Mukunzi wins best bowler award at African tourney

Rwanda’s Betty Mukunzi was named the best bowler at the just concluded ICC Africa U-19 girls’ tournament in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The medium pace bowler picked nine wickets at the continental showpiece against Botswana (three), Mozambique (three) Uganda (two) and Tanzania (one). It was Rwanda’s only award at the three-day competition. Rwanda finished in fifth position with four points after two wins and three losses same as Botswana, however, the latter had a better net run rate of 0.1183 as compared to Rwanda’s -0.5562. “The games were really tough but the girls worked hard. It was a very good competition for our young players,” explained Joshua Mwanja, Rwanda’s head coach. Rwanda defeated Botswana by five wickets and won against Mozambique by 19 runs but struggled against eventual champions Uganda losing by 16 runs. Captain Sarah Uwera was Rwanda’s highest runs scorer with 43 while Marie Raphaella Ganimana (38), Diane Bimenyimana (33) and Egidie Uwimana added 21 runs. Against Kenya in the opening game, a side Rwanda defeated at last year’s edition, the latter lost by 66 runs. The national side was also defeated by hosts Tanzania by five runs. Despite losing to Botswana, Uganda retained the continental title, which they have won for five years in a row. Kenya finished in second place. Both had eight points but Uganda (1.6069) had a better net run rate that Kenya’s 1.0500. Tanzania finished third while winless Mozambique was the sixth.

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Mukunzi wins best bowler award at African tourney