The Victoria Pearls got off the mark yet again in their campaign at the Kwibuka tournament, edging Zimbabwe HPC by 4 Runs to register a second win in their title defense.
Unlike their first game, which was an easy ride to victory, this one wasn’t and the side had to fight tooth and nail to get over the finish line with a win. The Victoria Pearls scored 105/5 and Zimbabwe HPC 101/9.
Here is the player rating for the game to give you some understanding of how the game went.
Coaches Deus Muhumuza and Brian Masaba made one change to the playing XI, with youngster Tino resting for the day to give way for the seasoned and top spin bowler Consy Aweko.
Playing XI: Esther Iloku (wk), Kevin Awino (wk), Stephanie Nampiina, Rita Musamali, Proscovia Alako, Janet Mbabazi (C), Immaculate Nakisuuyi, Kevin Amuge, Sarah Walaza, Consy Aweko, Sarah Akiteng
The Victoria Pearls lost the toss to Zimbabwe HPC and were elected to bat first.
BATTING
Janet Mbabazi (C) 26(27) 3boundaries, 1 maximum, 96.30strike rate
Yet again, the captain opened the batting with Esther IIoku just like in the Cameron game. Both openers had a slow start, struggling to get runs off the bowlers’ deliveries; with most runs in the first overs coming from extras. As the innings grew the captain was able to find here footing in the 4th over, when she made a risky hit that paid off with a boundary. From then on she kept trying to make the most of each delivery which was good, it put some runs on the board for Uganda.
It’s good to see the captain getting runs, it’s our joy, because she is a batting all rounder we expect runs from her. In this game, I think she could have let loose earlier; with the fielding restrictions in the powerplay, she would have scored more runs. Because now when she let loose and was trying to go big, the field had opened up and that’s how she was caught.
Esther Iloku 1(10), 10.00 strike rate
It was a poor outing for the batter who was on form during the Capricorn series; she really failed to execute her shots to productivity; her choice shots and the power of her hitting was questionable most of the time; only getting one run off the 10 balls she faced. I don’t know what went wrong but maybe if she drops to three or 4, she can have more confidence and better execution.
Immaculate Nakisuuyi 7(19), 36.84 strike rate
For a player of her quality and experience, I expected more, in fact I thought she was the Victoria Pearls’ saviour in this instance, as you can tell by the stats, I was wrong. She blocked a couple of balls and when she hit others for runs, they didn’t have the power and grit to go far. It was disappointing. And like Mbabazi, she also went out cheaply, but maybe it was for the best to give way for the next batter to try their luck. Despite her performance in this game, I still believe Nakisuuyi is one of Uganda’s top female batters and I am looking forward to her coming out of her shell and putting on a class show.
Rita Musamali 3(4), 75.00 strike rate
Well, she wasn’t on the crease long enough for us to see her brilliance. She started well and you could sense she was going to build on her aptness slowly and steadily as her time on the crease grew; unfortunately, she got run out. As for the decision to run, it was the 8th over, Uganda 45/3, maybe the pressure to put runs on the board got to her, but it wasn’t the best of decisions from her and Nampiina.
Stephani Nampiina 22(29) Not out, 1 boundary, 75.86strike rate
Good work from the all-rounder, first, I liked that she kept the wicket, she was not about to give out her wicket cheaply. Then, for most balls she faced, she tried to get a run or runs from it, which was impressive, given Uganda was really run dry when she came in. She had good timing and shot selection which paid off for her.
Prosscovia Alako 18(24), I boundary, 1 maximum, 75.00 strike rate
It was good to see Alako back in the line-up and then see her take the crease to bat. She took a while to settle in and get into her power-hitting mood, but she finally did and got some runs to her name. The only bad thing, I think she accelerated her mojo too soon and got caught. From a spectator’s point of view, she would have done her big shot, then rotated strike, calculated the field and the delivery before going big again; I think she would have stayed longer on the crease and earned herself more runs.
Kevin Awino (wk) 4(7) Not out, 57.14 strike rate.
She faced 7 balls and got 4 runs, decent from her; she also supported Nampiina well, with the strike rotation. So, it was a good outing for her.
