LADY Chevrons’ all-rounder Anesu Mushangwe has been appointed Glenelg captain for the forthcoming Premier League T20 season that bowls to life in October.
Mushangwe will be leading a galaxy of big-name stars in her team, which includes Tahlia McGrath, who plays for Australia national women’s team, South Australia State and Strikers, Courtney Webb (SA) and Big Bash side Renegades, Kate Peterson (SA) and Sydney Thunder and Tabatha Saville, former SA State and Strikers player.
“I don’t know how I feel, to be honest,” Mushangwe told EnterSportNews from Australia.
“It’s a big task, and I should say, leading people with more experience than me. It’s good as it will help me grow, I think- hopefully, when I can travel back home, I’ll be able to add value to the team because of the experience I would have acquired.
“I never thought that would happen (leading the team as captain)- I only had thoughts of improving myself as a player, that’s all, never thought of being a skipper before.”
A product of Never Lundu “The Bat Doctor” during her infancy days in Chitungwiza, while she was doing form 2, has been locked down in Australia due to the global pandemic Covid-19 that has affected the domestic, regional, continental and international sport.
She misses turning out for the senior Zimbabwe Women who have a date against Thailand this month.
“Yes, I feel I should be around (for the Thailand tie). But it’s something that I’ve no control of. So when things get back to normal, hopefully, I’ll be able to travel back so that I can be with the team,” she said.
The 25-year-old top-order batter and leg spinner moved to Adelaide last year in search of competitive game time to improve her cricket experience. She made an instant impact helping Glenelg finish second in the Statewide Super Women’s Second Grade bagging the Most Valuable Player accolade in her maiden season.
Mushangwe scooped all the awards during the 2019/2020 Season Awards; best bowler at the club, the fiver award, the best bowler in the whole league, Champion or MVP at the club, as well as the Lyn Fulston Award.
The club gained promotion into First Grade Cricket, where her fairy tale continues Down Under.
In the team’s first dance of the A-Grade league they did not perform well, but still, Mushangwe made it into the team of the year as she was part of the league’s top 11 players in the South Australia Premier League.
She was the MVP on points, the highest run-scorer for the club scoring 496 runs from 28 matches averaging 31 and the highest score of 66. She was the second-best bowler with 49 wickets, the best bowling performance of 4/14 and an average of 12.55.
A regular player for Fulham in the men’s league as well, she clinched the best bowler award and the MVP award in the Men’s B Grade League.
“Our strategy is just to play our best as a team and as individuals, control what we can and take everything else as it comes,” she said of her philosophy as team captain for the T20 campaign.
