Until recently, Uganda women’s national cricket team, the Victoria Pearls had placed a patent on the Kwibuka Memorial cricket tournament, held annually in Kigali to commemorate the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.
Last month, the Victoria Pearls were chasing a fourth title of the tournament, to become joint record winners alongside their arch-rival, Kenya, but fell at the semi-final stage to Zimbabwe by one run.
Depending on which side of the aisle one was, it was disappointing that the Victoria Pearls could only finish with bronze this time, and not a gold as they had in 2024. Worse still, Tanzania, which won the gold, lost to Uganda in the preliminary rounds, a fact that summed up the cliché of sports’ unpredictability.
However, the Victoria Pearls returned to training under the stewardship of coach Deus Muhumuza a week ago, as they quickly shift focus to much bigger fish. The International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 women’s World Cup qualifiers will begin on August 31 in Namibia, and it is about time that they improve as a team.
“The Kwibuka taught us some big lessons, and what we need to be working on in earnest. We need to take more responsibility while on the crease. The moments that cost us merely required the batters doing the basics to get the job done,” Muhumuza said.
Clearly losing to Zimbabwe in the manner it happened, is not something that will quickly leave Muhumuza’s head. But at the same time, he pointed out that while the team’s batting has improved, seen in the sparks of aggression, there is still need for consistency.
As the team returned to training, Muhumuza noted that the focus is going to be on more match simulation sessions. This should help the players understand what to do in pressure moments, as the sessions will involve a lot more one on one feedback, fitness programmes, and team bonding.
With the time left to the qualifiers in Namibia, one will wonder whether it will be enough to iron out all the shortcomings. For example, the team needs to bat a lot deeper than it is doing.
That, obviously, will require more work with the bat for team members that are predominantly bowlers. In the 10 games played at the Kwibuka, the Victoria Pearls won seven and lost only three. But the common denominator in the games lost, was the fact that when the top batting order was cleared, the tail-end, that largely has bowlers, offered little.
Yet, at international level, bowlers chip in, too. Lying in wait for Uganda will most prominently be Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Kenya. Only the top two teams in Namibia will qualify for the global qualifiers.
