SPORTS
DeMbare surrender championship race
Published
5 years agoon

DYNAMOS DeMbare has surrendered their pursuit for the championship this season and will be happy if they can finish in the top four, a member of the team’s technical team has said.
The Harare giants, the most successful football club in the country, have had a bad start to the season and after 19 games, they are 10th on the log standings.
DeMbare has accumulated just 22 points and are a massive 23 behind log leaders and defending champions FC Platinum.
It has been a terrible campaign for the club, who have been defeated seven times this term, one more than they lost their entire season last year when they went on to finish second, beaten to the crown by just two points.
They were widely expected to improve from that showing, with many tipping them to win the league this season.
But things have gone horribly wrong this far. It appears DeMbare has not recovered from a chaotic pre-season that was caused by a player mutiny, in protest over unpaid signing on fees and winning bonuses.
Team manager Richard Chihoro yesterday told NewsDaySport that dreaming about winning the championship this season would be a wild fallacy.
Their best bet, according to Chihoro, will be to finish in a “respectable fourth position
“Let’s be realistic, we can’t talk of winning the championship. The season hasn’t gone well like we had planned. The gap that has formed between us and the top team is too big,” Chihoro said.
“We cannot fool ourselves to say we still have a chance (to win the league). This season, we can’t, we will try next season.
The target now is to finish in a respectable position, and if we can finish fourth, we would have achieved considering where we are currently.”
It has been chaotic in the Dynamos dressing room, with members of the technical team, including Chihoro and coach Lloyd Mutasa, being shown the exit door on different occasions, before they were both recalled.
A number of senior players have also left, leaving huge voids behind that the club has failed to fill.
Star striker Christian Ntouba, the man who single-handedly carried the team last season, was frustrated out after the team failed to pay his signing-on fee and allowances.
Midfielder Tichaona Chipunza felt his services could be appreciated better elsewhere and he joined Ngezi Platinum at the start of the season, while Raphael Manuvire only spent six months at the club and he was fed up.
Skipper Ocean Mushure, who led the pre-season strike, has been in and out of the team this season due to problems related to his unpaid allowances and signing-on fees.
And all the difficulties culminated in club president Keni Mubaiwa throwing in the towel last month as problems mounted and the season wheel into an irretrievable nosedive.
But Chihoro believes the club has turned the corner.
The arrival of a new executive, led by long-serving benefactor Solomon Sanyamandwe, appears to have settled things a bit.
Their performance on the field of play has also improved, in particular, their showing against Chicken Inn in their first game from the mid-season break a fortnight ago.
They were unfortunate to share the spoils in that match after allowing a late equaliser and they also showed some grit to come from behind and forced a draw in Maglas last week.
Tomorrow, they have a big test when second-placed Ngezi Platinum Stars arrive at Rufaro Stadium for the headline match of the day.
“There will be war,” declared Chihoro. “We know Ngezi are a very good side and all the games we have played them have been very entertaining.
This should not be any different, and we expect DeMbare fans to come in their numbers.”
A $5 entry fee for the cheapest ticket, pegged for this match, could prove a huge hindrance for the two teams’ supporters, who could have wanted to watch this one.
The teams have met five times since Ngezi Platinum made their grand entry into the top flight three seasons ago, including a five-goal thriller at the National Sports Stadium last season when a Ntouba inspired Dynamos won 3-2.
Interestingly, Dynamos have not lost to Ngezi at home, winning both games in the two team’s only meetings in Harare.
Ngezi has also utilised their home ground well when playing against Dynamos, winning twice and drawn one against their more fancied opponents in Mhondoro Ngezi.
Mutasa expects his team’s good home run against Ngezi Platinum Stars to continue tomorrow.
Mushure is unlikely to feature tomorrow, having only returned to the fold this week while Ngezi will begin life without their star man, Terrence Dzvukamanja, who has joined South African premier league side Bidvest Wits.
NewsDay
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The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association said that 16 players tested positive for coronavirus in the first wave of mandatory tests done in preparation for the restart of the season. Those 16 players were part of a pool of 302 tested on Tuesday. Tests continue for all 22 teams that will be participating in the restart at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, next month.
The player names were not disclosed. However, some players, such as Malcolm Brogdon of Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings teammates Jabari Parker and Alex Len have publicly acknowledged they have tested positive.
The league and the union say that “any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician.”Al Jazeera

