The national U-19 cricket girls team got off to a splendid start at the ongoing ICC Women’s U-19 World Cup Qualifiers in Botswana after securing two wins in their opening two games.
All-rounder Patricia Timong was the orchestrator of both victories as the girls beat Namibia by four wickets in the opening game before bagging a 23- run win against Sierra Leone in the subsequent one.
The spinner against Namibia fetched a game-high three wickets, conceding just 7 runs. Timong also came in handy with the bat, with her 18 runs.
Against Sierra Leone, she picked up 2 wickets, adding that to the 29 runs she registered.
15-year-old Malisa Ariokot, captain Jimia Mohamed and Asumin Akurut were the other top performers of the team against Namibia as each scored the runs in double figures.
Ariokot was a not-out as she scored 20 runs from 22 balls. Jimia and Akurut recorded 11 and 12 respectively.
With the ball though, Annet Anume came close to Timong with her two wickets in the opening game.
Sandra Achwao was another player that caught the eyes of the onlookers. Achwao against Sierra Leone fell short of half a century by just two runs. She notched 48 from 46 balls.
The manner in which the girls executed is one that left assistant coach Ivan Kakande pleased.
“We had a plan for batting that did come our way,” he insists.
“We managed to put a good defendable score. Going into the second innings, we told our bowlers to not give out a lot of extras and bowl a lot of dot balls.”
“I believe we won this game through our tight bowling and also a good backup from our captain,” Kakande stressed.
Following those two wins, Uganda takes the top spot in Group B. The girls take a one-day break and will return to action on Tuesday against the hosts Botswana in their final group B game.
The nine-nation qualifier will see the winner qualify for the World Cup due in South Africa in 2023.
