A Tough Introduction to Africa

For one of Europe’s top Associate teams it was a difficult initiation to cricket in Africa. The team had only a single victory, that over Botswana in the battle for seventh place. Aside from that solitary win, the Golden Eagles were soundly beaten in every other game.

For a team that ranked higher than four of the other teams in the tournament this was a surprising result. Their campaign was hindered with the loss of captain and allrounder Anu Doddaballapur after just two matches. A lower back problem sidelined the skipper and left the team without her steadying hand on the field – let alone her batting and bowling. Tina Gough, experienced in leading the team previously, stepped up to do the job.

Skipper aside, the signs were not good for the Golden Eagles after a first round loss to Nigeria, a team they outranked at the time by 13 spots. A second round loss to Brazil, again a team they outranked, suggested the tournament would not go well from then on. They lost the skipper and never recovered, until a face saving victory over Botswana for seventh place.

How did a team that ranked so highly (25) suffer defeats to every team in the tournament?

Results

• Nigeria (Nigeria by 5 wickets)
• Brazil (Brazil by 8 runs)
• Rwanda (Rwanda by 52 runs)
• Tanzania (Tanzania by 58 runs)
• Botswana (Botswana by 17 runs)
• Uganda (Uganda by 167 runs)
• Kenya (Kenya by 44 runs)
• Seventh place: Botswana (Germany by 6 wickets)

Batting

The table below tells the sorry tale of the batting. One player, Tina Gough, passed 100 runs, indeed scored twice as many as next best, Sharanya Sadarangani.

The batting success of this team over the last few years has been largely due to their openers, Gough and Janet Ronalds. The rest of the team hadn’t been needed on most occasions. This success created a soft underbelly and it was on show in Kigali where the openers failed to fire as a partnership.

Bowling

Two key areas plagued the Golden Eagles. In previous tournaments it was less evident when they were playing weaker teams, but the wides and full tosses – some of which resulted in no-balls – cost the team dearly. When they were on song, they were excellent, but each of the bowlers were mercurial: hot one minute and cold the next.

Suzanne McAnanama-Brereton is a fine example. When she got it right she bowled some unplayable deliveries. At other times, not so good. Likewise the off spinner Asmita Kohli, an excellent choice to open the bowling, and Germany’s leading wicket taker. But the full tosses, some of which were no-balls, spoiled the good work.

Fielding

Catches win matches, right? Far too many spilled chances by a team normally very sharp in the field. One might argue, quite legitimately, that the light conditions in Africa are far different to those in Europe, but that is as kind as I can get, for the catching was truly lamentable.

On a positive note, Janet Ronalds was equal second for the most catches in the tournament. A shame she could not cover all positions.