Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: COACH Osman Bairu, who is eager to promote the game of cricket from the grassroots level, has come out to seek assistance from well-wishers to help him with cricket playing gear so as to simplify his ambitions.
Bairu, who owns the Dar Raptors Sport Club which has 40 cricketers is still on the ground imparting basic cricket skills to the youths based in the city despite various challenges he is facing in his endeavor to uplift the game.
His team is composed of 20 girls and 20 boys of whom, he said have shown strong interest to learn more about the sport such that basing on their abilities, he is assured that they will grow to become best cricketers.
“As a team, we are short of playing equipment to the extent that cricketers are forced to use broken bats, torn pads and gloves but their determination is what drives them to continue embracing the sport through such difficulties. “If we can get good bats, running pads, hand gloves, wicket keeper gloves, cricket balls as well as cricket helmets, definitely, we will be grateful,” said Bairu whose team is based at Tanganyika Packers.
However, elaborating on some of the successes recorded so far by his team, Bairu said his Kawe girls side recently won the Chanzo Cricket Tournament which was organised by the Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA).
“After the tournament, Diana James from my team was voted the best cricketer beating her colleagues who competed from 14 teams,” he said.
Moreover, Bairu disclosed that his Kawe Boys team managed to reach into the semi-finals of the Primary Schools Cricket contest which was also organised by TCA and attracted 24 teams.
According to him, his passion for cricket grew during his studies in India such that upon his return in the country in 1986, he was among the cricketers who represented Tanzania in the Under-17 Beson and Hedges Crane Bank Cricket Tournament in Uganda. In 1998, he was awarded the best upcoming cricketer by the TCA
