Compton & Chandlers Ford is thrilled to announce the return of Zimbabwean Player/Coach Tinashe Chimbambo for their 2023 Hampshire League campaign.
Chimbambo is an experienced Zimbabwean wicket-keeper batter who, until his recent move to New Zealand (November 2022), played domestic cricket for the Mountaineers franchise.
The gloveman was on the Zimbabwean domestic circuit for well over a decade following his List A debut as a fresh-faced 16-year-old. He made his first-class debut 2 years later (2008), after his successful ICC Under-19 World Cup campaign. During the tournament in Malaysia, Chimbambo was one of only three Zimbabweans to play in all six of the side’s matches, along with Kyle Jarvis and Prince Masvaure, and only Dan Landman and Solomon Mire scored more runs than him.
Over the next decade, appearances were sporadic for Chimbambo, and despite 15 years on the domestic scene, he only played 31 matches. That said, his absence was, in most part, due to his studies which saw him live in South Africa whilst completing his Honours Degree in Managing Information Systems from the University of Western Cape.
He also spent time in England, playing for Harrow St. Mary’s (2013), and Lansdown (2014). Chimbambo was a sensation for the latter, hitting 1,508 runs at 68.55 in his 33 matches for the club. In Saturday League cricket alone, these numbers were even better, scoring 777 runs at 86.33 with 3 centuries, all with a strike rate of 95.37 in the Bristol and North Somerset Division of the West of England Premier League.
The Zimbabwean star then ventured back to the UK in 2022 and enjoyed yet another barnstorming stint, this time for Compton and Chandlers Ford. He ripped up the Hampshire League hitting 951 runs at 95.10 with 4 centuries to help the club to the title. An enthusiastic coach, he was also a prominent figure at the club throughout the summer.
Chimbambo, who is now playing club cricket for Hawera in the strong Taranaki Cricket Association in New Zealand, will embark on a second CCFCC stint in 2023.
