ST Aidens emerged winners of the Plascon-sponsored U-19 All Stars Cricket Academy Tournament, which took place over the weekend at Prince Edward School in Harare.
The Chitungwiza-based outfit, led by Coach Malcolm Chikuhwa, demonstrated their superiority by defeating Young Legends cricket team by seven wickets in the final match.
St Aidens relied on the exceptional skills of Zimbabwe U-19 players Newman Nyamhuri and Brendon Sunguro, who were fresh from the ICC World Cup and were instrumental in the bowling and batting departments.
With a formidable lineup, St Aidens easily dismantled Young Legends, bowling them all out with 6.4 overs to spare in what appeared to be an uneven contest.
The journey towards victory took work, as St. Aidens had to face some robust competitors, including the favourites, the All Stars Cricket Academy U-19 team, whom they defeated in a close qualifying game.
Nyamhuri attributed their success to rigorous preparation and invaluable experience he gained from the U19 Cricket World Cup.
“I am happy that our hard work has finally paid off. When I was batting, I used my strength and told myself that I would clear the boundaries, and I did just that.” Nyamhuri said.
“The World Cup has helped me a lot, and I now know where I stand in the world.”
Brendon Sunguro was declared the tournament’s Most Valuable Player due to his exceptional bowling performance. He emphasised the importance of taking every game seriously, irrespective of past achievements. Sunguro leveraged his experience from the previous U-19 World Cup and played a pivotal role in St. Aidens’ victory.
“It’s always a good feeling to win,” said Sunguro. “Today wasn’t hard to bowl because Young Legends batsmen were just trying to hit everything that came their way. Even though I was using my World Cup experience, I always take every game seriously because the level of cricket is always the same everywhere you go.”
Coach Chikuhwa, responsible for St Aidens’ triumph, attributed their success to careful planning and a winning strategy. With Nyamhuri and Sunguro leading the team, Chikuhwa motivated his players to exhibit maturity and responsibility, encouraging them to perform well in all aspects of the game.
“We had a plan, and we knew they would introduce spin bowlers at some point,” said Coach Chikuhwa.
“I told Newman and Brendon that they have to show that they have matured enough to handle anything and take responsibility with the ball, bat and field, and they did just that.”
Hosts All Stars Cricket Academy emerged victorious in the U-15 and U-14 tournaments. Ranveer Singh played an impressive innings of 48 runs off 38 balls, leading All-Stars to win the U-15 final. Kye Yatras was awarded the Man of the Match title in the U-14 final after scoring 49 runs off 56 balls against Young Legends.
