National Cricket Team Enters Camp

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

Japheth Kazenga

30 April 2011

THE senior national cricket team resumed training in Dar es Salaam on Saturday to prepare for the forthcoming ICC Africa Division 2 Twenty20 Qualifiers scheduled to take place in South Africa on May 14-18.

The team’s assistant skipper, Kassim Nassor, said the first and second choice squads will play each other in a series of friendly matches, which will serve as part of final build up ahead of the much anticipated continental showdown.

“We expected to play the first friendly match at the University of Dar es Salaam venue on Sunday but downpour led to the game’s postponement.

Hopefully we can play tomorrow (today),” said Nassor. The ICC Africa Division 2 Twenty20 Qualifiers will be the first major continental event for the Tanzanian cricketers year, in which they will launch a rather tougher campaign gearing at securing a place in the ICC World Twenty20 finals to be hosted by Sri Lanka later next year.

The senior national cricket team has not had the opportunity to play competitive international friendly matches and will therefore be banking on rigorous training sessions to stay in great shape ahead of the tournament.

The team’s players, nevertheless, participated in a series of top flight domestic competitions from early this year, which in turn played pivotal role in gauging their skills.

They formed an outfit named Twiga Warriors that went on to emerge champions of this year’s Advanced Players League (APL), which was sponsored by mobile phone service providing firm, Tigo.

Other teams that participated in the tournament were runners-up Dar Devils, third placed Uluguru Stars and Simba Hunters, which came last.

The APL also involved nine foreign professional cricketers from Kenya, India and South Africa, whose presence aimed at providing domestic cricketers with the much needed experience in competitive cricket.

Tanzania will be up against Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Zambia in the ICC Africa Division 2 Twenty20 Qualifiers.

The winner of the South Africa tournament will progress to the ICC Africa Twenty20 Premier League that will be played in Kenya in July this year. The Kenya event will also have Uganda, Namibia, emerging teams from full ICC members South Africa and Zimbabwe, and hosts Kenya.

Apart from the ICC Africa Twenty20 Premier League, there will be other regional qualifying events across globe, involving regions of America, Asia, East-Asia Pacific and Europe.

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