Watershed College Report, 2000

Watershed College this year met with mixed fixtures. After a very successful year in 1999, during which the boys played a total of sixteen matches inside and outside our borders, the year 2000 was not to be as inspiring, although the team played with great enthusiasm and team spirit.

The main reason for the downward trend was due to the loss of several key players due to different reasons; the major reason being the political situation in Mashonaland East which saw many children from the farming community leaving the country altogether. Among those who left were the Hodges brothers, opening batsman Eric who left for Hong Kong and the fiery seamer Joseph who is now playing brilliantly in the United Kingdom. Fellow opening seamer and brother to Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak's wife, Ross Chalmers, also left for the United Kingdom. This was followed up by the departure of opening batsman, Kevin Trouw who went to further his education the United Kingdom. Perhaps the biggest blow came during the year when off-spinner and quick-scoring top order batsman Andrew McGuire left with his family to settle in Australia.

Those who stayed built up a unit under the guidance of captain Andre van Heerden and vice-captain Daniel Grobler. Altogether nine matches were played and only three were won, with most of them being lost narrowly except for a dismal display against Eaglesvale where the match ended at three o'clock. This was due mainly to the injury that morning to up-and-coming seamer Jeff Hall and a knee operation the week before on top-order batsman Brendan McCay.

During the season, players to note included Dane Grobler, who shone with the bat and had an average of 49; captain Andre van Heerden who led by example and did well with bat and ball; Cornelius Nel, the hard-hitter whose century almost won the match against Hillcrest in Mutare; Andrew McGuire's unbeaten century against Churchill in his last match for Watershed College; and the chipping-in of the younger players such as Jeff Hall, Guy Speedie (he has a bright future), the all-rounder Peter Tarr and the best fielder and motivator Timothy Hopgood.

Some scores to note were:

Andrew McGuire's 69 against St Johns, and his three for 13 against the same opponents; his 32 against Lomagandi and three for 37;

Brendan McCay's three for 44 during the same match and his 36 not out against Hillcrest;

Chalmer's three for 30 was instrumental in a reasonable result against Hillcrest.

Van Heerden, T Hopgood, A McGuire and Cornelius Nel all scored upward of 30 in a four-run defeat by Prince Edward, while Jeff Hall, Peter Tarr and Andrew McGuire all took important wickets in this exciting match.

As mentioned earlier, A McGuire in his last match for Watershed scored an unbeaten 110 and was well supported by Dane Grobler who scored 48 and Paul Reilly who made a contribution of 22, with Hall and McCay taking two and three wickets respectively.

While there was not much to write home in the junior teams, the little Under-14 side under the guidance of Phil Dongo proved to be a nice side with great future as they won as many games, and two of their players were selected to play for Mashonaland Country Districts with Barry Partridge narrowly missing selection for the national side. Craig Wintersgill who played most of the season for the 1st Eleven was also selected for the provincial side.

With more professional coaching next year, we look forward to some excellent team and individual performances.