Monday fixtures

Morning

Malawi vs Uganda 9:19am

Cameroon vs Zimbabwe 9:45am

Afternoon

Botswana vs Nigeria 1:15pm

Kenya vs Rwanda 1:45pm

Rwanda women national cricket team head coach Leonard Nhamburo remains calm as his team navigates their passage to a possible successful defence of the Kwibuka T20 International title.

The hosts and reigning champions have won their first three matches with minimal ease and so little fuse, beating Cameroon, Malawi and Botswana-all of which are ranked in the bottom three on the current standings.

Anyone but Nhamburo can argue that these are the kinds of fixtures any defending champions, worth their salt, would go into with the only question being how, and not if, Rwanda would win.

Asked how he is preparing his team for the next fixtures which are, on paper and in reality, harder than the first three, and whether his players, being the title holders, are feeling added pressure, Nhamburo's response was as obvious as they come.

"Every game that you play, as defending champion or not, pressure comes from the amount of value you put on something.... we are playing each game and treat them as important as any other games," the Zimbabwean told Times Sport.

Rwanda began their title defense with a win against tournament debutants Cameroon by 103 runs. They maintained their bright start the campaign with a comprehensive 9-wickets win over Malawi before overcoming Botswana by 74 runs on Saturday.

But the real test of character and prowess comes in the next three days, starting Monday, June 3, against Kenya, who themselves moved into 4th place after beating Nigeria in their rescheduled game, on Sunday at Gahanga Cricket Stadium.

Nhamburo, sounding grounded but nonetheless confident, warned that, "Our goal is to win every game until the last game."

"It's (people) who are saying it won't be easy, it's not our first time playing these teams. No game is easy," the 44-year old noted, in response to whether, he thinks the next three fixtures will be harder than the opening games.

The one thing certain for Nhamburo is that he will have his key player, opening bowler Belyse Murekatete who is back in the team after 'resting' her in the win against Botswana.

Regarding reports that the bowler was deemed unfit to play on Saturday, Nhamburo said, "No, she was fit but we have to expose all the players in the squads...managing players’ workload."

Meanwhile, Kenya come into Monday's game with tails up following a 23-run win against Nigeria.

Kenya batted first and made 115 runs in 20 overs for the loss of six wickets. Abel Queentor led the way with dominant half century of 60 off 48 balls, including seven fours and a six.

Esther Wachira added 20 off 41 and also claimed 3 wickets for 10 runs in 3.2 overs.

Nigeria were all out for 92 runs in 15.1 overs--Lilian Ude top-scored for them with 23 off 28 balls, Victory Igbedion contributed 28 off 35, while Salome Sunday, their star player, scored 15 off 13, and Annointed Akhigbe had 10 off six.

Ann Wanjiru picked 3 wickets in four overs for 22 runs, while Abel helped herself to 2 wickets for 28 runs in 3 over, to claim the player of the match award.

Table standing

Team P W L Pts NRR

Rwanda 3 3 0 12 4.593

Uganda 3 3 0 13 2.633

Zimbabwe 3 2 1 8 1.227

Kenya 3 2 1 8 0.000

Nigeria 3 1 2 4 0.687

Botswana 3 1 2 4 -2.683

Malawi 3 0 3 0 -3.862

Cameroon 3 0 3 0 -4.234