However, for Kevin Awino, I want to talk about her class wicket-keeping that kept Uganda in the game in the second innings. She did well to stop the balls/runs; her alertness throughout the innings was just top notch. I like that she is fit and quick, aware and she knows what to do when, where, how, etc. You can she knows her bowlers well and is ready to support them. The run-outs she executed were the icing on the cake. Good job from her.
Uganda closed its batting innings with 105/5. In total, 24 runs were extras (b 4, w 17, nb 0, lb 3). However, those extras shouldn’t fool you. Zimbabwe had some good bowling spells from seasoned cricketer Christabel Chatonzwa with 2/4 in 4 overs, and youngsters Lindo Mabhera 1/20 and Passionate Munorwel 1/25.
BOWLING
Kevin Amuge Bowled 3 overs, 1 wicket, 23 runs conceded, 7.67 Econ
A slightly better performance from the previous game, she tried to keep her lines tidy; stump to stump; you could see her aiming for the stumps, which was good. Though she conceded so many, she still made a couple of errors. And if she works with the coaches to polish up, I believe she has a lot of potential.
Sarah Walaza Bowled 4 Overs, 1 wicket, 27 runs conceded, 6.75 Econ
She got a wicket for the side, which was good. But coming from a great performance in the previous game and knowing her quality, this performance was below par. Walaza struggled at the start as she conceded runs like water. But as the saying goes, better the devil you know than the angel outside. In the death, it was Walaza who brought the game home for Uganda.
She is a quality bowler, and we hope to see more of her quality in the upcoming games.
Conyslate Aweko Bowled 4 Overs, 2 wickets, a maiden over, 12 runs conceded, 3.00 Econ
The seasoned bowler returned to the squad after missing the first game and she surely showed her class, picking 2 back-to-back wickets and the most important wicket of Christabel Chatonzwa who was terrorizing Uganda with her run-scoring abilities. One of the run outs also came from her delivery so she was impressive overall. In her last over, however, she conceded 8 runs which was a turn off but she was good overall. No excuses but I think also the field wasn’t set well for last over.
In this game, Conyslate Aweko hit her 121 T20i wickets mark.
Sarah Akiteng Bowled 4 Overs, 1 wicket, 21 runs conceded, 5.25 Econ
Improved performance from the previous game and also picked up a wicket, but still her lines could get better; she kept bowling outside, on and off stump. From the outside, it looked like she wasn’t decided where she was aiming. I will stress this again, she is the side’s left-arm spin; the unique bowling element in the squad, meaning we expect her to be on top of her game always. She definitely has a lot of polishing to do as the tournament gets intense.
Janet Mbabazi Bowled 4 Overs, 1 wicket, 10 runs conceded, 2.50 Econ
The captain, like her senior counterpart Consy Aweko, came back to the bowling line-up and delivered pretty well, picking up a wicket and keeping the batters stressed in her 4 overs.
Given the all-round skipper had, had a good outing with the bat in the first innings, we couldn’t find fault with her. She did well and we hope she can build up from there in the coming games.
Stephanie Nampiina Bowled 1 Over, 7 runs, 7.00 Econ
Well, she had done her part with the bat already, so we can forgive her sub-standard bowling in this case; however, we have seen her bowl better, so it’s what we expect from her every time.
Uganda’s bowling side gave out 9 extras, below par for Uganda, but better than Zimbabwe’s 24 extras.
For Zimbabwe, apart from the seasoned all-rounder Christabel Chatonzwa27(20), Loren Tshuma 23(40) and Mitchell Mavunga 14 (16), the other batters were not a challenge for Uganda’s bowling.
FIELDING
E, for effort, for all the girls, I think they can all improve, with their reflexes being quicker, alert, and accurate in their throws and coordination. This is not to say there wasn’t any good fielding moment; there were but they could be more moments. To the captain, maybe, setting the field according to the bowler, bowling at the time would be ideal and yield better results. I felt Cony’s and Walaza’s last overs didn’t have the best of the field set, and it cost the side a couple of runs, which could have been avoided.
Conclusion
Overall, I think the game against Zimbabwe HPC, (all things constant), tested the Victoria Pearls’ skill, abilities, and mentality as the game kept shifting like a pendulum bob until the last ball. I hope they learnt some lessons, know what to work on now as they go into their next games but mainly as they prepare for the World Cup qualifiers slated for August this year.