THE International Cricket Council described yesterday as a sad day for the game around the world after former Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, Peter Chingoka, died in Harare.
He was 65 and is survived by wife Shirley, two children Farai and Dambudzo, and one grandchild.
Mourners are gathered at 36 Sandringham Drive Alexandria Park.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) was today saddened to learn of the death of Peter Chingoka,” the ICC said in a statement.
“Chingoka had a long career as a cricket administrator, including as the president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (as Zimbabwe Cricket was called then) from 1992 to 2014, where he assumed the title of chairman in 2001 and significantly contributed to the game’s development across Africa.
“He also was a member of the ICC Board during that time.”
ICC Chief executive, Manu Sawhney, said the global cricket family was mourning.
“The death of Mr Chingoka is sad news for the cricket world. He was widely acknowledged as an important leader in cricket in Zimbabwe and was a respected member of the ICC Board.
“It was with great sadness that we learnt of his death. On behalf of the ICC, I would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”
Chingoka died yesterday morning at the Avenues Clinic.
According to a family spokesperson, Patrick Chingoka, his younger brother, the late administrator was in and out of the hospital and suffered from a combination of hypertension and kidney problems.
ZC chairman, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, described him as a humble and dedicated person
“It’s sad for cricket. It’s a sad day for sport. He served over 20 years on the ZC board and served in the cricket council. He was there when we got our Test cricket status. I served under him as vice-chairman.
“We will greatly miss Peter. He was very humble and approachable. He weathered the storm for cricket locally and internationally.
“He will be missed by many,” said Mukuhlani.
The Sport and Recreation Committee also paid tribute to Chingoka.
“The Sports and Recreation Commission has received with a deep sense of sorrow and sadness the news of the passing on of Peter Chingoka a revered and long-serving cricket administrator.
“Peter’s commitment to sport in general and cricket, in particular, was unquestionable as evidenced by his immeasurable and invaluable contribution to the growth and development of cricket.
“Though Peter had retired from the active administration of Cricket, he still remained a vital cog and a repository of cricket knowledge in the country which could be called upon to give wise counsel at any time.
“The void that Peter has left will undoubtedly be very difficult to fill.
“On behalf of the Sports and Recreation Commission, we will like to convey our deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and the cricket fraternity for the sad loss of a beloved one and a colleague.’’
His death comes a year after his brother Paul, a former Tennis Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Olympic Committee president, also passed away.
Chingoka was one of the first black Zimbabweans to establish themselves in cricket where he started as a player and then an administrator.
A local cricket fan, Columbus Makumbe, also offered his condolences.
“With deep sorrow, I learnt about the death of one of the best cricket administrators in this country.
“As a devout fan of the Chevrons, I will remember Peter Chingoka as a highly experienced administrator, outstanding personality endowed with unique human properties,’’ Makumbe said.
Chingoka was made honorary life president of ZC just three months after he stepped down as chairman.
During his playing days, he was a seamer and quite a handy lower-order batsman and played in the Gillette Cup knockout competition in 1975-76 and 1976-77.
One of his most notable scalps was South African legend, Barry Richards.
“Peter Chingoka was the first black Zimbabwean to make his name in cricket,’’ the authoritative Cricinfo said.
“A seam bowler and useful lower-order batsman, his greatest cricketing achievement was his appointment as captain of the South African African XI that played in the Gillette Cup knockout competition in 1975-76 and 1976-77.
“He was able to play multiracial club cricket for Universals, but was not a major figure and pursued cricket administration.
“He was appointed vice-president of the ZCU in 1990 and took over as president at the resignation of David Ellman-Brown in 1992, shortly after Zimbabwe gained Test status.’’The Chronicle
NEWS
Zimbabwe Cricket governing board to be reinstated following court order
Published
4 years agoon
09/08/2019
Zimbabwe’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has decided to reinstate Zimbabwe Cricket’s suspended governing board, which it had replaced by an interim committee last month.
The move led to the cricket board’s suspension by the ICC, which deemed it as “political interference”. ZC was given an October 8 deadline to “unconditionally reinstate” the governing board led by Tavengwa Mukuhlani.
“Accordingly, and pursuant to the said court order, the SRC hereby lifts the suspension of the directors of ZC, including that of the acting managing director [Givemore Makoni], with immediate effect,” read the statement released by SRC on August 8. “The interim committee accordingly ceases to administer the affairs of Zimbabwe Cricket forthwith.”
The decision by SRC follows a court order that came about after the suspended directors of ZC appealed the decision in the administrative court of Zimbabwe. The reinstatement of Mukuhlani and others paves the way for Zimbabwe’s inclusion back into the international fold. The ICC will convene for its next meeting on October 12, four days after the deadline for Zimbabwe ends.
In a July 24 letter, the ICC had warned about a possible termination if Zimbabwe Cricket fails to find a way back to the democratically elected board.
“Should the ICC not receive a satisfactory response from you on the above terms, within the stipulated time frame, the ICC reserves its right to take such further action as it deems appropriate including to proceed by way of termination of your membership as provided for in the Articles of Association,” the ICC letter read.
Zimbabwe, with their full member rights suspended, have already lost on berths in the upcoming World T20 qualifiers. Nigeria replaced them in the Men’s qualifiers whereas Namibia replaced them in the Women’s qualifiers.
Besides that, Zimbabwe’s domestic competitions were also put on hold due to frozen funds but the news of their participation in the triangular series in Bangladesh, which earlier looked doubtful, came as a huge boost. Cricbuzz

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