Women's cricket on the up in Harare

Women's cricket sides from five schools and four clubs are to take the field on Saturday (March 31) at Westridge High School, where the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association will be holding trials.

The HMCA are looking to choose a squad for the women's inter-provincial tournament which is due to be held in Kwekwe from April 20 to 24.

Eaglesvale, Girls' High School, Hatfield, Roosevelt and hosts Westridge have already confirmed their participation in the school's section while Glen View, Harare Royals, Kuwadzana and Takashinga will be competing in the clubs' category.

Interest in the women's game has been on a steady incline ever since the Zimbabwean national women's team made it through to the final round of qualifiers which will be in Pakistan later this year. The Zimbabwe ladies created history last year after winning the prelims in Kenya in their first international outing.

Commenting on the growth of women's cricket in the country, coordinator Chiedza Mafunga said the interest has been "overwhelming". She continued: "The response we are getting is just awesome. Even recently-affiliated provinces like Mashonaland West have come up with cricket programmes for the ladies. Generally, there has been an upward trend in playing numbers ever since the successful performance in Kenya last year."