By Tendai Chisiri
HARARE – Zimbabwe Cricket’s grassroots programme Cricket Kumusha-Cricket Ekhaya has trained 550 people across the country in the past year, as part of a push to take cricket beyond urban centres and into rural communities.
The initiative, run between May 2025 and April 2026, equipped teachers, community leaders, security sector members and club representatives with coaching, umpiring and scoring skills. The aim is to create a sustainable pipeline for talent identification and development at community level.
Of the 550 participants, 468 completed courses in 2025, with a further 82 trained in the first quarter of 2026.
Basic coaching drives grassroots uptake
Basic Coaching courses made up the bulk of the training, reflecting the programme’s focus on introducing cricket at the grassroots. Sessions were held in Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central, Matabeleland South and Harare Metropolitan. Turnouts included 56 participants at Gateway College and 41 at Ncema Cricket Ground.
The programme also trained 14 people in Level 1 Coaching, 52 in Grade D Umpiring and 18 in Grade D Scoring, strengthening match officiating capacity in rural areas.
ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni said the impact goes beyond the numbers.
“The main objective of Cricket Kumusha-Cricket Ekhaya is to decentralise cricket development by equipping local people with the skills to introduce and sustain the game in their own communities,” Makoni said. “We are now seeing teachers starting school teams, districts organising competitions and institutions embracing cricket as part of their sporting culture.”
Partnerships and next steps
The programme worked with the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Zimbabwe National Army, and teacher training colleges including Morgan Zintec and Gateway College.
Looking ahead, ZC plans to scale training in underserved rural areas, integrate cricket into more schools through teacher development, and build clearer pathways from community cricket to provincial and national teams.
“Cricket Kumusha-Cricket Ekhaya is central to our vision of making cricket a truly national sport that is accessible to every Zimbabwean, regardless of location or background,” Makoni said. “Our goal is simple: every community – every kumusha – should have access to cricket, with trained local leaders who can nurture the next generation of players.”
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