Midlands Correspondent
THE Kwekwe cricket franchise yesterday received a shot in the arm when the Australian embassy and a local businessman donated $68,000 for the construction of a pavilion at the Mbizo Cricket Club.
The club was constructed in 2003 and has been operating without a pavilion forcing teams to change in their team buses.
A ground breaking ceremony was held at the site and construction should be completed by end of this year.
Midwest Rhinos area manager Admire Marodza expressed gratitude for the donation saying it will help develop cricket in Kwekwe.
“We are excited about this development as we have been waiting for this to happen for the past 12 years. This gesture will go a long way in the development of cricket in Kwekwe,” said Marodza.
“This will also generate interest from the local community which will help create a bigger pool of cricket players. Hopefully this will increase competition at our franchise Midwest Rhinos and we will begin to reap the rewards of such developments in the domestic league.”
The pavilion will consist of changing rooms, ablution facilities, a bar and a shade from where cricket fans can watch games.
Zimbabwe Cricket convenor of selectors Kenyon Ziehl lauded the development adding that there was need to widen the players’ selection base in Zimbabwe for the country to be competitive at international level.