Chronicle
17 September 2010
PLAYERS who excelled for Matabeleland Tuskers during the last domestic cricket season will be honoured during the Tuskers awards ceremony to be staged at Queens Sports Club this evening.
Vumindaba Moyo, the Tuskers area manager who is also the chairman of the organising committee, said all was set for the ceremony to be attended by Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter Chingoka and the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart.
“Preparations for the awards ceremony are done and dusted, we are now waiting for the event,†declared Moyo yesterday.
When Chronicle Sport visited the venue yesterday afternoon, workers from an events company were erecting tents which will house the guests.
Among the awards to be dished out tonight are the Player of the Year, Player’s Player of the Year, Batsman of the Year, media award, schools cricketer and female cricketer. Clubs from Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and Matabeleland North, the two provinces which make up Tuskers franchise, will get their prizes for winning their respective leagues last season.
Lanky fast bowler Christopher Mpofu is the frontrunner for the Player of the Year award as he was the most consistent performer for Tuskers last season. Mpofu was the leading wicket taker for Tuskers in the Logan Cup and Stanbic Bank Twenty20 series and settled for second spot in the Faithwear/Metropolitan Bank One-Day competition.
Mpofu might as well pick up the Bowler of the Year accolade in which he could face competition from off-spinner John Nyumbu who was the second highest wicket taker in the Logan Cup and had the highest number of wickets for Tuskers in the Faithwear/Metropolitan Bank One-Day competition.
Left-handed batsman Keith Dabengwa excelled with the bat for Tuskers towards the end of the season and is the favourite to land the batsman’s award he is competing for with fellow all-rounders Gregory Strydom and Keegan Meth.
Tawanda Mupariwa is expected to walk away with the Fielder of the Year award.
Sharne Mayers, a member of the women’s national cricket team who was voted the Woman Cricketer of the Year at the Zimbabwe Cricket awards is almost certain to walk away with the same award.
Tuskers chief executive officer Stanley Staddon said the franchise will also use the ceremony to unveil its major sponsor for this season.