Zimbabwe Cricket has included nine Under-19 players in the Zimbabwe Women side that will face hosts Namibia Women and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Women in the Capricorn Eagles Women’s Tri-Series scheduled for 6-14 September in Windhoek.
Their inclusion is part of preparations for the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Division One Qualifier to be played later this month.
Four of the Under-19s – Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Kudzai Chigora and Christina Mutasa – have already played for the senior team, while Runyararo Pasipanodya, Passionate Munorwei, Chipo Moyo and Lorraine Pemhiwa are featuring for the first time.
Another first-timer in the senior side is United Kingdom-based Tawananyasha Marumani, who represented Zimbabwe Women at the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup 2023.
With the exception of Marumani, the starlets were all part of the Zimbabwe A Women’s team that won silver at the Kwibuka Women’s T20 tournament in Rwanda earlier this year.
The Zimbabwe Women team travelling to Namibia is a blend of youth and experience as seasoned players, Josephine Nkomo, Chiyedza Dhururu, Modester Mupachikwa and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano are included.
Explaining the rationale behind picking a youthful squad, convener of selectors Julia Chibhabha said: “Selection was based on two factors: continuing to build on preparations for the Under-19s and mentorship.
“It was ideally to equip the Under-19 players for the qualifier and the World Cup.
“The six senior players were deliberately chosen to mentor on batting, bowling, general mannerism and confidence building.
“A player like Mugeri-Tiripano has a huge presence on the field and we are hoping the youngsters will feed off her and learn a lot.
“Mugeri-Tiripano and Mupachikwa were chosen to help the batters, especially the top-order batters, while our top bowler Nkomo will mentor the bowlers, with Dhururu and Mupachikwa mentoring the wicketkeepers.”
Chibhabha also explained why they chose Dhururu to captain the team.
“Dhururu will captain just as she did at Kwibuka because she was able to help the Under-19s go through the tournament and helped build their confidence,” she said.
On the return of Loryn Phiri, who was in the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year for 2021 but has not been picked for the senior team in the past year, Chibhabha said: “She has been on the fringes for a while, but was part of the Kwibuka squad and did well. She is being rewarded for great performances, working hard with both bat and ball.”
ZIMBABWE WOMEN SQUAD FOR CAPRICORN EAGLES WOMEN’S TRI-SERIES:
Chiyedza Dhururu (captain), Josephine Nkomo, Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Modester Mupachikwa, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Loryn Phiri, Christina Mutasa, Runyararo Pasipanodya, Passionate Munorwei, Tawananyasha Marumani, Kudzai Chigora, Lindokuhle Mabhera, Chipo Moyo, Lorraine Pemhiwa
Share Your Comments