After finishing second in the just ended International Cricket Council (ICC) African Girls Under-19 tournament, Tanzania has vowed to win the senior women’s tournament kicking off in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
Coach Hamisi Abdallah said yesterday that they missed the U-19 Cup by a whisker to eventual winners Uganda but were determined to lift the senior women’s trophy.
“We’ve now set our focus on winning the senior women’s tournament and almost all players who represented the country in the just ended tournament have been promoted to the senior team,” he said.
Abdallah said the team was currently undergoing drills at the Muhimbili Cricket Academy in Dar es Salaam to keep fit for the event that will attract teams from South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and hosts Tanzania.
The tournament coordinator, Kazim Nasser, said Namibia were expected to arrive in Dar es Salaam yesterday, while other remaining foreign teams arrive today ready for the tournament that will be played on a 20 over format.
According to the fixture, Tanzania ladies will open their campaign against Namibia at the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club from 2pm on Saturday.
Another afternoon match will pit South Africa and Uganda at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) grounds.
The opening matches starting at 9am will see South Africa taking on Namibia at the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club, while Kenya will have a date against Uganda at the UDSM grounds.
In the just ended tournament, the U-19 girls settled second on six points, with three victories and two defeats, while champions Uganda finished with maximum ten points after winning all their matches.
Kenya finished third on four points, tied with Rwanda but they were ahead on net run rate. Botswana and Mozambique each collected three points.
Tanzanian Shakim Asha was voted the best batter after collecting a total of 44 runs, while the best bowler prize went to Grace Manteiga of Mozambique, who claimed a total of seven wickets. The player of the tournament award went to Pricco Nakitende of Uganda, who collected 44 runs and claimed a total of five wickets.
Source Tanzania Daily News
