The Uganda U-19 Girls Cricket team alias Baby Victoria Pearls will on Thursday head to Gaborone Botswana for the 1st edition of the U-19 Womens World Cup Qualifiers from September 1st-13th.
The team was flagged off on Wednesday at the Lugogo Sports Complex in Kampala by officials from National Council of Sports (NCS) and Uganda Cricket Association (UCA).
The girls have been in a training camp since August 14th under the guidance of Head Coach Yusuf Nanga and his assistant Ivan Kakande and the former is positive.
“It’s been exciting to work with the team…the young players are always willing to learn and try lots of stuff. It will be very good if they qualify for the World Cup,” Nanga said.
“The team is balanced but we shall play as a team so expect the best from us. We have a strong feeling with the help of the Almighty, we shall qualify for the World Cup,” Nanga added.
The 1st edition of the U-19 Womens World Cup will be held in South Africa 2023 and this is a deliberate move by the ICC to make sure that the womens game has the same events as the mens game.
In the qualifiers, Uganda is in Group B alongside host Botswana, Namibia and Sierra Leone. The top two sides will move on to the semi-finals and finals, the winner of the tournament will earn the only single converted spot to the World Cup. Group A has Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.
The squad of 14 players and 4 officials will fly out of Uganda on Thursday early morning and arrive in Botswana on Thursday evening. They will take on Namibia in their 1st game on Saturday morning.
The Team:
Jimia Muhamed (Captain), 2. Annet Anume, 3. Patricia Timong, 4. Recheal Achan, 5. Sandra Achwao, 6. Lonah Anyait, 7. Kevin Amuge, 8. Malisa Ariokot, 9. Immaculate Nandera, 10. Asumin Akurut, 11. Witney Nasuuna, 12. Naume Mbwali, 13. Proscovia Alako, 14. Agnes Nakakande
Team Officials:
Yusuf Nanga Head Coach, 2. Ivan Kakande Assistant Coach, 3. Imran Tugume Physiotherapist, 4. Luiza Nabulwala Team Manager.
