Hotsport

| Friday August 27, 2010 00:00

Botswana Bowling Association (BBA) spokesperson and Africa's top ranked woman bowler, Lebogang Mascarenhas is upbeat that Botswana will recover from a poor performance at the African States competition and deliver at the Commonwealth Games scheduled for India in October.  She spoke to Staff Writer, MQONDISI DUBE

Mmegi Sport: How are preparations for the Commonwealth Games?

Mascarenhas: The preparations have been ongoing even before the African States competition, which was held in Harare, Zimbabwe recently. We have been training hard. Harare was an eye-opener and we have to rectify our mistakes in Delhi (India).

Mmegi Sport: You are the top ranked woman bowler in Africa, does that put you under pressure to deliver at the Commonwealth Games?

Mascarenhas: Yes it does. I am under tremendous pressure to deliver. Out of the four African bowlers who are in the top 50 rankings, I am at the top, which obviously puts the focus on me. I wish all women players in our team have lots of international experience. If this was the case, we could have brought medals from Harare. I had to lead a team, which had some new players and I don't think we were expected to win medals. Personally, I was disappointed as I lost the chance to win a gold medal on the last day.

Mmegi Sport: Are you happy with the amount of game and practice time you have had ahead of the Commonwealth Games?

Mascarenhas: We are happy with the amount of preparations. Everyone is trying their best. Some of us have to travel to Francistown to practice as the greens in Selebi-Phikwe are in a bad state.

Mmegi Sport: If you are satisfied with your preparations thus far, why did the team perform badly in Harare?

Mascarenhas: We had new combinations although a lot was expected from the pair of Ivy Morton and Tirelo Buckley. We don not know what went wrong as we expected a medal in the pairs. This (Buckley and Morton) was our dream team. At least 99 percent of the team that went to Harare was made up of players who will be going to India. Bonnie Fox was on the bench but we hope she will play in India.

Mmegi Sport: What challenges are you facing in your preparations?

Mascarenhas: We had a coach from South Africa who took us through the paces before the African States. I am not sure if we got everything right. Before we went to Harare, we got a new coach and we had to adapt. We have not played a lot under the new coach for him to judge us. I would have suggested that they bring the same coach to carry on where he left. I am not saying the new coach is bad, but it is better to stick with the former coach for continuity.

Mmegi Sport: What are your targets at the Commonwealth Games?

Mascarenhas: We are not sure because we have new players. In the Commonwealth Games, teams will contest in singles, pairs and trips. In the African States, we had to split players to make teams stronger but from what we experienced in Zimbabwe, we cannot afford to split. We hope Fox who was on the bank, will come back and add bite.

In the men's section, we have got a strong team, which has played a lot of international matches. It is unfortunate that they came fourth in the African States. One player pulled out at the last minute due to work commitments and that upset the balance of the team.

Mmegi Sport: What are the greens like in India?

Mascarenhas: They are very fast, between 16 and 18 seconds (for the ball to reach the other end). It is an artificial surface and the speed won't vary. The greens are the same as the one at the Francistown Club, which is why we have been practising there.

Mmegi Sport: What is your view of the progress of local bowling?

Mascarenhas: We have got promising bowlers coming up particularly from Jwaneng Club. We saw a lot of good players during the nationals in Gaborone early this year. The only problem is that they do not play frequently.Some of them are better than us who play in the national team. The future looks bright.

Mmegi Sport: What is the state of the Lobatse Club green which was closed due to lack of maintenance and unavailability of players?

Mascarenhas: It is still in a bad state but there are people who play for the club. Some practice at the Gaborone Club but play for Lobatse. The BBA is negotiating with BMC (which owns the club) to get the land and improve the condition of the greens. Our assistant competition secretary, Binks Clover is following up the issue.

Mmegi Sport: What about the Selebi-Phikwe greens?

Mascarenhas: The greens have potholes and the surface has to be re-levelled. That is why some of us have been using the Francistown Club. There are few members in Selebi-Phikwe but we have to sit down and see what we can do. At the moment, we are focusing on the Commonwealth Games and only after that we can channel our energy towards the club.

Mmegi Sport: For long bowling has been restricted to urban centres. What is BBA doing to spread the game to other areas?

Mascarenhas: We have competitions that are open to everyone like the annual interdepartmental games sponsored by FNB. People come from all walks of life although some complain that the equipment is expensive.

Mmegi Sport: But are you spreading the game to remote areas?

Mascarenhas: We are making efforts to spread to centres outside urban areas. Some complain that clubs with greens are far from their areas. We would like to have as many people as possible but some complain about expenses, including transport.