BOTSWANA CRICKET NO PUSHOVER

BY SUN REPORTERThe Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) Senior Men’s team has reached the T20 Africa Cup semifinals in South Africa.

The team had a negative start, losing their first game to Uganda. However, they picked up the pieces against Ghana, and went on to display total dominance against Mozambique on Monday, recording the highest score of the tournament and booking a spot in the semis. Secretary General of the Association,

Sumod Damodar said he is confident that if the boys apply themselves the way they have been doing, they can even make it to the finals. “We are not a pushover side, whoever we meet in the semifinals will have to see that.”

The team will play either Zambia or Kenya in the semifinals. The team has relatively young players and Damodar said they could have taken more young players to give them exposure but funds did not permit.

“This team is worth considering for the future, we are the first association to commit to giving national team players contracts, that has been a big moral boost.”

He added that they have taken huge bold steps to ensure that the team remains competitive and they have built bilateral relations with several countries that will help them climb the ranks.

“We have four national teams and we have to ensure that they are all competitive and priorities will come on a calendar to calendar basis, depending on which teams have got more commitment in terms of schedule and tournaments.”

Moreover, with the kind of play displayed by the team, Damodar said there will obviously be interest from some teams in South Africa and across the continent.

“The tournament is broadcast on SuperSport, so it gave players an opportunity to showcase their talents, we have been getting feedback from all over the continent so we hope it translates into something positive so we can have our players in other leagues for their development.”

The team, led by Captain Karabo Motlhanka, will fly the national flag high and make history if it reaches the finals of the tournament.

The tournament started on the 15th and will end on 22nd of September.