From the Headmaster in charge of Zimbabwe schools Cricket
Since attaining test status, Zimbabwe now tours at all age-group levels.
Last year we were privileged to make a wonderful and very important tour to
England for the U15 World Cup, and all of this has helped enormously in the
development of our junior cricket.
In 1996 England U19 toured Zimbabwe and indicated their extraordinary
capability. This year our U19 side is touring Enlgand and we believe that it
is going to be a tough tour but very much a learning curve for our under
19-age players. Zimbabwe has a proud record of developing its junior
cricketers very early and many of them now appear in our national Test side.
Whilst finances, resouces and indeed the limited number of children still
playing cricket in our country are always difficult factors in developing
sides of this level, we believe that this particular team has the ability,
unity and enthusiasm to perform extremely well and give a good account of
themselves off the field, learn something about another people, enjoy mixing
with those people, see something of that country and make new friends,
beacuse that is one of the wonderful side-effects of playing the great game
of cricket.
We are most grateful to all at home in Zimbabwe who have made this tour
possible. There are a lot of very keen and willing supporters both amongst
our sponsors and our school authorities as well as, of course, our parent
body. We thank them for the enormous confidence they have shown us in
supporting this tour.
To the English authorities, to everyone involved in the United Kingdom in
making this tour possible, we thank you for your extraordinary generosity
and hospitality and I hope our U19 side returns very much better cricketers
than when they left us.
On behalf of Schools' we wish Mr Peter Whalley, the Tour Manager, Andy
Pycroft and Donald Campbell, as Team Advisers, the very best of luck on this
tour.
Clive R Barnes
Headmaster in charge of Zimbabwe Schools' Cricket
Date-stamped : 25 Feb1998 - 15:06
