Staff Reporter
THE ZB Hellenic Primary Day and Night T10 Cricket Festival ended with a spectacle final match that saw Ruzawi beating St Johns Prep by nine runs under floodlights at the Harare-run school.
Ruzawi batted first scoring 46 runs for the loss of two wickets in a six-over aside final on Saturday evening.
They went on to restrict St Johns Prep to 37/4 in their allotted overs to claim the coveted trophy. The tournament featured 10 teams divided into two groups A and B. These were St.
Johns Prep, Hartmann House, hosts Hellenic, Zambia’s Musikili and Twin Rivers, making up Group A. Group B boasted of Ruzawi, St Aidans, Lilfordia, Whitestone from Bulawayo and Springvale.
The best all-rounder award was won by St Aidans’ Sean Makaniso with a rating of 10.948. St Johns Prep’s Dylan Rogers won the best batsman gong after scoring 72 runs from four matches, averaging 36.00.
He narrowly missed out on the MVP award won by Makaniso as he recorded a 10.717 rating.
Benjamin Mnaba of Twin Rivers walked away with the bowler of the tournament award for his four wickets in four matches with an economy rate of 5.50.
ZB executive head of brand Emilia Mabika was thrilled with the overwhelming success tournament success adding that it exceeded their expectations.
“The tournament’s unique format and exciting matches drew large crowds, demonstrating Zimbabwe’s passion for cricket.
The tournament’s success demonstrates ZB’s dedication to corporate social responsibility,” she said.
“We look forward to continuing this exciting journey, fostering cricket excellence and community engagement. Our partnership with Hellenic Academy proved invaluable, ensuring seamless logistics and a top-notch playing experience.”
Julian Ndlovu, Ruzawi was grateful to ZB’s generosity towards uplifting grassroots cricket. “We appreciate the sponsorship. Tournaments like this are very important for the growth and development of cricket,” Ndlovu said.
“We are appreciative of ZB coming forward and sponsoring this tournament. They’re doing a big service to the future and growth of Zimbabwean cricket.”
Other corporates that lined up to support the tournament in no particular order included Croco Motors, Enbee, Paroan Vista, CABS, RADX Construction, Zimoco, Orca, Dusk Home and St Elmo’s.
There was also the huge footprint of Autoworld, Rossi Quick Fit, Paragon, Sable Chicken, Spar, Jeep, Dulux, Mukuru and Mashonaland Holdings