zimcricketnews.com

Troubled cricketer Mark Vermuelen, released by Tuskers at the end of last season after disciplinary issues, has been signed for the new season by Mountaineers, according to the Daily News. The deal was confirmed by Mountaineers spokesman Godfrey Koti:

"He has his history, but he is a good man and a good player. We want to give him another chance. If you have noticed, we are more of a bowling side. A batsman of his calibre will add value to the team."

Even in light of Vermuelen's talent, you do have to wonder if this is his final chance. Hopefully he makes the most of it.
Daily News - Manicaland rescues bad boy Vermeulen

The full fixture list for the coming domestic season has now been released (with the exception of the Stanbic T20, for which we have a window but no specific matches) - you can find them on our Domestic Fixtures page. The main change this season is with the 'B' competition - last year this was a simple series of 2-day matches, this year we have a full programme of 3-day, 1-day and T20 matches.
[Source: ZC]

With the domestic cricket season just over two weeks away, the Tuskers franchise cricket team have organized a three day team building camp scheduled for a farm near Turk Mine from the 24th to the 26th of this month. The camp will see the team engage in some team building and strategic planning activities ahead of a season that promises to be both exciting and competitive.

The Tuskers squad began their pre-season training in July under the watchful eye of the seasoned and widely travelled former Zimbabwe captain and now Tuskers assistant coach Heath Streak, and according to him the team has shown a lot of commitment and determination in preparing for the new season.

"The guys are raring to go. They have been working on their fitness and would have started really getting into it now. The camp would give us a chance to strategize on how we will approach the three formats of the game, namely 4 day game, one day game and T20. We will be travelling with a psychologist and the team fitness trainer who will help us out," said Streak

Team captain Gavin Ewing believes this season will be a better one as the players are in an excellent frame of mind and the team spirit is great.

"The guys are very excited about the camp. It will give us the chance to get to know each other in a different environment hence understand each other better. We have been working hard for each other and everyone wants to see the next player succeed. At the end of last season we showed the type of cricket we are capable of playing and we will be looking to pick up from there and win some trophies this season," said Ewing

Ewing also expressed appreciation for the support the executive team had given them during the pre season period and said with continued support and the hard work the team is putting in, they were confident of putting in a formidable challenge for the honors this season.

Meanwhile, the planning for the coming season has gathered momentum with the entire Tusker’s team holding a strategic meeting last month and an annual general meeting for the Tuskers franchise management committee scheduled for the 26th of August at Queens Sports Club.
[Source: ZC]

On a quest to collect their first piece of silverware in the upcoming domestic season, Midwest Rhinos have signed foreign based players Paul Franks and Gary Ballance who were playing in England as well as Ian Nicholson and Solomon Mire from the Australian Premier League.

The four's addition to the Rhinos line-up are some of the efforts franchise CEO, Kenyon Ziehl is making to intensify preparations for the 2010/11 domestic season.

Newly appointed head coach Jason Gillespie insisted that one of the main areas in the oncoming season will be to vastly improve the team's performance.

"My focus is on the Rhinos and getting things in place, first and foremost we will be looking to enjoy our cricket and become an entertaining side to watch," said Gillespie.

After concluding the season at third place in all domestic competitions it is beyond the obvious that the team has the potential to get at least a trophy in the next season. The acquisition of the new players is part of Midwest Rhinos expedition to convert their performances to at least one title.

Franks is a right handed seamer and comes in to replace Mike Chinouya who left the Kwekwe based team to join the Southern Rocks while Ballance formerly of Yorkshire and also a Zimbabwean citizen will be expected to strengthen the top order batting which was found wanting last season.

"Ballance's experience will provide stability in the team's batting line-up and raise the quality of opening partnerships in the batting line-up, I was not too happy that we could not win any titles and we are not taking any chances this time around," said Ziehl.

The Rhinos batting line-up also includes Zimbabwe national players such as Vusimuzi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor, while Malcolm Waller and Rikki Wessels were some of the best batsmen in the league last season.

