Zimbabwe Won’t Compete For Champions TRophy

Only eight teams will take part in the biennial competition, which has before involved all full members of the ICC.The ICC explained they based their decision on a resolution made in 2005, which agreed to trim the number of participating teams to just eight, starting with this year’s edition to be held in Pakistan in October. The 2008 competition will feature the top eight teams on the ICC One-Day International table, with Bangladesh, ranked 9th, joining Zimbabwe, ranked 11th, on the sidelines.The groupings were finalised on the basis of team rankings in the LG ICC ODI Championship table as on 12 March, which was the cut-off date for the determination of the seedings for the ICC Champions Trophy 2008, said the ICC on Thursday.The competition will be played on a round robin basis, with Australia defending their title. The top two teams from each group go through to the semis. Full draw
(seedings in brackets):
Group A: Australia (1), India (4), Pakistan (5), West Indies (8)
Group B: South Africa (2), New Zealand (3), Sri Lanka (6), England (7)Former winners
1998 – South Africa
2000 – New Zealand
2002 – India and Sri Lanka (joint winners)
2004 – West Indies
2006 – AustraliaFive years and still no fields
FIFA unhappy with ZimbabweHARAREFIFA, the Federation of International Football Association has expressed concern at the slow progress of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Village.According to a report compiled by Goal Projects Local Co-ordinator Frank Valdemarca, work on the football fields was supposed to have been completed in September 2003.Speaking after touring the ZIFA Village on Tuesday, FIFA Goal Project Officer for Southern Africa, Sonnyboy Sethibe, who was on a three-day visit to Zimbabwe, said he was concerned with the slow progress at the village.The ZIFA Village is set to lessen the burden on ZIFA, which has had to transport players to the city centre 20km away for training grounds where they also have to pay to use the facilities.In January, The Warriors missed their first training session under new Brazilian coach Valinhos at a sports club in Harare after ZIFA had failed to pay for the training ground.Project Director Give Cizema said he expected to have completed phase one by the end of April. The contractors at the village had already started working on the boreholes and playing field. Construction of the lecture room was also nearing completion.Sethibe added that the lack of action at the ZIFA Village was also delaying the implementation of the next Goal Project. – CAJ News Lukewarm Win for Warriors Against Bafana

Man of the match – Energy Murambadoro BY MXOLISI NCUBE
JOHANNESBURGNew Warriors Coach Jorge Valinhos’ first match in charge became a baptism of fire on Tuesday night, when his side lost a hastily-arranged, lukewarm friendly international match 1-2 to South Africa at the Germiston Stadium.A scrambled effort by debutant Sithembiso Ngcobo in the 73rd minute and an own-goal by James Matola in the very last minute of injury time were enough to cancel Gilbert Mushangazhike’s deflected 12th minute free-kick.For all the hosts’ uninspiring first half performance, the Warriors, whose own display also failed to justify the training camps held in Harare in the past weeks, could not add to their slender lead, which they took to the interval.The reigning COSAFA Cup champions came back from the breather a rejuvenated side, and bombarded the Warriors’ goal area at will, with their captain Teko Modise controlling all proceedings in the centre of the park, while Bryce Moon’s overlapping runs on the right found no challenge from the visitors.It only took the agility of returnee goalkeeper, Energy Murambadoro, for Zimbabwe to maintain their lead.Murambadoro’s agility was captured in the 48th minute, when he parried for a corner a brilliant Bennet Chenene thunderbolt, before he made another point-blank save from Ngcobo in the 64th minute. In the 72nd minute, Chenene completely missed the ball, after another timely overlap and brilliant cross from Moon.After a heavy siege on the Warriors goal, it came as no surprise when the hosts drew level in the 73rd minute, when Ngcobo forced the ball into the back of the net after Murambadoro could only parry Bennett Chenene’s shot back into play.James Matola, for all his good work, then turned hero to villain in the final minute of a three-minute injury time, when he bundled the ball into his own net after a cross from Innocent Mdledle to score a own goal, and hand victory to the South Africans.Murambadoro was voted Man of the Match and presented with a cheque for  R10,000.Warriors Assistant Coach Norman Mapeza, though paying tribute to the mostly locally based stars, blamed their travelling conditions for the loss.The boys played well. Our travel arrangements were not that good but we managed to do our best here. My goalkeeper also kept us in the game. Our head coach is also learning the few tricks of African football, said Mapeza in a post-match interview. Twenty20 Ready to Roll BY GRANT MPOFU
HARAREDomestic cricket returns this week with the inter-provincial Twenty20 tournament, taking place in Harare from March 19.The limited overs competition had been meant for February this year, but had to be postponed due to the unavailability of the national team and Zimbabwe A players, who were on international duty.Zimbabwe Cricket had indicated the tournament would be held in April, but had a change of heart on Monday, as the national side prepares to take part in the Standard Bank Pro20 competition, against South African franchise sides later this month.Said ZC: The Zimbabwe cricket domestic calendar has now been confirmed following extensive consultations with the national team coach, manager, physiotherapist and other stakeholders.The confirmed calendar took into consideration the need for the national team players to take part in domestic competitions. However, after their participation in the intensive MTN Domestic Championship (South Africa) that saw them grappling with a hectic schedule of play and travel leading to physical and mental strain, there was need to afford them a rest period before engaging them in the local game.He went on to say that a number of national team players were carrying, or recovering from, injuries. They include all-rounders Elton Chigumbura and Sean Williams and bowler Gary Brent. There have also been a number of players offered contracts to play club cricket in England and in the IPL in India.According to the amended fixtures, the A section of the T20 tournament will be played in Harare from the March 19 to 21. The B section of the Logan Cup, the country’s premier first class tournament, takes place in Bulawayo from April 1 to 11 and the A section of the Logan Cup runs from April 17 to May 20 in Bulawayo, Kwekwe, Masvingo and Mutare.The Faithwear One-Day Series, the last tournament of the year, will be played in Bulawayo from May 27 to June 2.