NewsHawks 27 May 2022

NewsHawks Sport Page 51

Issue 82, 27 May 2022 Zim seek answers after Matipano is the only one to retain
heavy Currie Cup defeat his position there, in the number
ENOCK MUCHINJO 15 jersey, to command a back-
three involving the experienced
BACKS Matthew MacNab and Katsvere at left wing and France-
Shingi Katsvere, both based in based Shayne Makombe on the
Europe, are the newest players to right wing.
join for the remainder of the Cur-
rie Cup, as Zimbabwe looks to This could prove to be the
recover from the reality check of x-factor against Leopards as the
last week’s 48-0 hiding by SWD Zimbabweans seek early answers
Eagles. to a performance that has raised
serious questions over the team’s
Both new arrivals start against readiness to qualify for its first
Leopards at Athlone Stadium in World Cup since 1991.
Cape Town this Saturday. En-
gland-based MacNab, who studies Another youngster, captain of
at Hartpury College, one of the Zimbabwe’s Africa Cup-winning
best rugby-playing British univer- Under-20s, Taku Musungwini,
sities, gets the nod at outside-cen- continues to get the coach’s faith
tre. Katsvere, an instant hit in at flyhalf, indication that the for-
Spain’s top-flight rugby league last mer Prince Edward School mae-
season, makes the starting line-up stro might have been identified as
at left-wing. a potential regular option in the
number 10 position for the Sa-
The Zimbabweans began their bles.
Currie Cup First Division cam-
paign modestly targeting at least In the forwards, prop Gabriel
two wins, so three wins before last Sipapate, who was removed from
week’s hammering by Eagles had the initial starting line-up last
raised hopes of qualifying for the week after arriving from Spain,
World Cup. gains fitness but only starts from
the bench.
Being brought down to earth by
the men from the Western Cape SQUAD
last Sunday, nearly going down Starting: 1. Victor Mupunga 2.
by half a century of points with- Liam Larkan 3. Bornwell Gwinji
out reply, has therefore sent head 4. Sean Beevor 5. Godwin Man-
coach Brendan Dawson and his genje 6. Kelvin Kanenungo 7.
backroom staff back to the draw- Johan Du Preez 8. Aiden Burnett
ing board ahead of World Cup 9. Kyle Galloway 10. Taku Mus-
qualifiers in France at the end of ingwini 11. Shingi Katsvere 12.
June. Marcus Nel 13. Matthew McNab
14. Shayne Makombe 15. Tawan-
In other team news, regular da Matipano.
Zimbabwe captain Hilton Mu-
dariki gets rested for the Leopards Zimbabwe won the African Under-20 championship in Kenya in April after beating Namibia in the final. Subs: 16. Matthew Mandioma
clash, his position in the number 17. Gabriel Sipapate 18. Tyran
9 shirt going to Kyle Galloway. Fagan 19. George Saungweme
20. Biselele Tshamala 21. Car-
Meanwhile, after the all-Zim- los Matematema 22. Brendon
babwe Under-20s' back-three Marume 23. Godfrey Muzanarg-
was heavily exposed by SWD last wo.
weekend, Dawson has decided
to mix things up a little bit this
week.

The Young Sable Tawanda

We don’t know what to call it now, a new newest low?

ONE of Zimbabwe’s most respected cricket- would in the long run lose confidence and,
ers of the past era tells me how he is constant- on the whole, cricket was going to remain a
ly being nudged by some Associate members tiny sport in these territories.
of the International Cricket Council (ICC) So it was a win-win situation. The Asso-
to help facilitate official matches against his ciates got good game-time against players
fallen African country. of perhaps nearly the same level with them,
Much to his dismay, the undertone ac- whilst a country like Zimbabwe exposed its
companying the request is that a lot of the second-tier and third-tier players to good
second-tier to third-tier teams of world competition against nations determined to
cricket now believe they can beat Zimbabwe showcase what they could do in this sport.
at any time and, with that, send out a strong Now, Zimbabwe has gifted Namibia a
message about their own progress. historic first series win over a Full Member
Of course, that was never the case two de- of the ICC after their 3-2 in Bulawayo this
cades ago when the only way for Zimbabwe- week.
an cricket, at the encouraging rate we were The tables have turned. And it is a crisis
going, was up. for the game in this country.
Even some of the The commercial
strongest Associates value, for Zimbabwe
back then — Neth- hosting any Associates,
erlands, Ireland, Af- HawkZone has not made any sense
ghanistan, Kenya, for the country over
Scotland — were not the past decade, and it
so keen on playing a still does not. 
According to Zim-
Enockfull-strength Zimba- babwe Cricket (ZC),
bwe side, preferring hosting and broad-

Muchinjoour ‘A’ side whenever
a window of oppor- casting the Associate
tunity opened. nations like Namib-
Playing against ia, or anybody, is a
sides they could compete with, or beat, was “loss-making series” because the revenue is
a huge thing in building morale and the pro- not worth a great deal.
file of the game at a critical stage in the de- So as Zimbabwean cricket, we now lose
velopment of cricket in their countries. everywhere, in the pocket, and on the field.
If they constantly got beaten, the players In fact, everything.  Anybody cares?
Zimbabwe versus Namibia.

