By GWEN CHIPASULA –
THE Zambia Cricket Union (ZCU) yesterday donated assorted sports equipment to the Evelyn Hone College which became the latest high learning institution to be introduced to the sport.
ZCU partnered with Technical Education and Vocational Sports Association (TEVISA) in April this year to introduce the sport at tertiary level.
The equipment is worth K20,000 and included 14 bats, a set of stumps, four helmets, 12 soft balls, eight abdominal guards, 18 batting gloves and six pairs of leg pads.
The colleges involved are Evelyn Hone, Zambia Air Services Training Institute (ZASTI), Lusaka Business and Technical College (LBTC), Lusaka Vocational and Training College and Hotel (LVTCH), Tourism Training Institute Industrial Training Centre (TTIITC) and Zambia Institute of Marketing (ZAMIM).
ZCU president Reuben Chama said the initiative was brought about to help the college students find a clear pathway to join senior teams when they were done with education.
Chama said donations would also be extended to 12 high schools around the country in a bid to popularise the sport.
“We will go on with the donation programme, even to the juniors and for them, we shall even provide jerseys,” Chama said.
He said once the league kicks off next year, each college would be expected to have the men and women teams to take part in competitions, and that the ZCU would help out with logistics.
Evelyn Hone College vice-principal Ignatius Ndabala commended ZCU for the donation and for considering the institution as part of the selected schools to learn the sport of cricket.