportunities and I can’t thank them enough,” said Mayers.
“I won’t close the door forever but I have to say at the moment you won’t be seeing me in national colours.”
For someone who started playing for her country as a teenager, Zimbabwe’s suspension and the failure to go to Scotland for the Global World Cup Qualifiers in 2019 was too much to take for the top order batter and it was a stark reminder that what one loves can be taken away from them just like that.
“We were so disappointed not to go to Scotland for the Global Qualifiers and I had to start to think of life after cricket and start preparing for it,” the former wicketkeeper said.
“I love representing my country and as a cricketer that’s what you want, to play on a bigger stage, play at a World Cup. But I also understand that I can’t play cricket forever.”
