Kirsten lends a helping hand

Gary Kirsten, the former South African opening batsman, is in Zimbabwe for a week-long coaching clinic with the Zimbabwe national team.

On Tuesday he presented a powerful seminar on his own high-performance model, which he bases on his own personal experiences as a former top international.

Kirsten, who currently runs a cricket academy in Cape Town will conduct further batting sessions with the Zimbabwean squad for the remainder of the week before returning to South Africa this weekend.

He said of the current crop of Zimbabwe players "There are lots of players with talent - absolutely! There are guys who hit the ball well. It is what the guys are prepared to do to become great players that makes the difference."

Kirsten's visit is a huge boost for the young Zimbabweans considering they take on South Africa in August.