MARONDERA-BASED Wise Owl High School cricket team is reflecting on a successful season which culminated in three of their players being included in the Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket team.
Villan Changa, Panashe Gwatiringa and Calton Takawira have been gaining some valuable experience with the Zimbabwe Under-19 squad which is currently touring India.
The high-profile tour, which began on November 20, running until December 21 forms part of Zimbabwe’s preparations for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 which will be hosted by Sri Lanka.
The trio’s selection to the young Chevrons side came on the back of an impressive season in which the Wise Owl High School cricket team punched well above its weight on the local schools circuit, where they compete against some of the traditional powerhouses.
The highlight of the season for the school was when they won the 2022 CBC Tournament held at Christian Brothers College in October.
Cricket development coach Jestinos Gwatiringa, who has been credited with transforming the Wise Owl cricket side into a rising force in schools cricket, reflected on their achievements this season.
“Winning the CBC Tournament in Bulawayo was a very big milestone for the school. Winning a national school tournament is not an easy feat. We have managed to hold our own against some of the traditional schools sport powerhouses like Peterhouse, Falcon, George’s College, Lomagundi, St John’s College etc,” Gwatiringa said in an interview with NewsDay Sport yesterday.
“We are also very happy that three of our boys made it into national Under-19 team which is preparing for the Under-19 World Cup. This is a very significant achievement, not only for Wise Owl School but also for the province,” he said.
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Gwatiringa, who is also a Zimbabwe Cricket Under-19 selector, is accompanying the team in India and reckons the future of the sport in the country is very bright.
The seasoned coach played club cricket for Old Hararians from 1994 to 1996 before joining Zimbabwe Cricket in 1999 as a development coach in Mashonaland East. He coached at Peterhouse from 2011 to 2014 before moving to Wise Owl High School in 2015.
During his career, Gwatiringa has produced several players who have gone on to represent the country at international level. Perhaps his most high profile is national cricket team batsman Tarisai Musakanda, who he coached from a very tender age at Godfrey Huggins Primary School in Marondera.
Others include William Mashinge, the 26-year-old Marondera-born allrounder who has earned two T20I caps and his son Panashe, who is tipped for a bright future in the sport.
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