‘He needs to go through the mill’: Mangongo says pace prospect Matigimu mustn’t be fast-tracked

BY SPORTSCART WRITER HARARE – Kundai Matigimu has made quite a captivating start to first-class cricket, but according to his former Zimbabwe Under-19 coach Stephen Mangongo, the promising fast bowler still needs more game-time in that kind of environment before he can earn an international call-up.

27-year-old right-armer Matigimu disappeared from the scene after starring for Zimbabwe at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, opting to study at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before advancing his professional cricket career. He however continued to play while studying, emerging as one of the star players in the University of Pretoria team that won the Varsity Cup Week title in 2019.

Matigimu has now returned home to Zimbabwe after stints in South Africa, hugely impressing with his raw pace and bounce in Zimbabwe ‘A’s second four-day match against touring English county side Durham. He took five wickets in the second of the two matches, in a losing cause, as Durham wrapped up the series 2-0 with a seven-wicket win at Takashinga Cricket Club on Thursday.

“Kundai is a genuine fast-bowling all-rounder,” Mangongo told SportsCast on Friday.

“He was amongst the quickest Under-19s in the (Under-19 World Cup) tournament in Bangladesh where the infamous Mankad denied us progression to the quarter-finals. After school, Kundai was spotted and left for South Africa for tertiary studies. He has matured as a cricketer.”

Matigimu first caught the eye in schoolboy cricket whilst at St George's College in Harare. But he only made his first-class debut last month in Zimbabwe’s Logan Cup competition, for Mashonaland Eagles against Midwest Rhinos.  

At 27 and having been fine-tuned in South Africa, Zimbabwe’s selectors could be tempted to fast-track Matigimu into the national side for the forthcoming tours of Bangladesh and England.

But Mangongo’s answer to Matigimu’s readiness for international cricket was unequivocal.

“Not yet,” he replied.

“He needs to go through the mill and be tested at ‘A’ side (level) against proper fully-fledged international sides. Zimbabwe, we are missing the final cooking stage for our boys, which is enough game-time at ‘A’ side level. Potential talents like Matigimu, (Tashinga) Musekiwa and (Emmanuel) Bawa should prove themselves at this key level. It’s a test of competency first before being thrown into the national team.”

The same applies to wicketkeeper-batsman Tafadzwa Tsiga, who scored half-centuries in both innings in the second defeat to Durham.

“He is a very underrated batsman,” Mangongo said. “He simply needs exposure. He has suffered from inconsistencies in selection whereby he gets a game then dropped next series. This boy needs a good run to prove himself and he will not disappoint.”

*This website is in partnership with AfricaBet. Please place your bets on the link below:

https://www.africabet.com/en