Cricket coach Edmond Mutetwa has a dream to reignite the good old days when Zimbabwe had a fine and great young generation of players like Tatenda Taibu, Hamilton Masakadza, Prosper Utseya, and Elton Chigumbura, and has gone to rural and farming areas to identify talent.
After Zvimba, Mhondoro, Murombedzi and Mutoko, he is headed for Binga and Chipinge where he reckons he will discover and build a junior team to one day take over from the Chevron's.
He has gone to these areas not only to coach cricket but also to identify talent and hone it to international standards.
He feels there is a lot of untapped talent in farms and the rural areas which needs to be identified and given the chance to could break into the national team set up.
"We want to give opportunities to those in the rural areas to showcase their talents. So, we want to give those willing a chance to play," said Mutetwa.
In fact, Mutetwa is happy with the enthusiasm that has been displayed by
the young cricketers who have found one or two things in cricket that identifies with their day-to-day lives.
"They identify cricket with the game they call Hwishu. They are excited with hitting the ball in the batting," laughed off Mutetwa.
- In the groove: Musicians with disabilities should be honoured
- In the groove: Musicians with disabilities should be honoured
- Devolution framework crucial for better service delivery: Zimcodd
- Mutetwa seeks another Masakadza
Keep Reading
He added," They are even more excited with the bowling. They jokingly say they cannot fail to hit the stumps when they are used to killing birds through stones thrown from their own hands."
His target is to find another Masakadza and another Chigumbura and help Zimbabwe regain the position they have lost among the best in the world.
"The talent and the will is there. From the schools there, we can build a strong Zimbabwe schools team that could eventually graduate into the Chevrons. Rome was never built in a day," said Mutetwa.
Mutetwa has along the way met international stars who have helped to inspire him in his dream. He has rubbed shoulders with basketball, rugby, cricket and football stars whom he has shared some notes.
Some of them include cricketers Walter Hodder, Sikander Raza, Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura and national team coach Dave Houghton.
He has also met the legendary George Shaya and Peter Ndlovu as well as Lishon Chipango, Abel Chimukoko as well as the West Indies basketball stars, Trevor Aliza and Luke Mbah.
However, it is Zimbabwe Cricket's managing director Givemore Makoni, the association's development coach Francis Rashikai as well as the Chibhabha pair of Julia and Chamu who have been of great help to Mutetwa.
