Going against the Chevrons of Zimbabwe was always going to be an uphill task for the Victoria Pearls; it was never going to be an easy battle for the ladies from Uganda. Because of, of course, pedigree (Zimbabwe is 14, Uganda is 17 in the world), the experience, skill and execution abilities – Zimbabwe is still better than Uganda; plus the few times the Victoria Pearls have faced Zimbabwe, the Chevrons have come up on top, so there is also that dominance aspect.
However, though this game was an uphill battle, it wasn’t an impossible mountain to conquer. Victoria Pearls just needed to work as a team, capitalise on their strong bowling, bat like their lives depended on it, and do the basic things right; be hungry and stay in the game for both innings.
In my opinion, the Pearls understood the assignment and from the word go did their best to put their best foot forward against a formidable side, which worked for most of the game until the 17th over of the second innings – the over I have decided to call “an over from hell”. That over didn’t just undo all the work done from the first innings, it buried Uganda and sealed the grave with that stone they put on Jesus’ tomb.
Below is a breakdown of the game.
TOSS
Uganda lost the toss and were asked to bat first; the first time Uganda had batted first in this tourney. The captain, Janet Mbabazi, commented that the toss loss was not an issue because, as a team, they had come prepared to play their best, given this was like a final.
BATTING
Uganda’s batting spell started so well, it gave us hope that the ladies may actually get to 150 or more if the whole inning was to go like that but T20 cricket keeps changing each over. The girls’ momentum was disrupted by the fall of wickets and Uganda only managed to post 119 runs for 7 wickets in their 20 overs. A good score for the team but a low one based on the opponent the girls were facing.
One highlight of the batting innings was the running between the wickets, which has improved a lot for the Ugandans. The best thing to come out of the T20 Women’s Day Cup.
Janet Mbabazi
29 runs, 23 balls, 4 boundaries, 126.08 strike rate
Building on her captain’s knock from the previous game, the captain came into this game with confidence and hunger; from the onset, she applied great control, good shot selection and execution batting. For every delivery, her goal was clear: to strike, score runs and punish the bowler. Unfortunately, she fell quite early but she had set a good tone for the innings and the girls.
Esther Iloku
0 runs, 6 balls, 0 strike rate
Failed to get off the mark. It felt like she was under pressure to perform because the other end, the captain was performing and that affected her execution. Also, she wanted to take the big shots, and we all know they are not her strength, especially against good bowlers. My advice running singles works best for her; that should be her default setting as she works on the big shots.
Immaculate Nakisuuyi
26 runs, 21 balls, 3 boundaries, 123.80 strike rate
Joined the captain and followed the captain’s lead – strike every delivery and score runs. You could tell she was really hungry and determined to get those runs, especially after the captain’s wicket fell; she was ready to power. That hunger got her baited and bowled.
Rita Musamali
not out 23 runs, 27 balls, 1 boundary, 85.18 strike rate
Musamali joined Nakisuuyi and I was hoping for a repeat of the partnership they had against Rwanda but that didn’t happen; the partnership didn’t even start as Nakisuuyi fell just shortly.
Musamali faced the skilled Nyasha Gwanzura at the start, whose balls were not easy to score on, it kept Musamali on the back foot a bit, but by the time she started picking up the overs were done. I think the best thing she did in this situation was to rotate strike with whoever she was batting with, which kept the score board ticking.
Stephanie Nampiina
13 runs, 18 balls, 2 boundaries, 72.22 strike rate
Punished Loreen Tshuma and Nyasha Gwanzura with a boundary each but struggled getting singles off their bowling. When she tried to go big again, she was caught. She had the intent to score runs it was just not happening.
Prosscovia Alako
10 runs, 15 balls, 1 boundary, 66.66 strike rate
Personally, I expected more runs from her because, from my observation, Lindokuhle Mabhero and Biza’s balls were a little pitched, meaning if Alako picked a leaf from the captain; had more confidence and used her power with the right shot selection she would have had more runs.
Malisa Ariokot
7 runs, 9 balls, 1 boundary, 77.77 strike rate
The way she faced that second delivery from Biza was the perfect way; if she had kept on like that, tried to rotate strike, she would have had more runs. But then people will say she is a bowler, true! Though my school of thought is every player should have bare minimum at least 10 runs in them for the team on any given day.
Hear me out: if the worst comes to the worst and your team is facing a really good bowling side, if each player can deliver 10 runs, that’s 100 runs – a good start for the team. Then, the batters can just add on from there.
