The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S young and promising female cricketers have the potential to take the game beyond levels reached by their predecessors.
The class of 2006, which included Julia Chibhabha, Sinikiwe Mpofu, Yvonne Rainsford, Chipo Mugeri and Sharne Mayers, is widely regarded as the standard bearers of Zimbabwe’s women cricket.
While most of the players have either retired or are fast approaching the twilight of their careers, the game looks to be in safe hands given the abundance of emerging talent.
Leading the pack is a plucky 16-year-old Kelis Ndhlovu. In the space of five months, the Lady Chevrons’ all-rounder has already collected two domestic trophies with Alliance Health Eagles.
She made her T20 debut for the senior national team and also scored her maiden half-century in international cricket.
However, it is her big-match temperament that makes her rise special, as it also defies her age.
Ndhlovu showed her character during Eagles’ seven-wicket victory over Mountaineers in the final of the Women’s T20 Cup, which was their second title after the Fifty50 Challenge.
She only needed seven games before scoring her maiden international half-century.
“I remember when I was in Grade Three, I told myself to take either player of the match, batter of the match, bowler of the match or fielder of the tournament in every match I play,’’ she said.
Born on November 16, 2005, Ndhlovu has already enjoyed the kind of purple patch most cricketers spend their careers trying to achieve.
She has won many accolades, shared a dressing room and played alongside her idol Modester Mupachikwa, and has enchanted the local cricket fraternity.
“I remember watching Modester (Mupachikwa) playing when I was young; the game should have been at Prince Edward High School and I should have been in Grade Five.
“She was the first cricketer I liked and would always try to go watch her each time I got a chance.
“It was through following her game that I met another idol of mine, Milton Shumba, who is a left-hander just like me, and watching these people play has been instrumental in my growth.” The all-rounder is not the only youthful player at Eagles, who have been one of the teams to watch this season.
Eagles also have on their books Michelle Mavunga (17), Alice Marongwe (20), Beloved Biza (13), Adelle Zimunhu (17) and 15-year-old Olinda Chare.
What the team has achieved this season alone has been nothing short of remarkable.
Their secret, according to Ndhlovu, is that they are simply having fun playing the game they love.
Anything and everything else that comes after is just a bonus.
“I think the only thing that we did as Mash Eagles during the provincial tournaments was that we tried to enjoy playing.
“The team is very supportive, we backed each other and we all had a very positive attitude towards the game.
“These are some of the things that separated us from the other teams. We had a very good and positive attitude and we all tried to have fun playing,” she said.
Alliance Health Eagles’ performances caught the eye of the selectors as Mavunga and Ndhlovu were included in the Lady Chevrons’ tour for the recent Capricorn Women’s Tri-series in Namibia.
The tour, which Zimbabwe won, included Uganda and hosts Namibia.
It was there that Ndhlovu got her T20 debut, an experience she calls ‘a dream come true’.
She also scored her maiden half-century against the hosts.
Ndhlovu batted the innings with Sharne Mayers, as the two shared an unbeaten 156, scoring 58 and 68, respectively.
In response, the hosts could only muster 89 for six to give Zimbabwe a 67-run victory in the penultimate match of the series.
Through all the many games, innings and accolades, this is the highlight of the Zimbabwe opener’s career so far.
“I was very excited to get my debut for the Lady Chevrons… I actually view it as a dream come true.
“I have come a long way and it hasn’t been all rosy.
“Sometimes I would not get called up, while other times I would get cut and stay behind on tours.
“However, getting that nod and then going on score a half-century is special.
“The day I scored that half-century, I opened the batting with Sharne (Mayers) and we finished the game with an unbeaten 156-run partnership.
“That was the best moment ever.
“I enjoyed batting with her (Mayers); she was very supportive and I had a lot of fun,” she said.
With the tour done and dusted, the all-rounder hopes to play a little catch-up with her studies while she waits for her next assignment.
The Seke High 3 student is all about balance and so far seems to have found a way to juggle her studies and fledgling cricket career.
“For now, I am at Seke 3 High, but I am looking forward to switching schools to Wise Owl.
“I do online lessons whenever I am in camp, but I do try to find time for my studies.
“I stay up until 3am every day studying,” said Ndhlovu.
