Lady Chevrons lose against Uganda

ZIMBABWE senior women’s national cricket team’s practice in India suffered a blow following their six-run defeat at the hands of Uganda in a match played at Omtex Cricket Institute in Palghar, India yesterday.

This was their second T20 match, with the first one having taken place on Sunday at the same venue.

On Sunday, Zimbabwe and Uganda became the first international teams to play a cricket match at Omtex Cricket Institute.

The Lady Chevrons won that match by two runs.

In yesterday’s encounter, the Lady Chevrons – bowling first – restricted the Victoria Pearls to 145/6 in 20 overs before going on to finish their innings six runs short of victory on 139/8 in their regulated 20 overs.

Audrey Mazvishaya led from the front with the ball in hand for the Lady Chevrons, finishing with figures of 3/21 in her four-over spell while Kelis Ndhlovu claimed one wicket for 15 runs in three overs.

Among the three wickets taken by Mazvishaya were the dangerous Gloria Abukor and Esther Iloku.

The other two Ugandan wickets that fell were run-outs. Abukor, opening the batting for the Victoria Pearls top scored with a brilliant 50 runs off 37 deliveries while Iloku was their second leading run scorer with 32 runs from 37 balls. Janet Mbabazi and

Rita Musamali made 15 runs apiece as their team posted a competitive score.

The Lady Chevrons’ chase got off to a good start with Sharne Mayers and Ndhlovu scoring 35 runs inside three overs before the former fell for 14 runs off just six balls. Ndhlovu would go on to top score for Zimbabwe with 39 runs from 23 deliveries.

Chiedza Dhururu chipped in with 21 runs off 22 deliveries while Loryn Phiri remained undefeated on 20 runs from 22 balls.

The four batters were the only ones that managed to cross double figures for the Lady Chevrons.

Uganda skipper Consy Aweko produced a match-winning spell Uganda skipper Consy Aweko produced a match-winning spell which saw her finish with impressive figures of 2/9 in four overs while Mbabazi, Walaza Sarah, Immaculate Nakisuyi and Rita Musamali took one wicket

Both the Lady Chevrons and Victoria Pearls are in India as part of their preparations for two major tournaments.

The two will be competing at the upcoming Africa Games in March before going on to represent the continent at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April.

For the Lady Chevrons, the World Cup Qualifiers are key. Head coach Walter Chawaguta described the training camp in India as key in the team’s preparations for the World Cup Qualifiers.

The Indian training camp will focus on intensive skill sessions while it also accords the team with a bonding session. After the training camp, the Lady Chevrons have three tours lined up as part of the build-up to the World Cup global qualifiers.

Among the three tours lined up as part of the preparations is a series against Papua New Guinea while the team will have a dance at the All Africa Games scheduled for next month in Ghana.

Chawaguta believes the All Africa Games and the three tours will play a pivotal role in gauging Zimbabwe’s readiness for the global qualifiers. – @brandon_malvin