Under-14 cricket side receives rave reviews

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Friday July 23, 2010 00:00

Kingham lauded the Botswana Cricket Associations (BCA) development programme saying progress was evident in the Under-14 team's play in a tournament hosted by EJCCA and held in Benoni, South Africa recently.

The Under-14 side secured a win in four matches, playing against competitive South African sides. This was an improvement from the Under-13 side's performance three years ago, when the local side returned winless.

In an e-mail sent to the BCA, Kingham said the Under-14 team had made Botswana proud as it is the first time a Botswana junior team has ever registered a win against a South African junior side. He said that improvement is visible as there is a difference in players' performances showing that the development programme is paying off. Botswana played against the EJCCA Under-12, EJCCA Under-13 and Gauteng Under-13 losing with close margins. 'In fact I was impressed with the individual talent of many of Batswana players which bodes well for the future of Botswana cricket,' he said.

Kingham said the Batswana players displayed great attitudes and impeccable manners and the EJCCA looks forward to hosting the side next year.

In the meantime, the national Under-15 and Under-19 squads are preparing to participate in the EJCCA Cricket Festival in August.

Meanwhile, Ramogotsi Primary School were last Wednesday crowned girls' Under-13 champions after defeating Mojadife Primary School by 20 runs.

BCA chief executive officer, Girish Ramakrishna, said their mandate is to empower women cricketers in Botswana. 'This is in line with the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s strategic intuition of empowering women and girls' cricket throughout the world,' he said. Ramakrishna wants to see girls' cricket advance to a stage where regional tournaments can be held.

A 15-member Under-13 national team, which was selected from the league, is expected to represent Botswana at a regional competition that will include South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and hosts Namibia, next month.