The 15TH edition of the annual national schools cricket festival was a success with 25 schools from across the country taking part in the three-day event at Prince Edward School and some Harare schools this week.

Action concluded on Thursday in the festival that also plays a huge role in unearthing future cricketers in the country.

Festival co-ordinator Dudzai Muhomba lauded the improvement of quality on and off the field.

"We witnessed high quality of cricket as all teams showed hunger for victory unlike last year where we had games ending early as some teams showed unpreparedness,” said Muhomba.

“Professionalism is nurtured at this level and we are happy that teams where starting games on time which is critical in this game of cricket," he said.

Muhomba emphasized the need for strong developmental programs for a bright future of cricket in Zimbabwe.

"It is my wish if we keep brilliant youngsters by coming up with academies from each and every province in order to benefit in the long run hence we have a strong base of upcoming cricketers,” he said.

“For us as a nation to improve our game we need to start from the grassroots level and keep the youngsters in the system unlike depending with the under 19s only which are later on be forgotten,’ said Muhomba.

He continued:

“This same event is the one which has produced most of the new faces in franchise and national team and also not forgetting the under 19 team which was at World Cup early this year."

There were some exciting matches on the last day of the festival with hosts Prince Edward beating Falcon College by 39 runs while new comers Mufakose 3 stunned Allan Wilson by two-wickets.