Harare — THE Stanbic Bank Twenty20 Series, which was officially launched at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday morning and got underway yesterday with the first ball being bowled at the same ground, promises to be a great success.

Local and international journalists came out in full force for an opportunity to have one-on-one interviews with sponsors and the captain and coach of each franchise ahead of the start of the tournament.

The arrival of the Namibian national team, The Desert Vipers, in Harare on Thursday evening brought a Pan-African element to the tournament which has already drawn international players from Kenya, England and Australia.

The media also got to hear, first hand, from the managing director of Zimbabwe Cricket, Ozias Bvute, about the organisation's push to spread and improve the game through the licensing of the tournament.

The Stanbic Bank Twenty20 hopes to propel ZC even further on the road to making Zimbabwean cricket a true national sport that embraces all ages, races and social classes.

"The advent of Twenty20 cricket has revolutionised the game. We accepted that and decided to re-launch the game from our franchise platform," said Bvute.

"Zimbabwe as a cricketing nation stands to benefit immensely from the popularity of the game whose short, sharp format appeals to a diverse audience".

Stanbic Bank Chief Executive Officer Joshua Tapambgwa said their mission was to try and help Zimbabwe Cricket in its journey back to the big time.

"We hope that our sponsorship will put Zimbabwean cricket back on the international map by successfully holding a high profile tournament," said Tapambgwa.

"We recognise our responsibility to future generations to maintain institutions such as cricket and hence we are playing our part as a responsible corporate citizen.

"This exciting format of the game is tailor made for the young and the young at heart and will definitely rejuvenate the passion that's necessary to see Zimbabwe returning to the lofty cricketing heights where it belongs".

Other sponsors of the this high octane event include one of Zimbabwe's major telecommunications companies, Econet Wireless, the Innscor Group, Delta Beverages, Ram Petroleum, African Steel and Nissan Zimbabwe.

The first game will see Mutare based Mountaineers take on Kwekwe based Midwest Rhinos while the defending champions Tuskers face the local team Mash Eagles.

Tuskers captain Gavin Ewing said he felt the team was not under any pressure to win sighting that his charges were ready to take on to the field and defend their title.

"Tuskers are not really under any sort of pressure but that we have to perform to the best of our ability and we have certainly improved from were we were at the beginning of the season".

Australian World Cup winning batsman Ian Harvey was optimistic about the role he will play for the Southern Rocks.

Harvey is among some of the players who came to the country as foreign-based players after the introduction of the Franchise system who include Sean Ervine, Andy Blignaut, Doug Marillier, Gavin Ewing, Gregory Lamb, and Keegan Meth.

"I am happy to be a part of this turn-around in Zimbabwean cricket and l hope to bring in my knowledge of the game and learn more from the way the game is played in this country".

Eagles head coach Chris Silverwood, currently enjoying a wave of success in the longer version of the game, expressed his excitement for the tournament.

"We are currently on top of the Logan Cup Log so we are hoping to translate that form into the shorter version and l promise you that the talent we have will take the country right back on top".