The U19 national women’s cricket team on Wednesday, September 14, paraded their trophy in different parts of Kigali as they continued to celebrate their historic ticket to the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

The triumphant young women cricketers completed their fairy tale on Monday, September 12, when they secured a final place at the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, beating Tanzania by six wickets in Gaborone, Botswana.

The champions were given a heroes’ welcome on Wednesday morning upon landing at the Kigali International Airport where they boarded a Visit Rwanda branded bus.

The trophy was taken to Nyabugogo through BK Arena, Rwanda Development Board, Kacyiru and Kinamba areas of the city before heading downtown. The parade was then taken to Nyamirambo before they returned to the main city roundabout. The girls later headed to Gahanga Cricket Stadium with the trophy.

The triumph in Botswana saw Rwanda become the latest country to qualify for the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup event which will be a 16-team affair with 11 full member nations – Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Out of the five remaining spots, four will be determined by regional qualifiers. The fifth spot was automatically awarded to the United States for being the only associate nation eligible to compete under the ICC’s Event Pathway Participation Criteria in the Americas region.