African Sports Insights

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – Star Zimbabwe centre Brandon Mudzekenyedzi has praised the team for outstanding performances in the first leg of the newly-established World Rugby Nations Cup in the United States and Canada over the past three weekends. The Sables, who are now classified as a second-tier side following their improved showing over the past three years as well as qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Australia, are one of 12 nations taking part in the Nation

BULAWAYO – Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani combined in a devastating display of fast bowling as Zimbabwe defended 170 to beat Bangladesh by 32 runs in the opening T20 International at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Wednesday, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. On a surface that offered little obvious assistance to the seamers, Zimbabwe’s pace spearheads extracted steep bounce and maintained relentless accuracy, sharing eight wickets as Ban

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – The raft of changes to Zimbabwe’s side for the World Rugby Nations Cup second game against hosts United States of America on Sunday morning (01:30 Zim time) are not a direct reaction to the team’s performance in the 36-26 defeat to Tonga last weekend. The Sables put up a gallant performance to nearly beat Tonga in Colorado last week, with the team’s line-outs and some key players made to shoulder the blame for the loss after the African natio

HARARE – A proper ding-dong battle with its own soundtrack provided by the amazing fans at Castle Corner lit up the Harare night as Zimbabwe edged Bangladesh out, defending a total of 247 and wrapping up the ODI series 2-0 with a game to play. Ben Curran produced only the seventh instance of a Zimbabwean batting through the entire 50 overs but his 111 not out only became match-winning after a never-say-die bowling effort from his team-mates. At 169 for 3, they were being ba

HARARE – It was Newman Nyamhuri's day - with bat and ball, and in the field. First, he scored a career-best 33 from No. 9 to push Zimbabwe from 70 for 8 to 141. Then he took two catches in the deep, the first of them an agile effort while tip-toeing the fine-leg boundary. Nyamhuri also broke Bangladesh's 49-run fourth-wicket stand to open the floodgates for a memorable win. Zimbabwe successfully defended 141, beating Bangladesh by 25 runs. It was a bowlers' ODI played on

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – Zimbabwe have rung changes for their World Rugby Nations Cup opener against Tonga in the early hours of Sunday (12:15 Zim time), with some regulars either named on the bench or missing from the match-day squad altogether. The Sables, who arrived in the United States last weekend ahead of the first match in Denver, Colorado, are building squad depth in a bid to assemble a group of capable players who can seamlessly replace starters and still d

HARARE – Zimbabwe registered their biggest win in Test cricket as they thrashed Bangladesh by an innings and 85 runs on the third afternoon in the one-off Test in Harare. After conceding a first-innings lead of 270, Bangladesh collapsed once again and were all out for 185 in the second innings, with Blessing Muzarabani picking up 4 for 65. It was the first time that Zimbabwe won two successive Tests by an innings margin. In their previous Test, in October 2025, they had b

By Nick Chouhan HARARE – Make no mistake: Zimbabwean cricket is cooking. From unforgettable giant-killing runs on the pitch to a massive multimillion-dollar stadium blitz off it, the Chevrons are moving at warp speed. With the country gearing up to co-host the absolute biggest tournaments on the planet, Zimbabwe isn't just participating in the global game anymore—they are positioned to run it. Here is why Zimbabwe is officially cricket's most exciting growth story right

By Nigel Nyamutumbu HARARE – Settling back from the drive from Zimbabwe's second capital, the City of Kings and Queens, Bulawayo, I had a story to tell. Well, quite a few stories to tell. For any journalist that has set foot in a structured newsroom, before you started working on any stories for that day or week, diary meetings are convened to test whether any story idea is worth pursuing. This is normally a robust exercise. After all, everywhere or everyone is making

By Enock Muchinjo HARARE – Knowledgeable Sables fans will not be astonished by the mildly dissatisfied murmurs from the Springbok camp that the South Africa ‘A’ side wasn’t as clinical enough as they would have liked to see against Zimbabwe on Saturday. Simply because, unless you’re merely an armchair critic like most who have reacted to the result, everything leading up to the outcome in Gqeberha on Saturday will make sense beyond what the graphic designers circulated af

HARARE – Zimbabwe Cricket has named a 15-man squad for the one-off Test against Bangladesh, with left-arm fast bowler Richard Ngarava set to captain the national side for the first time in the longest format. The match is scheduled to start on Sunday at Harare Sports Club, marking Zimbabwe’s return to Test cricket following their emphatic innings-and-73-run victory over Afghanistan at the same venue in October last year. Ngarava was one of the standout performers in that

By Nigel Nyamutumbu HARARE – It is inherently human to be biased. What informs human biases is subject to scholarly debates across behavioral studies, among them sociology and psychology. This is no wonder why in any contest with ultimate victors, human beings are inclined to take sides. Sport rivalry is a typical example of how human beings are emotive, openly aligned and have categorical preferences. Historical football rivalries in Zimbabwe have predominantly bee

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – Zimbabwe have gone for consistency in their team section for the clash against South Africa ‘A’ on Saturday in Gqeberha with Stormers lock Gary Porter the only new face in the starting line-up. Debutant Porter will partner the experienced international Kudakwashe Nyakufaringwa in the Sables’ engine room while there have been some adjustments in the forward pack. Simba Siraha, who earned all his previous Sables caps at lock, has been selected at b

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – Donald Campbell, the headmaster of Lilfordia School and young brother of former Zimbabwe cricket captain Alistair Campbell, has announced a permanent campus ban on parent Lotshe Mangena following his involvement in a disturbing violent incident at another school where one of his children is also a learner. Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of 50-year-old Mangena after he stormed a rugby pitch at Eaglesvale High School while threateningly

Zimbabwe trained in Stellenbosch ahead of the clash with South Africa 'A'. By Enock Muchinjo HARARE – For a man who made an unerasable footprint in the game of rugby in both countries, Kennedy Tsimba’s interest in the match between South Africa ‘A’ and his native Zimbabwe on Saturday is irrefutable. The clash between the exciting South African second-string side and Zimbabwe is an opener for the Springboks’ unofficial Test with the Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Sta

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER Lotshe Mangena (right) pose with a relative at a function in this file picture. HARARE – The parent who brandished a gun and allegedly assaulted a schoolboy rugby player at Eaglesvale High School in Harare on Saturday has been identified as the son of the late Zimbabwean nationalist and distinguished soldier Alfred Nikita Mangena, who was a ZIPRA commander. Lotshe Mangena, a parent at the upmarket Bulawayo private all-boys school Christian Brothers