Cricket grows wings for Inter-School Games

IRINGA: THE Tanzania  Cricket Association has completed preparing the cricket ground as the sport officially enters the Inter-Primary School Games this year.

Besides creating ground ahead of the Interschool games, TCA has successfully wrapped up its nationwide zonal Criiio Cricket training program with the final seminar held at Lugalo Secondary School in Iringa over the weekend.

This concluding seminar brought together 23 sports teachers from Mbeya, Rukwa, Njombe, Katavi, Songwe, Pwani, and Iringa, with 12 teachers representing Iringa alone. This made it the largest group of participants among the four zones, and a strong indicator of the region’s growing enthusiasm for cricket.

Iringa’s high turnout is timely, as the region is set to host this year’s UMITASHUMTA and UMISSETA Games, where cricket will be included for the first time in history. In preparation, TCA is establishing a dedicated cricket development centre and playing ground in Iringa to support the event and leave a lasting legacy for the sport.

The seminar was led by TCA Chief Development Officer Hamisi Abdallah, alongside coaches Riziki Kiseto, Abubakar Selemani, and Monica Pascal.

This program was built upon a strong foundation — a virtual training session conducted by ICC’s Participation Programs Manager, Abhishek Shekhawat, where selected TCA coaches were trained online a month prior. These coaches then went on to conduct four zonal seminars across the country:

Zone A: Mwanza – hosted at Nsumba Secondary School (March 7–9)

Zone B: Tanga – hosted at Tanga School (March 13–15)

Zone C: Morogoro – hosted at Morogoro Secondary School (March 19–21)

Zone D: Iringa – hosted at Lugalo Secondary School (March 26–28)

All seminars trained sports teachers from the 56 government-selected schools, empowering them with the knowledge and tools to promote cricket in their respective regions.

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This entire effort has been driven by the visionary leadership of TCA Chairman, Dr. B.S. Sreekumar, whose advocacy played a key role in getting cricket recognized as a priority sport by the Government of Tanzania. His vision to embed cricket in school programs has received strong backing from the ICC, creating new opportunities for expansion and talent development.

And the journey continues. As a next step, 120 teachers from across Tanzania will participate in a face-to-face advanced training course to be conducted by the ICC in Dar es Salaam from April 28 to April 30, 2025 — further strengthening the capacity of educators to nurture young cricket talent.

With the successful completion of all four zonal seminars and upcoming ICC-led training, this is just the beginning of a new era for cricket in Tanzania.