New role excites Chibhabha

Sport
FORMER Zimbabwe women cricket captain Julia Chibhabha is excited to have made another piece of a history after she was appointed the first selection convenor of the newly-established national women’s selection panel in the country.

BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE

FORMER Zimbabwe women cricket captain Julia Chibhabha is excited to have made another piece of a history after she was appointed the first selection convenor of the newly-established national women’s selection panel in the country.

Chibhabha has a history of “firsts” in cricket after she became Zimbabwe’s first captain as well as the first female to be contracted as a coach by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) following her attainment of a Level 1 qualification in 2006.

The three-member selection panel announced by ZC last week also includes former national team players Thando Mlilo and Emily Njinjika.

“I am quite excited by the appointment and would like to think my history in cricket and sport in general substantiated the position,” Chibhabha said in an interview with Standardsport.

“I am looking forward to see how we can grow and develop the game of cricket to as many girls and women as possible, obviously with more game time and exposure to the sport.

“I am happy and humbled that my input to the game has been worthwhile, having pioneered in different aspects like captaining, coaching and now as convenor of selectors,” the 37-year-old official added.

Chibhabha is also looking forward to working with the other members of the panel Mlilo and Njinjika, who are also former players.

“I am happy for them as well because we played together. Thando and Emily played pivotal roles during our active playing days. Thando and I even went to India for the AfroAsia T20 games as part of the Africa team. So I am confident we will do our best to further improve the sport,” Chibhabha said.

Chibhabha is a sister of the current Zimbabwe men’s limited-overs captain Chamu Chibhabha.