Kasteni, Chakabva, Tsvanhu and Chisoro head to Australia

Posted by brmtaylor.com admin on April 21, 2008

Some of Zimbabwe's finest young cricketers, including Regis Chakabva who rose to prominance during the MTN Championship in South Africa, are honing their skills as Australia's Centre of Excellence in Queensland due to an arrangement made between Zimbabwe Cricket and Cricket Australia.

Friday Kasteni, who has played three ODI's for Zimbabwe including two matches at last years World Cup, and Regis Chakabva who averaged over 26 for Zimbabwe in the recent MTN series, including a match winning 71 not out.

Bowlers Tendai Chisoro and Prosper Tsvanhu are also training in Australia, while coaches Walter Chawaguta and Shepherd Makunura are also learning more about the finer points of coaching. As such, none of the players in Australia will be taking part in this years edition of the Logan Cup, a major blow for Northerns who will miss the batting talent of Regis Chakabva as well as the medium pace of Prosper Tsvanhu. The players have had their fix of First Class cricket though, when they were involved in the South African Airways provincial competition, which is of a much higher quality than the Logan Cup.

Kasteni revealed in a Cricinfo interview that he was part of last years Zimbabwe Cricket Academy intake, but nobody has been selected to take part in this years intake yet. He was upbeat about Zimbabwe's chances in Test cricket, saying they will be able to hold their own in the longest form of the game. When asked about the quality of the cricket grounds in Harare, Kasteni's response wasn't overly enthusiastic, describing them simply as "okay".

Former Canadian, Victorian and South Australian hard hitter John Davidson is the batting coach, while Troy Cooley will soon work with the bowlers. But the most exciting part of the trip will be when the Zimbabweans are involved in the net sessions with the Australian Test team ahead of their West Indies tour.