TAKASHINGA Cricket Club family is basking in the glory of success as the Takashinga Queens were crowned the inaugural Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association Women’s First League champions.

The Queens took no prisoners, winning eight of their 10 matches and losing only once. They finished with 81 points and a net run rate of 3.498.

Girls DzeChiTown Gladiators Women finished second with 60 points, while White Rhinos Women took third place with 51 points. Old HARARIANS and Glenshire Cricket Club were tied on 31 points. However, OH Women took fourth place by virtue of a better net run rate. Bindura Cricket Club Women rounded out the six-team standings with 30 points.

In their final match, Takashinga Queens made a statement, thrashing Glenshire Women by nine wickets. Anisha Dzingai picked three wickets for nine runs from three overs, while Chipo Moyo and Pashel Zambuko took two wickets each.

Trevor Garwe, the history-making Head Coach, said winning the league is a testament to the team’s hunger for success.

“I think winning the first ever Women’s HMCA League for us is actually a big thing as a club because we set high standards as a club and we definitely have a culture of winning,” he said.

“We’ve shown that we can dominate in the women’s league, and we’re going to maintain that. We’ve got a strong culture at Takashinga, which is all about working hard and pushing ourselves to achieve big results.”

On the team’s preparation for the NPL, Garwe said, “Now as we are preparing for the NPL, we’re not stopping because we’ve got a culture that is strong at Takashinga which is maintaining that hard work and make sure we keep pushing.”

He also praised the blend of senior players like Precious Marange with the youngsters.

“The other thing that helped us was having the senior guys like Precious Marange playing for Takashinga. She’s been around for a long time, and that helped us a lot because her experience and sharing that with the young and upcoming cricketers, it was really good for us,” Garwe added.

Dzingai was named Bowler of the Season with 14 wickets at an economy rate of 3.44. Chipo Moyo was second on the list with 13 wickets.

Moyo was also fourth overall on the MVP chart with a rating of 42.717. Gladiators Makanaka Zinyama took the MVP gong with a rating of 46.456. Nokutenda Matsika of White Rhinos was second with 44.097, Beloved Biza of Gladiators third with 43.326 and Lydia Dimba of White Rhinos occupying number five with 41.757.

The 35-overs-a-side league saw 7,656 runs scored, 381 wickets taken, and 19 half-centuries and eight centuries.