Insipid batting show denies Victoria Pearls medal

The Victoria Pearls have fallen short of returning to Uganda with a medal. Despite being pre-tournament favorites to secure one of the three medals at stake as cricket made a debut at the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana, things didn’t go as planned.

In the bronze medal match, Uganda suffered a significant setback with a three-wicket loss to the lower-ranked Nigeria. Nigeria secured victory with four balls to spare after restricting the East Africans to a total of 76 for 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Ranked 18th in the world, Uganda was anticipated to dominate against the 27th ranked Nigeria. However, what seemed straightforward on paper proved challenging in front of the largest crowd witnessed since the women's cricket competition began last week at the refurbished Achimota Complex.

The audience included various sports administrators and government officials, such as the Government Chief Whip Denis Hamson Obua, State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang, Uganda's Chief De Mission Ivan Mugowa, Local Organizing Committee official William Blick, National Council of Sports (NCS) Chairman Ambrose Tashobya, and the body's General Secretary Dr. Patrick Bernard Ogwel, alongside Dr. Ronald Kisoro.

Poor batting

However, instead of inspiring the Victoria Pearls to secure the coveted medal, Uganda, plagued by batting weaknesses throughout the tournament, crumbled under immense pressure when asked to bat first.

Only Immaculate Nakisuuyi (21 off 43), Phiona Kulume (10 off 14), and wicketkeeper Kevin Awino (10 off 14) managed to reach double figures as Uganda struggled to a total that was clearly insufficient.

Uganda's bowlers, led by history-making captain Consy Aweko (1/9 in 4 overs) and vice-captain Janet Mbabazi (2/8 in 4), initially showed promise by making early inroads, leaving the Female Yellow Greens reeling at 8 for 3. However, their efforts were thwarted by a resilient 50-run partnership between the player of the match, Salome Sunday (37 off 50), and Abigail Igbobie (13 off 32) for the fourth-wicket stand.

Despite Uganda picking four wickets for 10 runs and having the scores at 68 for 7 in 18.2 overs, Zimbabwe needed nine more runs from 10 balls, specifically 7 from the last over. Unfortunately, Lucky Piety sealed the victory for Nigeria, creaming Rita Musamali for two boundaries off the first two balls, securing a well-deserved bronze medal and prompting wild celebrations among their fans.

13^th AFRICAN GAMES

THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF FINAL - BRONZE MATCH

Uganda 76/8 Nigeria 78/7

Nigeria won by 3 wickets (with four balls remaining)