This coming week, the Botswana U-19 national cricket teams will be heading to Windhoek, Namibia, to compete in the Africa Cricket Association (ACA)’s world qualifying tournament.
The ACA is an affiliate of the International Cricket Council (ICC), a body overlooking cricket activities worldwide.
Botswana will join seven other nations in Windhoek as a step towards bringing the title home.
The team will be competing against the host Namibia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, as well as Zambia. As of January 2010, Botswana was ranked at position 6 out of the 8.
Uganda was position 1, Sierra Leone was at 2 while Namibia was at 3. Position 4 and 5 went to Zambia and Kenya, respectively. Tanzania took position 7 while Nigeria took the last position.
The Under 19 tournament is said to be for 50 overs. At the moment the team is said to be hard at work practicing at the Gaborone Cricket Grounds (GCG).
The team will be led by national coach from the Botswana Cricket Association (BCA), Solly Chotia; alongside him will be his assistant coach, Mosa Gaolekwe.
The team’s captain Karabo Motlhanka is expected to lead the boys to success. The world qualifying tournament is expected to have seven match days according to the fixtures.
The matches are scheduled to start on Sunday the 29th of August until the 5th of September. The lads are expected to leave Botswana on the 27th.
On day one, Botswana will be playing against the host, Namibia. On day two, it will be playing against Nigeria. Day 3 and 4 sees the boys going up against Uganda and Zambia, respectively.
Sierra Leone challenges Botswana on day 5 with Tanzania on day 6. The last match for Botswana will be the one with Kenya on the 7th day.