Sports Banned ex-Zim
stalwart bares
Thursday 1 October 2020 battle with
substance
abuse, rehab

Building
dreams,
building
champions

Friday 27 May 2022 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS CULTURE

And then what next for Zim?$60 Covid
tariff for
visitors &
tourists
Community
radio
regulations
under review

Story on Page 3 Story on Page 8

SAKHELENI NXUMALO Chamisa reacside Toronto Football Club, ex-
pressed fears that some players
THE recent confirmation by the could turn their back on the
Confederation of African Foot- country if Zimbabwe continues
ball (Caf ) that Zimbabwe will to wallow in international foot-
not be part of the 2023 Africa out to Khupeball isolation.
Cup of Nations qualifiers has “It is discouraging to the play-
left football followers pondering ers, those who are in the War-
what the future holds. riors set-up and those that aspire
to be,” he said. “We might see
The Warriors are the flagship more players retiring from inter-
of the local game and, to the national football if the country
casual observer, their exclusion calls for emergeremains banned and swearing
from the Afcon tournament is Unofficial president allegiance to Zimbabwe will not
testimony enough that the local be attractive for players that grew
game is in the wilderness. up overseas but are eligible to
play for us.”
But, for some who are involved Grassroots developer Anele
in grassroots football, Zimba- Nyathi, who owns Magwegwe
bwe’s ban by Fifa is an opportu- West-based developmental side
nity for the game to revert back Real Squadrons, has mixed feel-
to factory settings. ings over the ban.
“On one hand, it’s sad that we
Former Zifa Bulawayo prov- will miss out on taking part in
ince official Siphambaniso Dube, the Afcon qualifiers, since this is
a director of Southern Region a tournament that we have pre-
Division One Soccer League viously been able to take part in.
campaigners Ajax Hotspurs, On the flip side, it is good that
reckons the ban is a chance for this has happened, because the
this country to press the restart truth is that our football desper-
button. ately needs an intervention and if
this is what it takes for the game
Ajax have produced the likes to be fixed, so be it,” Nyathi said.
of Highlanders and Warriors de- Caf on Monday night released
fence stalwart Peter Muduhwa, a statement confirming that
former CAPS United winger Zimbabwe and Kenya will not
Crispen Machisi and Chicken be part of the Nations Cup qual-
Inn midfielder Denzel Khumalo, ifiers as a consequence of having
among other notable players. failed to have their suspensions
by Fifa lifted. The qualifiers are
“It’s probably a positive on a the international scene to revive therefore provides us with time bled a week before a fixture. scheduled to get underway on
negative,” Dube told The News- structured football development to do a system reset and find This resulted in some deserv- the first day of June 2022.
Hawks. systems of the past. We already out where we have been going ing players missing out as they The continental governing
had a situation where we were wrong. The (Zifa) technical di- did not have passports and were body had included Zimbabwe
“It calls for a system reset be- no longer having our junior na- rector should move around the unable to be included at short and Kenya in the official draw
cause even before the ban we tional teams participating in in- ALccSoanuOndtIorNytSoaIrnDedcEtiefsytathbFleiinspharonwbclheeamMt .”wi neistynwoWtiipcieteh. s  $r3e.c2enBtilliroetnirdemepenotsitoteharsraltifeutrhnedthssuisspeyneasiZroinmonm'suclsaottnbedesittliilofatn-nd
had been doing a lot of wrong ternational competition despite otuhet c
things. For example, as a nation
we do not have a development getting development grants from In the past, Zifa had a juniors from international football of ed two weeks before their first
template – what is the develop- Fifa. We are not investing in ju- desk that would co-ordinate the Warriors captain Knowledge match day.
ment path that we have so that niors, but expecting success with selection of age-group national Musona (pictured) still fresh in Zimbabwe and Kenya were
we can produce good players that the seniors and I doubt that we teams, but after it was abolished, the mind, Admire Banda, the suspended for what Fifa terms
are going to carry the nation on will make it as a nation with- the situation degenerated to hav- youthful team manager of Bul- the “political interference” in the
their shoulders and do that with out proper investment. This ban ing national squads being assem- awayo province second division running of the game of football.
pride?”

Dube further argued that the
ban could turn out to be a “bless-
ing in disguise” if the country
were to use its isolation from

ALSO INSIDE Zim seek answers after heavy Currie Cup defeat