Chawaguta prepares to coach Zimbabwe U-17 side

Former Zimbabwe coach Walter Chawaguta will begin his duties as coach of the national Under-17 side as they prepare for a tournament in Benoni, South Africa, from August 6 to 10. The 15-member squad named for the trip is yet to work together as a group, but Chawaguta is not overly concerned.

"We have picked a squad to work with specifically for this assignment," Chawaguta said. "We haven't met as a team as yet but I am hoping to work with the players on an individual basis because they are not available at the moment. The cricket season is taking a break at the moment and some of the players are engaged in other sports at their schools and this makes it difficult to assemble. So we hope to work with them on individual basis."

After competing well in the late nineties and early 2000s, Zimbabwe cricket slumped in the aftermath of political turmoil in the country and they lost their Test status. Things have started looking up in recent times, with the national side doing well in the recent tri-series against Sri Lanka and India. Chawaguta was aware of the importance of age-group cricket in ensuring a robust cricketing structure in the country.

"We will have more trials for the side because we have to come up with the real Zimbabwe Under-17 team by the end of the year. This is a very important age-group because most of the players in this team are the ones who are going to play at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup. So we need to be thorough in our activities," he said.

Squad: Alistair MacLeod, Salman Khan, Malcolm Lake, Michael Torr, Deven Bell, Rhett Wallbridge, Ryan Burl, Andre Odendaal, Charles Kunje, Odicious Mhanje, Luke Jongwe, Joylord Gumbie.

Reserves: Matthew Wicks, Bryan Majoka, Shane Musekwa.