Nicholson is another fast bowler who has been playing in the Australian premier League for the past three years and is expected to bring the cutting edge in an already potent bowling attack comprising of Edward Rainsford and Graeme Cremer. Meanwhile Solomon Mire, an all rounder will be making his return to local cricket after leaving for Australia to further his game.
[Source: ZC]

The Under 16 Western Schools T20 cricket tournament came to end over the heroes’ holiday with Luveve High School and Mpopoma High School squaring up in the final. The tournament which featured 28 schools was held on a knock out basis and saw Mpopoma walk away champions after winning the final by 14 runs.

In the final, Luveve High won the toss and elected to field. The decision seemed to have worked well for them when they bowled out Mpopoma out for 120 runs. The Luveve outfit put up a good fielding performance and at this point fancied themselves to win the match. However, the Mpopoma XI came out equally determined and showed great discipline in restricting Luveve to 92 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

The Matabeleland Development Officer, Chris Phiri, expressed satisfaction with the level of competition shown at this year’s tournament but stated that he would like to see some low density schools participate in the tournament next year. He said schools like Northlea, Hamilton, Founders and Gifford High schools, who are currently rebuilding their cricket structures, would benefit from the tournament.

Mr Phiri also said the province where looking forward to the new cricket season and had, at the moment, two games lined up for the schools select team. The boy’s team will play against a Hwange select team on the 29th of August, 2010 while the girl’s team will also play the Hwange team on the sometime in September.

Meanwhile, the Tuskers umpires and scorers association will hold its annual general meeting on the 4th of September at Queens Sports Club. The chairman of the association Donald Nyoni said the meeting was to elect office bearers for the year 2010/2011.
[Source: ZC]

There was a press conference at HSC this morning for the official 'unveiling' of Alan Donald and Jason Gillespie as Rhinos and Mountaineers coaches respectively - obviously, I wasn't able to get there myself, but here are a few key quotes:

Reaction towards the appointment as a franchise head coach in Zimbabwe
Jason Gillespie (MidWest Rhinos)
“I was delighted to take the opportunity, it’s fantastic because the cricket in Zimbabwe is very much on the up and to be a part of it is very humbling. I have been telling the people in Australia that I’ve only been here for a few days and the atmosphere here on cricket and everything is really exciting and as a new coach it really exciting and something we can sink our teeth in. ”

Alan Donald (Mountaineers)
“I did not hesitate one inch and I agree with Jason [Gillespie], we were commentating in Dubai talking about the situation in Zimbabwe and the efforts being made to get cricket where it belongs. It has been a very good move for me and I did not hesitate to make the move.”

On their roles as coaches in Zimbabwe
Jason Gillespie
“Although my main role will be to focus on the Midwest Rhinos but as coaches we have a role to develop the game at all levels and if I can be a part of that in any small way I will certainly jump on that. Midwest Rhinos have a lot of young players and my role is to help them achieve their goals both as individuals and a collective group and if i can be a part of that and work at grass roots level then that will be a real bonus.”

What impression they have on fast bowlers in Zimbabwe
Alan Donald
“I’ve been watching the triangular between Zimbabwe, India and Sri Lanka and I’ve already been talking about a few guys. We will be bumping into a lot of guys along the way and we will certainly identify the talent that is around. There is no doubt that Zimbabwe is got what it takes to play at the highest level-test cricket.”

Notions on their assigned teams
Alan Donald
“I am coming into a team that has two out of three so no pressure at all. That is also the challenge after a dream season like that and you win two trophies, not only is the pressure for the coach but the team as well. I believe that I can maintain the attitude and intensity levels at the franchise for the guys to respond to the responsibility that lies this season and winning becomes a culture. For me one of things I need to do is to make a lot of the youngsters thinks like international cricketers or prepare like international cricketers and that is my aim to try and get that mentality straight up there.”

