The Baby Victoria Pearls will have to wait another two years for another shot at making a big run at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup after Uganda finished third at the 2026 Africa Division One Qualifiers in Tanzania.
Uganda’s campaign ended on a positive note, beating Rwanda by seven wickets in the third-place play-off after a tournament that produced three victories and two defeats. Nigeria eventually secured Africa’s ticket to the World Cup after overcoming Zimbabwe in the final, while Uganda had to settle for third place.
For a young Ugandan side, the final position tells only part of the story. There were encouraging individual performances, impressive bowling spells and glimpses of a team capable of competing at a higher level. But there were also batting collapses, missed opportunities and inconsistencies that ultimately kept the Baby Victoria Pearls out of the World Cup conversation.
Uganda opened the tournament against eventual champions Nigeria and suffered a four-wicket defeat. Batting first, the Baby Victoria Pearls managed only 59/7, with Shadiah Gilingish Nabulime top-scoring with 22 while captain Jimia Abdallah Mohamed contributed 13. Uganda’s bowling response was considerably stronger, led by Tino Sarah, who claimed an outstanding five wickets for 13 runs. Despite that effort, Nigeria reached 60/6 in 13.1 overs.
The loss exposed one of Uganda’s biggest problems throughout the campaign: the inability to convert starts into substantial batting totals.
They responded immediately against hosts Tanzania, defending a modest 42-run chase to win by five wickets. Tanzania were bowled out for just 41, with Mischelle Ariago taking two wickets, Tino Sarah two and Sheirah Namagoba two. Joan Ilora’s unbeaten 14 and Irene Mutonyi’s nine helped Uganda reach 42/5.
Against Malawi, Uganda produced arguably its most dominant performance. Malawi were dismissed for 44 before Uganda raced to 46 without losing a wicket in only 7.3 overs, winning by 10 wickets. Shadiah was particularly impressive, smashing 30 off 21 balls at a strike rate of 142.86, while the bowling attack shared the damage, with Tino and Devine Gabriella Nyamer taking three wickets apiece and Sheirah claiming two.
The Zimbabwe game was another missed opportunity. Uganda restricted Zimbabwe to 104/9 but could only manage 84/9 in reply, losing by 20 runs. Captain Jimia led the batting with 24, while Tino remained unbeaten on 17. Sheirah was again among the wickets, taking three for 21.
Uganda then finished the tournament strongly against Rwanda. Chasing 74, Mary Namiiro anchored the innings with an unbeaten 38 from 33 balls, while Tino Sarah added an unbeaten 20 from 38 balls as Uganda reached 74/3 in 16.1 overs to secure third place.
The players who stood out
Tino Sarah: If one player emerged as Uganda’s biggest individual success story, it was Tino Sarah. Her influence went beyond the numbers, but the numbers are impressive enough. She took five wickets against Nigeria, two against Tanzania, three against Malawi, one against Zimbabwe and one against Rwanda 12 wickets across the five matches.
Her best spell came against Nigeria, where she took 5/13 from four overs, including two maidens. Against Malawi, she again produced outstanding figures of 3/7, while against Rwanda she took one wicket for 23.
Sarah also showed that she could contribute with the bat. Her unbeaten 20 against Rwanda helped Uganda comfortably chase down the target and finish third.
Sheirah Namagoba was another standout with the ball, finishing the campaign with 10 wickets. She was particularly effective against Zimbabwe, taking 3/21, and repeated the feat against Rwanda with an exceptional 3/5 from four overs, including a maiden.
Her economy and ability to take wickets at crucial stages gave Uganda a reliable attacking option.
Shadiah Gilingish Nabulime was Uganda’s most explosive batter. She scored 22 against Nigeria before producing the tournament’s standout Ugandan batting performance against Malawi, where she struck 30 off just 21 balls, including four fours and a six.
She finished the five-match campaign with 63 runs, but her performances also illustrate Uganda’s batting inconsistency. After the 30 against Malawi, she managed only five against Zimbabwe and six against Rwanda. The ability is clearly there. The next step is consistency.
Captain Jimia Abdallah Mohamed also had a useful campaign with the bat, contributing 13 against Nigeria, 12 against Malawi and 24 against Zimbabwe before scoring three against Rwanda.
Her 24 against Zimbabwe was particularly important in a chase where Uganda ultimately fell 20 runs short.
Mary Namiiro saved one of her best performances for the most important moment. Her unbeaten 38 against Rwanda was Uganda’s highest score in the third-place play-off and ensured there was no late drama in the chase.
It was an encouraging way to end her campaign and a reminder that Uganda has more batting depth than the overall numbers might suggest.
The positives
The bowling attack is a genuine strength.
Tino, Sheirah, Mischelle Ariago, Devine Gabriella Nyamer and Blessing Noeline Apio all produced important spells during the tournament. Uganda bowled Tanzania out for 41 and Malawi for 44, while Rwanda managed only 73/9.
Uganda showed it can dominate teams.
The 10-wicket victory over Malawi was emphatic. Uganda did not simply win; it chased 45 in 7.3 overs without losing a wicket.
There is a promising core for the future.
The performances of Tino, Sheirah, Shadiah, Jimia and Mary suggest that Uganda has players around whom a stronger U19 programme can be built.
The team recovered after setbacks.
After losing to Nigeria, Uganda responded with wins over Tanzania and Malawi. Even after Zimbabwe ended their hopes of a higher finish, they returned to beat Rwanda and claim third place.
The negatives
The biggest concern is batting consistency.
Uganda scored only 59/7 against Nigeria and 84/9 against Zimbabwe. In both matches, the bowlers gave the team a chance, but the batting unit failed to provide enough runs.
There is also the worrying tendency for wickets to fall in clusters. Against Tanzania, Uganda collapsed to 12/5 before Joan Ilora and Irene Mutonyi steadied the chase.
Against Zimbabwe, Uganda slipped from 22/1 to 42/4 and eventually finished on 84/9.
The other area requiring attention is run-scoring pressure. The bowling attack frequently put Uganda in winning positions, but the batting did not always take advantage. In a tournament where only one team could qualify, small margins mattered.
How good was the campaign?
Rating: 7/10
A third-place finish is respectable, particularly given the quality of opposition and the fact that Uganda finished ahead of Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi. The team also won three of its five matches and produced some excellent individual performances.
But the rating cannot be higher because the ultimate objective was World Cup qualification. Uganda’s defeat to Zimbabwe was particularly costly, and the low scores against Nigeria and Zimbabwe showed the gap between being competitive and being ready to qualify for the global stage.
The encouraging part is that Uganda did not look completely out of place among the continent’s leading U19 sides. The gap is there, but it is not insurmountable.
Two years to build, not two years to wait
The Baby Victoria Pearls now face the reality of missing the World Cup and having to wait another two years for another opportunity. But those two years should not be treated as downtime.
If Uganda can retain and develop its strongest players, improve its batting consistency, strengthen match awareness and expose the youngsters to more high-level competition, this campaign can become the foundation for something bigger.
The 2026 qualifiers showed Uganda has bowlers capable of dismantling opposition batting line-ups and batters capable of producing match-winning performances. What is missing is the consistency to bring those two sides together in the same game, especially when the stakes are highest.