By Chisomo Phiri
The Cricket Union of Malawi on Friday held a celebratory luncheon in Blantyre to honor the Malawi Under-19 Women’s National Cricket Team, which recently won the International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup sub-regional qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda.
The event served as a platform to recognize the exceptional performance of the young women who brought home the prestigious cup.
During the luncheon, the Cricket Union of Malawi Board presented a cash reward of K1.8 million to the 16-member team, including the officials who played a vital role in their success.
In his speech,Cricket Union of Malawi President Vivek Ganesan expressed immense pride in the team’s accomplishment, noting that their victory not only elevated the profile of cricket in Malawi but also highlighted the potential of women athletes in the country.
“What this team did was exceptionally excellent and we had to appreciate their achievement in a special way,” he said.
The luncheon also had in attendance the Sports Ministry spokesperson MacMillan Mwale Malawi National Council of Sports marketing, planning and infrastructure development director Limbani Matola and sports development and recreation director Ivy Chinangwa.
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that is played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre; 66-foot) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps.
Two players from the batting team (the striker and nonstriker) stand in front of either wicket holding bats, with one player from the fielding team (the bowler) bowling the ball towards the striker’s wicket from the opposite end of the pitch.
The striker’s goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each exchange.
