ACA/ICC Under 19 Women's cricket tournament

 At 6pm on Monday, November 29, 2010, I joined the Rwandan under 19 girls cricket team on a ‘Kampala Coach’ bus headed from Kigali, Rwanda to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania for the ACA/ICC under 19 women’s cricket tournament.

The bus trip included three bus changes (one due to our bus tire catching fire - leading to a five hour wait on the side of the road), covered four Countries (Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) and took us 55 hours to complete.

We finally arrived at out hotel around 4:00am on Thursday morning just five hours before we were due to play our first game against Uganda.  The tournament officials kindly amended the schedule so that our first game was changed to Thursday afternoon, allowing the girls to get a few hours sleep.

On the bus

Time for some sleep during the journey

The offending tire

Practicing while the bus was broken down

Game 1 – Rwanda v Uganda

Match played at:       Annadil Burhani Stadium.

Result:                       Uganda 121/4 defeated Rwanda 33/8 by 88 runs.

The first game was at the Annadil Burhani Stadium.  On a very hot afternoon Uganda won the toss and decided to bat.  The Rwandan girls seemed very tired during this game (understandable given the journey they had just endured) and it showed in their cricket.  The team fielded well but unfortunately they bowled 51 extras (49 wides and 2 no balls), allowing Uganda to score 121/4.

Rwanda’s batting did not get off to the start we were hoping for as the Ugandan opening bowler took a hat trick (all bowled) in the first over.  To make matters worse, there was a run out in the second over and the team never recovered.  The girls batted well during the middle overs and ensured the team did not lose a wicket for around 10 overs.  While the team did not score a lot of runs during this time it showed some great fighting spirit and gave the team some much needed encouragement.  Unfortunately our innings was abandoned due to bad light after 24 overs with the score at 33/8.

Rwanda v Uganda - Rwanda in the field 

Rwanda v Uganda - Rwanda take their first wicket

Rwanda v Uganda - Rwanda get ready to bat

Rwanda v Uganda - Rwanda batting

Game 2 – Rwanda v Tanzania

Match played at:       UDSM.

Result:                       Tanzania 66/10 defeated Rwanda 65/7 by 1 run.

Game 2 was played at the University ground (UDSM).  Tanzania won the toss and decided to bat.  After a decent night’s sleep the Rwandan girls came out to play.  The bowling and fielding could not be faulted during this game against a Tanzanian side that batted aggressively and continually tried to take on the fielders when running between the wickets.  Rwanda took just 16.4 overs to dismiss Tanzania for 66 runs.  The improved bowling effort saw all five bowlers take a wicket and the extras were reduced to only 13 for the game. 

The opening batsmen got the team off to a steady start and were keeping up with the required run rate of two per over before some tight bowling by the Tanzanian team led to a couple of quick wickets.  The batting slowed up during the middle overs, which left our lower order chasing around four runs per over.  Thelooked to be too big for Rwanda until Veronica (23 not out) decided to play her shots and kept the scoreboard ticking over.  She played a mature innings and almost won the game for Rwanda in the final overs as she and Jacky (5 not out) fell one run short of the total.  It was a nail biting finish that went Tanzania’s way.

Rwanda v Tanzania - a chat with the Skipper

Rwanda v Tanzania - drinks break

Rwanda v Tanzania - chasing 66 runs

Rwanda v Tanzania - the run chase was going well

Rwanda v Tanzania - support from the girls

Rwanda v Tanzania - newpaper report

Game 3 – Rwanda v Kenya

Match played at:       Annadil Burhani Stadium.

Result:                       Rwanda 113/6 defeated Kenya 112/10 by 1 run.

For game 3 we were back at the Annadil Burhani Stadium.  Rwanda won the toss and decided to bat.  Once again our openers got the team off to a solid start by putting on 15 runs.  The middle order chipped in with some valuable runs and our lower order finished the innings off strongly to help score 113/6.

A highlight of today’s batting was the positive stroke play, rotation of the strike and aggressive running between the wickets.  The girls have improved their batting each day and seem to be getting better at batting in pairs and building partnerships.

Today’s bowling was not as successful as the Tanzanian game yet the girls managed to take regular early wickets and had Kenya 35/5 at one stage.  The Kenyan team combined for some excellent middle order partnerships which put the pressure on Rwanda.  The bowlers were rotated in an attempt to take some wickets, however, the runs continued to flow and 38 wides were bowled.  This allowed Kenya to move closer to the required 113 for victory.  Late wickets and a run out from the final ball of the game allowed Rwanda to scrape home for a one run win.

This was the first ever victory for the Rwandan girls team.

Rwanda v Kenya - Rina playing straight

Rwanda v Kenya - Delphine on the attack

Rwanda v Kenya - Delphine hitting to mid wicket

Rwanda v Kenya - Vestine driving to cover

Rwanda v Kenya - Vestine turns one around the corner

Rwanda v Kenya - Kenyan player swinging hard

Final (3rd v 4th) – Rwanda v Kenya

Match played at:       Annadil Burhani Stadium.

Result:                       Rwanda 95/8 defeated Kenya 70/10 by 25 runs.

The final between Rwanda and Kenya (3rd v 4th playoff) was played at the Annadil Burhani Stadium.  Rwanda won the toss and decided to bat.  For the third game in a row Cartier (6 runs) and Vestine (16 runs) got the team off to an excellent start with an opening partnership of 30 runs.  Both girls played some positive strokes and regularly turned the strike over with some aggressive running.  After Cartier was dismissed Veronica (20 runs) came to the crease and continued her good form with the bat, playing shots all around the ground.  Vicky (6 runs) also played some nice shots during the middle of the innings but was unfortunately run out by a direct hit.  The finals overs were played out by Winnie (9 not out), Jackie (5) and Sonia (1 not out) who all helped to keep the score moving along with some good partnerships.

Once again it was fantastic to see the girls’ positive stroke play, rotation of the strike and aggressive running between the wickets.  The girls have really started to bat well together in partnerships as the week has progressed.

Rwanda successfully changed their bowling plans today and started by using four different bowlers in the first four overs.  This was a stroke of genius as all four bowlers took a wicket in their first over.  Rwanda quickly had Kenya struggling at 9/4.  Another quick wicket saw the score at 19/5 before the Kenyan team combined again for some middle order partnerships.

Kenya made Rwanda work hard for their remaining five wickets.  All the bowlers tried hard but it was Sonia who was the pick of the bowlers, claiming five wickets and cleaning up the Kenyan tail.

Rwanda had another successful day with the ball and was backed up in the field by all players.  A special mention should go to Vicky who held onto two excellent catches at short cover.

The result was fitting for the Rwandan team who continued to improve as the week went on, winning their final two games to finish third in the tournament.  The Rwandan team was the crowd favorite and the girls were loved by all teams participating in the competition.  Many of the organizers and opposition coaches commented on the sportsmanship and competitiveness shown by the Rwandan girls and said they will be a force to recon with in future tournaments.

Rwanda v Kenya - winning the final

Rwanda v Kenya - team shot 1

Rwanda v Kenya - team shot 2

Rwanda v Kenya - team coaches

A trip to the beach to celebrate the win

Posers

A trip to the beach - on lifeguard duties

It was a privilege to be able to assist the Rwandan team and watch the girls improve as a team as the tournament progressed.  It would be fantastic for Rwandan cricket if the girls could continue to play regularly as a team, which would ensure continual improvements to an already talented side.

Many thanks to the Tanzania Cricket Association for providing coloured uniforms for the Rwandan girls to wear during the tournament.