U-19 World Cup a learning curve for Eksteen

ONE of Zimbabwe’s brightest prospects at the 2024 ICC Men’s’Under-19 World Cup, Kohl Eksteen believes the global showpiece was a learning curve for him where he managed to garner a lot of experience.

The 18-year-old right handed fast bowler was one of Zimbabwe Under-19s exciting fast bowlers at the tournament which was hosted in South Africa last month and believes he came back with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Eskteen — who is a Peterhouse Boys pupil- said it was an honour to represent Zimbabwe at such a big stage.

“The World Cup experience was one of a kind. As well as learning so much more about cricket and the game, new friendships were formed and many life lessons were learnt. The key takeaway from my experience was that, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

“It was an honour to represent my country on the international stage.

“I am grateful to Jesus Christ and my parents who made a way for me where there seemed to be no way.

The bottom line — never ever give up,” said the youngster.

Eksteen gained attention in Zimbabwe Under-19s’ opening match of the tournament against Sri Lanka.

Despite the result not going Zimbabwe’s way, Eksteen managed to make a name for himself when he picked three wickets as they bowled out the Lankans for 204 runs. In that match against Sri Lanka, he conceded just 40 runs in his 10 over spell.

He would go on to pick up a wicket each against Namibia and England in the group stages and the Super Six stage respectively. Against Namibia, he finished with figures of 1/18 in eight overs while against Australia he had 0/22 in four overs.

In warm up matches, he had figures of 0/12 in three overs, 2/30 in eight overs against Ireland (game 1) and 1/30 in the second match against Ireland.

Zimbabwe finished in 12th place at the World Cup and failed to improve their standings from the previous tournaments.