Academy Boys Development cricketers revived hopes of excelling in the Division C of the ongoing Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA) League with a stunning six-wicket victory over TCA U-18 team at the Annadil Burhani venue in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

It was a match between familiar sides whose players are a product of the development programme organized by TCA and for that matter, rivalry and the level of competitiveness was high throughout the game, with Academy Boys Development eventually prevailing.

The victory happened to be a timely morale boost for the Academy Boys Development youngsters, who suffered a 30-run-defeat at the hands of Dik Dik at the Leaders Club venue last week. With a clear knowledge that another defeat was bound to jeopardize their chances of securing one of the top positions in the division and ultimately secure promotion to a higher division, Academy Boys Development hardly wasted opportunities.

TCA U-18 had the opportunity to start batting and they went on to record 106 runs all out in the innings that witnessed a largely less satisfactory batting going by the team’s standard. TCA U-18 should have done better during their time with the bat but, with the majority of the team’s batsmen failing to offer meaningful contribution, there was no way the team could post a much more convincing total, which could have otherwise proved too much for the Academy Boys Development.

In response, chasing the triple digit target was hardly a challenging assignment for Academy Boys youngsters, who made short work of their opponents’ bowlers and reached the target for the loss of only four wickets.

With the Academy Boys Development having tasted victory, winning the next assignment is all the team needs to ensure its campaign is on the right track, otherwise the team will risk being an outsider in the title chase.  As for TCA U-18 team, the defeat is expected to serve as a wake up call to the squad in that nothing but a win in the next match will be the key to their return to contention for promotion.

TCA has organized the league involving several outfits in the city with a view to promoting the spot among domestic youth, apart from using the event to identify players for national teams.

By JAPHETH KAZENGA, Tanzania Daily News