The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Suleiman Jongo
25 March 2008
The Tanzania Cricket Association has plans to send the national cricket side to United Kingdom between July and August for international friendlies against selected teams, a TCA official Paul Manyanda has revealed.
While in London, the Tanzanian team will be hosted by Marylebone Cricket Club, popularly known as MCC.
The objective of the UK tour is to gauge the team and prepare for the International Cricket Council's World cricket league for division four to be held between August and September in a country to be named later. MCC last year paid a visit to some African countries that included Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar where they played a couple of matches against local sides.
Other planned trials tour include playing against Kenya at a date and venue to be named later after communicating with the Cricket Kenya officials. The trials and UK tour is aimed at giving the team exposure and look forward to staging a qualifier campaign to feature in the 2011 World Cup to be jointly staged by India, Pakistant and Sri Lanka.
Players of the national team are expected to resume training for the ICC league after the Easter break. "All players are supposed to report at the Muhimbili Cricket Academy before training kicks off," said Manyanda.
A total of 23 players have been selected by TCA to form the national team which last year flopped during ICC's division three league played in the northern Australian City of Darwin.
A poor performance at Darwin culminated to the team's demotion to division four joining the likes of Italy, Fiji and Hong Kong. Two other teams in division five would also join the division four league. Division five teams have their league scheduled for May through June.
They are Afghanistan, Bahamas, Botswana, Germany, Japan, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, Singapore, United States and Vanuatu. Players expected to resume training today are Hamisi Abdallah (captain), Khalil Rhemtullah, Athuman Kakonzi, Kassim Nassoro and Rashid Amri. Others are Nasib Kelvin, Chilack Shamas, Rishen Patel, Gulbushen Singh, Vishal Patel, Riziki Kiseto, Enjo Seth, Seif Khalifa, Abhik Patwa and Aftab Manji.
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