Rwanda gunning for Namibia at Kwibuka T20 tourney
The Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) has pointed at Namibia as their main challengers in the upcoming Kwibuka T20 tournament slated from 6-12 June. Namibia are one of the four African teams that confirmed their participation ahead of the annual memorial cricket tourney, alongside Nigeria, former champions Uganda as well as Botswana.
It will be the Namibians’ very first time participating in the tournament, just like Botswana. RCA secretary general Julius Mbaraga said the national women’s cricket team is undergoing intensive training sessions in preparation for the upcoming fixtures and tipped Namibia as Rwanda’s biggest challenge at the tournament based on its recent performances on continental level and their experience in the 2019 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
“Namibia is a very good challenge for Rwanda because they have that experience of playing the World Cup in 2019. It’s always a good challenge when you are playing against teams that played in the World Cup because of the experience they bring. Not every team goes to the world cup, you need to be good enough to play such a big tournament,” Mbaraga said.
Namibia will be facing their former head coach Leonard N ham buro, who guided the southern African side to the 2019 Africa Regional World Cup qualifiers final berth that earned them a ticket to the 2019 ICC Women T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Scotland Mbaraga is confident that Rwanda will beat the best in the tournament, and has faith in the capabilities of current head coach Nhamburo. “For Rwanda, Namibia is a challenge we cherish and we are looking forward to taking it under the coach who took Namibia to the World Cup during his tenure,” Mbaraga said.
The teams start to arrive on 3 June and will be playing at Gahanga Cricket Stadium. They will all be staying in a bubble at La Palisse Hotel Nyamata, in Bugesera District until the tournament concludes.