The Botswana Cricket Association has managed to conclude the Pepsi International Cricket Council Seven Cricket League on a high when showers of praise were bestowed at the closing Ceremony and Awards.
The function was held at Mophane Ponds at the Gaborone Sun after the Finals and Play-Off games during the weekend. The Assistant Minister for Finance & Development Planning, Vincent Seretse was the Guest Speaker while other dignitaries included Solly Reikeletseng, the Chairperson of the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) and Negroes Kgosietsile, the Chairperson of the Botswana National Olympic Committee. The Minister applauded the BCA for their efforts in “Bringing Cricket to the Nation” and in aligning themselves with the broader national vision for sport empowerment and also highlighted their successes thus far .
The BNSC Chairperson was more specific in mentioning the true value of BCA’s efforts by indicating the national pride the event brought and also how focused the activities and development plan for cricket promotion was.
The ICC Tournament Director, Edward Fitzgibbon, further reiterated their decision to award Botswana the Hosting Rights for the 2nd time and mentioned that it was certainly one of the best WCL tournaments he had witnessed. He applauded the BCA for the all round performance with regard to the facilities management and hospitality.
Further words of appreciation came from the President of the Vanuatu Cricket Association, who was also the Manager for their team, Mark Stafford. He recounted the friendship with Botswana Cricket through his close association with Bhamjee and Damodar, saying that the organization of the tournament surpassed any ICC meetings or tournaments that he had ever attended.
The Manager of the Ghana team, Emanuel Asare, who is also the Vice President of the Ghana Cricket Association said that they had a lot to learn from the BCA in organizational as well as facilities upkeep aspects.
Benjamin Das, the German team Manager, echoed the sentiments of the others and confirmed that although the tournament in 2011 was of a higher standard, this year Botswana went even better in the hosting.
The Final Rankings at the end of the tournament read:
1. Nigeria
2. Vanuatu
3. Botswana
4. Fiji
5. Ghana
6. Germany
Awards were presented by the BCA to best individual performances in
the tournament, which is generally not done at other events, except of
the Player of the Tournament handed out by the ICC.
BEST BATSMAN – T LANGA (Vanuatu)
BEST BOWLER – J OGUNLOLA
BEST FIELDER – P MATAUTAAVA
EMERGING PLAYER – R WITHEY (Botswana)
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – O OLATUNJI (Nigeria)
