The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter
DANGAMVURA-BORN Zimbabwe cricket opener, Kevin Kasuza, who had just earned his stripes and landed a regular slot in the national team, says when the Covid-19 global lockdown eases, he will have to start all over again to regain the momentum that saw him getting a Chevrons call-up.
Kasuza’s exceptional talent was identified through Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC)’s talent identification program in Mutare’s high-density suburbs.
From then, he was a regular junior national team player. But as he grew older, he somehow remained at the periphery of the senior national team. Then recently, the Mountaineers’ captain made his big break.
He showed so much potential with the bat in national colours, following up his 63 in the first Test with an equally solid 38 in the second against Sri Lanka in Harare.
“It is really sad because as a player, you must have game time, especially when you are in the good form I was in just before the onset of the lockdown. It is a big disadvantage not to be playing right now, l might need to start all over again, even in those areas that l had perfected my game.
“I had just started turning out for the national team, so I needed that momentum to keep up with that level. I will just have to start all over again.
“I had played three Test matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh when the lockdown began, but I was looking forward to play in ODIs. Unfortunately, Covid-19 had other plans. However, our lives are much more important than anything else. For now, it is all about safety.
“When the pandemic gets under control, I will be able to reach and surpass the standards I had set for myself. We really cannot do anything about it,” he said. Kasuza’s resilience in the gentlemen’s game might have earned him national team recognition, but that recognition certainly did not come on a silver platter.
Twice in two Tests, the Dangamvura-born player was taken off the field on a stretcher after being struck on the helmet with the ball.
He sustained a blow on the third morning of the second Test against Sri Lanka when Kusal Mendis nailed a powerful back-foot pull, thereby hitting Kasuza’s helmet.
The cricketer hit the ground as the ball ricocheted to square leg, where Carl Mumba took the catch to send Mendis back for 22 off 73 balls.
“The injury took me some significant steps back because I had only played first innings. With the form I had picked, I could have achieved more,” he said. Incidentally, this was a repeat of what had happened in the first Test.
Then, too, it was Mendis who had struck Kasuza on the helmet when he was fielding from the same position.
On that occasion, Kasuza did not immediately feel the effects of the blow but was eventually substituted out of the match, which was his international debut. Speaking on how he is keeping himself in shape, Kasuza said, “Right now I have not yet started full time practice. So I am just doing fitness training to stay in shape.”
ZC recently annulled the 2019/20 domestic season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This means the first-class competition, the Logan Cup, and the List A contest, the Pro50 Championship, have been voided, with no winners declared. The premier domestic competitions, which were underway before Government suspended all sporting activities as part of the nation’s strategies that seek to curb the spread of the novel virus, were supposed to be concluded by the end of April.
“We were looking forward to the conclusion of the season, but considering what is happening across the world, we realised it was not realistic to expect resumption of the competitions anytime soon,” said ZC director of cricket, Hamilton Masakadza.
“ZC therefore decided to void the 2019/20 season. We will not declare a winner or award any of the trophies as teams had not played an equal number of games when the season was curtailed,” he said.
