New ‘Tests’ Await Hero School-Boy Cricketer

Jul 31, 2001

HARARE - When 17 year-old schoolboy Hamilton Masakadza became the youngest player ever to score a hundred on his debut in the second test between Zimbabwe and the West Indies on Sunday, he made headlines around the world.

HARARE - When 17 year-old schoolboy Hamilton Masakadza became the youngest player ever to score a hundred on his debut in the second test between Zimbabwe and the West Indies on Sunday, he made headlines around the world. He also caused a stir back at his school, Churchill Boys High, in Harare. But once the match is over, Masakadza faces a different sort of test — mock examinations, which were delayed so he could represent his country. "Everyone is overjoyed," headmaster Levy Hombarume told Reuters on Monday. "I couldn't close down the school, but we managed to get one bus and send all our cricketers(to watch the game)," the headmaster said. Churchill School has another student in the Zimbabwe side, 18 year-old wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, playing in his second test in the absence of the injured Andy Flower. Both Masakadza and Taibu should have sat mock examinations in recent weeks but approached their headmaster to ask if they could play against the West Indies instead. "They came to me and asked if there was something we could do. We have set papers aside for them to do when the cricket is over. We definitely don't want to disadvantage them when they are representing the country," Hombarume said. The pair are among more than 30 students at the school who have cricket scholarships, almost all of them sponsored by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU). The scheme allows children from poorer areas of Harare to learn the game and get a decent education. "Once the match is over, the boys will at least be asked to come up to the front at assembly so the whole school can congratulate them," Hombarume said. Ends

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