Jason Gillespie
“My focus is on the Rhinos and getting things in place, first and foremost we will be looking to enjoy our cricket and the number one focus is to be an entertaining side. We want people to walk away and say that we really play positive cricket and we were entertained today. That will be our focus and we are really excited about that.”
[Source: ZC]

Hot on the tail of Allan Donald heading to Mountaineers comes the news that fellow South African Andrew Hall has been signed as head coach of Mashonaland Eagles. According to the Daily News, Eagles CEO Hugo Ribatika has confirmed that Hall will be unveiled as coach ahead of the start of the new domestic season. Hall will be backed up by Grant Flower, who has been assigned by ZC as Eagles' assistant coach.

I'm running out of things to say about the appointments that are being made at the moment, to be honest. Interesting times indeed...
Daily News - Hall appointed Mash Eagles coach

A week is a long time in cricket, it seems - this time last week, Mountaineers were touting Australian Sean Clingeleffer as their new head coach (although they admitted at the time that negotiations had not yet been completed). Today, South African fast bowler Allan Donald has been unveiled as the man for the job, in his first appointment as head coach. It's a responsibility he's looking forward to taking on, in the hope that he'll be in the post long-term:

"I have always wanted to move away from being a bowling specialist and become more of a head coach, and this is exactly the sort of opportunity I've been looking for. Quite a few jobs I've applied for have asked for 'at least two or three years experience' as a head coach. It's the old chicken and egg story, how do you get the job without the experience, and how do you get the experience without a job! But now that's behind me and I can't wait to get started.

"We are still putting the finishing touches to the contract but I certainly want to do it for more than one year. I don't think you can prove too much in one season. And it's exciting to be part of Zimbabwe cricket's revival."

So the foreign influx continues, with some real talent now using the Zimbabwean franchises as a proving ground for coaching careers. If even some of the talent on offer rubs off on Zimbabwean players, then the future should be bright.
CricInfo - Allan Donald to coach Mountaineers

Speaking to Newsday, Alistair Campbell has welcomed the return of a number of "exiled" players for this year's domestic season - and in doing so has indicated that Midwest Rhinos have secured the talents of Ian Nicolson and Gary Balance:

"We have always maintained an open-door-policy with any of the players who would want to be considered for selection. We will not be considering what happened in the past. As long as the players are interested and show that they have what it takes through their performances we will be considering them.

"Gary (Balance) needs clearance but he has a Zimbabwean passport while Tinashe (Panyangara) and Nicolson are bowlers who have shown the potential of bowling very quick. We have recently been struggling to find genuinely quick bowlers and they could be the solution."

Campbell also spoke of the recent Zimbabwe XI trip to Netherlands and Canada, being particularly impressed with Craig Ervine:

"It was good to see some good performances from Stuart Matsikenyeri who has recently been struggling to get the runs. Craig Ervine was in such phenomenal form with the bat which could make him cement his place in the national team while young Shingirai Masakadza is improving overtime."

Good news all round, then - the new franchise system certainly seems to have garnered the support of players, both Zimbabwean and foreign, and that can only be good for the standard of play.
Newsday - Return of former internationals welcomed

No doubt aiming to fill some holes after losing the services of Tatenda Taibu, Stuart Matsikenyeri and Njabula Ncube, Mountaineers have turned to the English counties for three new signings. Derbyshire's Greg Smith returns after making a cameo appearance for the side in last season's Stanbic Twenty20, and is joined by Essex's Tony Palladino and Lancashire's Gareth Cross, according to the Manica Post. Mountaineers CEO Phil Senzani confirmed the appointments:

"Yes, I can confirm the acquisition of the three players who were based in the UK. They are experienced players whom we hope will play a crucial role in enhancing our dominance on the local scene. We also want to take this opportunity to welcome back those players who were part of the franchise last season and are continuing from where they left. As Mountaineers, we are geared to cement our dominance in franchise cricket. We will also go out of our way to ensure that we identify and develop talent from grassroots level."

The Mutare-based side are also aiming to sign Australian Sean Clingeleffer as head coach, with Steve Mangongo stepping down to deputy to allow him to fulfil his duties as national 'A' coach - although Senzani confirmed that negotiations with Clingeleffer had not yet been completed.

Finally, Tinashe Panyangara will be making a return to Zimbabwean cricket for the side, after playing at club level in England in recent years.
Manica Post - Foreign quartet joins Mountaineers