Cricket side eyes victory in Africa Cup
Mqondisi Dube | Monday May 22, 2023 16:00
Upon returning from South Africa, the team will head to Nairobi, Kenya for a six-nations tournament, the Continental Cup, which runs from June 7-22. Team captain, Karabo Motlhanka said the target is to win the South African tournament.
“I believe it would be the best response and reaction to our disappointing tour of Rwanda last year. The best way to put that behind us is to give a strong showing in Benoni and return home with the trophy,” Motlhanka said.
“There will be no excuses this time. The team is ready as ever to do what is expected of us,” he added. Botswana will face lowly ranked sides, Mozambique, Malawi, Eswatini and Mauritius in the south and central qualifiers, with the top three teams proceeding to the ACA Cup final. There will be similar qualifiers held in the east and the north west regions.
The country is favoured to go through from the Benoni qualifiers as they are far superior than their four opponents. The campaign gets underway next week Sunday, on Day Two of the competition, when Botswana play Mauritius. The following day, Botswana face Eswatini before playing Malawi and then rounding off the qualifiers with a date against Mozambique.
Last year, Botswana finished as semi-finalists at the ACA Cup finals. The Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) vice president, Sumod Damodar indicated said as part of preparations the Baggy Blues will play will play three practice matches against a select side in Pretoria. Meanwhile, Damodar said the senior women’s side will participate in the Kwibuka T20 Women’s tournament hosted by the Rwanda Cricket Association in Kigali next month. “The squad is in training and the team will be finalised and announced shortly,” he said.
The men’s squad for ACA qualifiers: Karabo Motlhanka (captain), Thatayaone Tshose, Mmoloki Mooketsi, Phemelo Silas, Valentine Mbazo (wicketkeeper), Reginald Nehonde, Druvkumar Maisuria, Boteng Maphosa, Amir Saiyed, Karabo Modise, Katlo Piet, Boemo Khumalo, Boemo Kgosiemang, Vinoo Balakrishnan