Nearly a year without any sporting activity, Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) is eagerly assembling its Under-19, Senior Men and Women national teams ahead of upcoming international tournaments.
Excited at the prospect of returning to action following a dry spell of competitive cricket due to the Covid-19 social distancing regulations, BCA Secretary General- Sumod Damodar, this week said although sporting activity is still suspended at club level, they can at least take heart from the upcoming national assignments.
“The Under 19 boys are busy preparing for the Africa Division Two Qualifiers for the upcoming World Cup that will be held in Tanzania this August. If we are successful in that tournament we will proceed to Division One where we will join the rest of the teams that have qualified already and it is going to be staged in Nigeria this November,” he said.
The senior men’s team is preparing for the T20 Qualifiers that will be held in South Africa this October and also for the Africa Qualifiers that will be held in Nigeria in December.
The women’s teams on the other hand will host the International Cricket Council (ICC) Africa Women’s Qualifiers in September before jetting off to Rwanda early next month to compete in a friendly tournament that will involve six teams.
“Cricket has been absent for over a year now hence we are looking forward to actively compete and represent our country well. Secondly, it is important for the rankings because these are all ICC tournaments that afford us a chance to participate at global stages such as the World Cup,” Damodar said and added that the coaches are working tirelessly to bring the teams up to speed for these particular tournaments.