Spinners of all types appear to have proliferated in Zimbabwe in recent years and Tafadzwa Kamungozi, a young legspinner from Harare, is one who has shown reaonable promise. Born in Harare, Kamungozi first learned to play cricket at Chengu Primary School in the township of Highfield. He was a seam bowler at first, but while a student at Highfield High, at around the time he joined Takashinga Cricket Club, he changed to leg spin. He lived close to the Takashinga ground and came under the tutelage of coaches Stephen Mangongo and Walter Chawaguta. Joining Takashinga was also his only chance to continue playing cricket, as the sport was not played at his high school.

Kamungozi was never chosen for a national age-group team and made a somewhat unexpected international debut against South Africa in September 2006, at the age of 19. South Africa demolished a woefully under-strength Zimbabwe side, scoring 420, but Kamungozi escaped with relatively light punishment and picked up the wickets of Loots Bosman and Justin Kemp. The following month he toured India with the Zimbabwean team for the ICC Champions Trophy, and did reasonably well against both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

He fell out of contention for national honours thereafter, slipping behind the likes of Timycen Maruma, Prosper Utseya and, eventually, Graeme Cremer in Zimbabwe's spin-bowling ranks. He continues to put in consistent performances in domestic cricket with Southern Rocks, however, and may well get another chance with the national side at some point in the future.
Liam Brickhill March 2011