Kevin Awino
2 runs, 2 balls, 100 strike rate
I cannot judge her on 2 balls; she only faced 2 balls and got a run for each ball. Wanted a third run from the last ball and got run out. She showed hunger for runs, that’s all.
BOWLING
Ironically, bowling is our strength but it’s the thing that broke the camel’s back in this game. That 17th over was a nightmare for us the fans, and most definitely for the team, especially Akiteng (I hope Cricket Uganda has a physiologist to help the girl recover).
But I think the problem with this over was bigger than Akiteng’s bowling.
- The decision for the captain to give her another over and a crucial over at that, when you have 2 strike-bowlers (Irene Mutonyi and Malisa Ariokot) who can get the job done and had overs left to bowl, beats my understanding. Case in point Ariokot came in and had a breakthrough on the first ball.
- That wicket was (favourable or not favourable) for spin. Uganda’s own always on point Consy Aweko had conceded 20 runs in her three overs, same to Akiteng, meaning spin would easily get punished. Even in the Uganda innings the bowlers that conceded the most runs were Lindokuhle Mabhero 2/30 and Loreen Tshuma 1/23; news flash they are spin bowlers, the only difference here is that they got wickets for their side. So, spin was a no-go in such a pivotal moment.
- Akiteng was 0/20 in three overs, meaning that at any given time should be conceding 6.66 runs per over or more. With 4 overs remaining, Zimbabwe needed 32 runs to win, about 8 per over. A bowler with 6 per over is not the preferred choice unless they are the only option.
That said, maybe it was just not Uganda’s day, but the second innings 17th over will haunt the side for a long time.
Irene Mutonyi
Bowled 2 overs, conceded 10 runs, 5.00 Economy
The youngster continues to impress, opening the bowling against a formidable side; for her the first time playing the Zimbabwe chevrons (she has played the High-performance side but not the senior side); she showed great confidence and skill; keeping to the basics and delivering to the best of her ability. Not intimidated by the pedigree of the chevron batters – if she was, she didn’t show it.
Concy Aweko
Bowled 3 overs, conceded 20 runs, 6.66 Economy
Bad day for spin bowlers. As a senior player and a more experienced bowler, she tried to tweak the spin and got dots here and there, but she was still beaten.
Honestly, she can’t put a finger on what went wrong, yes there were 2 or 3 short deliveries that went for boundaries but all over it looked like she did everything right.
Immaculate Nakisuuyi
Bowled 4 overs, 1 wicket, 1 maiden over, 17 runs conceded, 4.25 Economy
For a part-time bowler facing skilled batters, this was a good spell. The wicket and the maiden over were the crowning glory.
Sarah Akiteng
Bowled 4 overs, 48 conceded, 12.00 Economy
Well, what’s there to say! That 17th over was bad in every sense. 28 runs in one over is just appalling and in there, you have a no-ball, giving away an extra. Worse still, she had conceded 20 runs prior to that. Her bowling spell was a bowler’s worst nightmare.
That said, she had her lines on point, but the deliveries were short; you could see Biza coming forward to hit the ball; she adjusted the length but still conceded boundaries.
In all sense, it was bad day for spin and while facing good batters, it was misery.
Janet Mbabazi
Bowled 4 overs, 2 wickets, 17 runs conceded, 4.25 Economy
The fewest runs she has conceded in this tourney and a decent spell for her this time around. Of course, the wickets are the perfect finishing touch.
Malisa Ariokot
Bowled 0.4, 1 wicket, 4 runs conceded, 6.00 Economy
Getting that wicket was a good one for her and the team; just sad by that time, there was so little to salvage. I wish she could have bowled more overs. Maybe just Maybe game would have gone a different way.
FIELDING
There was better condonation in the field to try and stop runs from leaking, there was a run out effected and good catches taken. The few misfields can be forgiven and It can only get better for the team from here.
WICKET KEEPING
Kevin Awino kept her post well as usual; always alert and thinking on her feet; ready to do her job as best as possible.
Generally, the Victoria Pearls’ display against the redoubtable Chevrons was decent putting all factors into consideration, pedigree, experience, dominance history, etc, but what the Pearls should learn from this game is critical game awareness, understanding the flow of the actual game, the different pivotal moments and making the right decisions for the pivotal moments.
Also, even when there’s a plan of this one bowls here or bats here, be able to adjust plans for the good of the team and final results; it’s not helpful sticking to the plan and failing in the end.
Finally, the team should learn to trust each other and also play in respect to that trust; if you have a player on the team and they are your strike bowler, trust them to do that; plus you strike bowler also deliver; so that situations like that 17th over don’t repeat themselves.