THE All Stars Cricket Academy (ASCA) are gearing up for their second edition edition of a junior tournament that they established last year as a way to promote grassroots development.
This year is edition scheduled for March 29-30 at Prince Edward School in Harare.
ASCA chairperson, Lyndon Nkomo expressed his excitement for the upcoming event. Nkomo highlighted the addition of a new age group and an increase in participating teams.
"We are thrilled to announce the second edition of our tournament, which has seen significant growth since its inception last year," Nkomo told NewsDay Sport.
ASCA has organised a cricket tournament for young cricketers across seven age categories, from under-9s to under-19s.
The tournament will provide an excellent platform for these young cricketers to demonstrate their skills and talent. The matches will begin on Good Friday with under-15s, under-16s, and under-19s, followed by under-9s, under-11s, and under-18s matches the following week.
ASCA has successfully secured the participation of well-known clubs and academies in Zimbabwe, including a team from Goromonzi, St Aidens, Kadoma, Glenview, and the highly rated Legends Cricket Club. The diverse participation of these clubs and academies is expected to promote healthy competition.
Nkomo expressed gratitude towards local teams and corporate sponsors.
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"We truly appreciate the support we've received from our local cricketing community and corporate sponsors like Plascon," he revealed.
"They have sponsored our under-9 players. We have a new kit for our under-9s. We have also got support from the parents themselves."
The upcoming tournament allows young players to compete and receive awards for outstanding performances in categories such as best bowler, batsman, fielder, and most valuable player across all age groups.
ASCA has made arrangements for live streaming of matches on social media platforms, allowing fans and enthusiasts to follow the action from anywhere in the world.
"We invite everyone to join us at Prince Edward on Friday and Saturday to support these young talents. We hope that as we continue to develop them and create platforms for them to compete against each other, we will be able to develop players that will compete in Zimbabwe. Outside Zimbabwe, some players from this country are now competing in IPL. There are a lot of standards that we should aim to achieve as well," Nkomo said.
"We really want to appreciate the work that our coaches are doing. We are hoping that it is going to be bigger and better. For those corporates who are still willing to partner with us, we are still open to receiving any sponsorships from the corporate world between now and the tournament. I think it will go a long way in terms of motivating our players. If they see big corporates coming to sponsor them, that by itself is a motivating factor."
Former and current national team players from both men's and women's teams are expected to grace the occasion to inspire the budding cricketers.
