Sibanda named Midwest Rhinos captain

Vusi Sibanda, the Zimbabwe batsman, has been appointed as captain of the Midwest Rhinos, one of the five new franchises in Zimbabwe's revamped domestic structure whose season gets underway this Saturday.

Sibanda played two Tests against West Indies in 2003, and his third against Bangladesh two years later, but has been more regularly seen in ODI cricket with a top score of 116 in his 79 internationals. He has played club cricket in Australia for the past three years.

The team have also secured Brendan Taylor, the hard-hitting right-hander who cracked 94 and 61 against Bangladesh last month, along with Andy Waller as their coach. Clement Mahachi, the former Matabeleland allrounder, is his assistant.

Midwest Rhinos were formed by the merger between Midlands and Mashonaland West and will play their home matches at Kwekwe Sports Club. They face Eagles in their first match.