THE third annual Energy Park All Stars Cricket Tournament lived to its billing, exceeding expectations of all stakeholders, including the organisers, participants and sponsors.
The tournament’s popularity has continued to grow and the enthusiastic response has seen the sponsors eager to expand the event’s scale and impact for the fourth edition next year.
Fuel giant Energy Park, in their inaugural year as title sponsors, were impressed by the high level of cricket, camaraderie and overall organisation of the tournament and are eager to invest more resources to make it the premier junior cricket event next year.
Ismail Kassim, operations director at Energy Park, stated that as a responsible corporate entity, it is their duty to support initiatives that help keep young children away from drugs by providing them with positive alternatives, such as cricket, to build a better future.
“At Energy Park, we believe that we have to nurture our youth, given that these days, we are having drug issues which has become a menace in our society,” Kassim told NewsDay Sport.
“We have given it a thought that we need to give back to our community by nurturing all these youth and helping them to stay away from drugs and any mischievous activities.
“It is better to nurture them through cricket and we believe cricket is the number one sport going on right now in Zimbabwe.”
The Under-16 boys’ final between Elton Chigumbura Academy and All Stars Academy was a nail-biting thriller that kept parents, players and spectators on the edge of their seats, with the outcome uncertain until the last ball of the match, which All Stars Academy won by five wickets, courtesy of a boundary off the final delivery.
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Bulls to charge into Zimbabwe gold stocks
- Ndiraya concerned as goals dry up
- Letters: How solar power is transforming African farms
Keep Reading
The Under-16 boys final bowled over the sponsors, Energy Park.
“It was a very fruitful tournament. The youngsters have showed that they were up for it. We are looking forward to the next stage and we want to go bigger and reach out to the other regions,” Kassim added.
“It’s all about time, it is baby steps, but I am very convinced that the baby steps today from the parents, the players and from the other sponsors will help us accomplish our vision of producing future national team stars.”
The highlight of the tournament was witnessing why the name Dillon Nyamhuri has generated so much excitement; he scored an impressive 132 runs off just 58 balls.
Another child prodigy, Reyaansh Maramreddy, also shone brightly, scoring 116 runs from 53 balls while batting for the All Stars Academy Under-14 Lions.
Tournament co-ordinator Philip Kadziche was a happy man after the conclusion of the tournament.
“This year’s tournament was probably the most difficult tournament we have ever organised yet. We had to deal with late confirmations from Academies, inclement weather. The first week did not help matters, but we soldiered on,” he said.
“I would like to thank Energy Park for believing in us and the work we are doing to make sure that the next generation of Zimbabwe cricketers are nurtured along the correct lines.
“This year, the standard of cricket was exceptionally high, with numerous closely contested matches decided in the final over, spanning from Under-9 to Under-19.”
Added Kadziche: “Last year, we organised a tour to Durban, and we have initiated discussions with two academies regarding their potential participation in this tournament.”
