Personnel | |
---|---|
Captain | Tarisai Musakanda |
Team information | |
Founded | 2017 |
Home ground | Takashinga Cricket Club, Highfield, Harare |
The Rising Stars were a Zimbabwean first-class cricket team that was formed in 2017. They played their home matches at Takashinga Cricket Club, Highfield, Harare.[1] The team was founded by Zimbabwe's former Test cricket captain Tatenda Taibu.[2] They played in Zimbabwe's domestic cricket competitions, starting with the 2017–18 Logan Cup.[1]
In October 2017, they lost their opening first-class fixture in the Logan Cup to the Mid West Rhinos by 7 wickets.[3] Despite the loss, Zimbabwe's former captain Brendan Taylor praised the team saying that they have some excellent bowlers and deserve their first-class status.[4] Later the same month, in the third round of fixtures, they won their maiden first-class match, beating Matabeleland Tuskers by 268 runs.[5]
In May 2018, they qualified for the final of the 2017–18 Pro50 Championship, in their first season of competing in the Pro50 Championship tournament, after finishing top in the group stage.[6][7] In the final, they beat Mountaineers by 144 runs to win their first title,[8] with Tony Munyonga named the player of the series.[9]
However, with Zimbabwe Cricket facing financial issues during the 2017–18 season,[10] it was unlikely that the Rising Stars would take part in the 2018–19 season.[11] In October 2018, it was confirmed that the team would be disbanded, with players distributed between the other four franchise teams in Zimbabwe.[12]