Victoria Pearls make history on Nepal Tour
Match Winners. Wicket-keeper Awino (L) and all-rounder Rita Musamali have been in good form throughout the Tour of Nepal Series. PHOTO/EDDIE CHICCO
Lawrence Ssematimba and his assistant Lawrence Ssempijja may not be the most experienced coaches on offer for Uganda Cricket Association (UCA).
But if anything, the namesakes are smiling big and have their profiles elevated after they guided the senior national women’s team to a historic triumph yesterday.
The Victoria Pearls held off any looming bits of pressure to defeat hosts Nepal by six wickets in Kathmandu for a third victory to take the Twenty20 Series title with two matches to spare.
This marked Uganda’s first overseas series win in the history of women’s cricket. “We are happy with the Series’ win against a higher ranked side but we still have work to do as a batting unit,” said captain Consy Aweko during the post-match interview.
Uganda had dropped outside the desired top 20 positions in the ICC global rankings after losing 6-0 to Namibia and Zimbabwe in last month’s Capricorn Women’s Tri-Series.
But the East African side will surely rise back from 21st place after humbling the 16th ranked nation in their own backyard. Aweko dedicated the win to experienced all-rounder Franklin Najjumba who suffered an injury while the team was fielding, ably restricting the Nepalese to 99-8 at the Tribhuvan University Oval in Kirtipur.
