Cricket: Kenya National Cricket Ladies Team set for upcoming Kwibuka tournament in Rwanda

The Kenya National Cricket Ladies Team is set for the
upcoming Kwibuka T20 Tournament scheduled from June 4-13 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Speaking on Saturday, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amb. Amina
Mohamed said the team has been trained and preparations have been made.

“Currently the team is training at the Nairobi Simba Club for
the upcoming Kwibuka Tournament in Rwanda. The Normalization Committee for
Cricket is coordinating all the activities including preparing the team for the
event,” said CS Amina Mohamed.

Kenya will be among nine countries invited by the Rwanda
Cricket Association (RCA) to participate, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria,
Botswana, Malawi, Uganda, Mali, and Tanzania.

This is not the first time for team Kenya to participate in
the event, which was initiated in 2014 to commemorate the millions of lives
lost during the heinous Rwandan genocide.

The annual tournament was postponed in 2020, following the
uncertainties caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Team Kenya

The event kicks off following approval from the Rwanda
Ministry of Sports, and strict observance of the global Covid-19 containment
measures.

Kwibuka has full International Cricket Council (ICC) status,
thereby enabling the participating nations to play for ICC ranking points.

The tournament presents team Kenya with an opportunity to
polish their skills in preparation for the Women’s T20 World Cup Africa
Qualifier, scheduled for September in Botswana.

Well Prepared

Team Kenya preparation dates back to April 2016, when they
played in the 2016 ICC Africa Women’s World Twenty20 to qualify for the 2018
ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in West Indies.

In April 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC)
granted full Women’s Twenty20 International (WT20I) status to all its members.

Kenya made its Twenty20 International debut on 6 April 2019
against Zimbabwe during the 2019 Victoria Tri-Series in Kampala, Uganda.