ICC Women’s U-19 T20 Africa Qualifiers

SUMOD DAMODAR*

The Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) preparations to host the inaugural ICC Women’s U-19 T20 Africa Qualifiers between September 1 – 13, 2022, in Gaborone at the BCA Oval Grounds, are well underway.

The nine (9) team event, comprising Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leona, Tanzania and Uganda will be a spectacle and festival of sorts, as the playing fields will literally be as even as it can be. This is the first time all the teams would be pitted against each other, and all variables are an unknown, with no history or statistics available for team management and players to review and rely upon, making every game equally poised. The hunger, determination and innocent maturity of the players on the field would clearly and figuratively speaking, “separate the women from the girls” …….. 

The winner from this tournament will proceed directly to the World Cup.

It is the first time that ICC will be conducting a Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup, to be played in South Africa in January 2023. The BCA has also taken initiative to partner with PitchVision from South Africa, to live stream ALL the games.

PitchVision (PV) is an integrated sports technology solution enhancing how grassroots sports is organized, coached, commercialized, and experienced across the globe. PitchVision has been at the forefront of sports technology for the past decade.

With a range of products which include live scoring, streaming, tournament management and training platforms, PitchVision (PV) caters for the player, coach, administrator, and fan.

In over 100 cities and 30 countries, PV products are being used from grass root levels of sport, through to the professional game. “We are extremely excited to bring African cricket to the fore by partnering with BCA and streaming the upcoming ICC Women’s U-19 WC Qualifiers.  Our goal is to take our technology and make it available to everybody, by showcasing all traditionally non-broadcast matches and ensure that we do so at a fraction of the costs,” said Craig van Dyk, CEO PitchVision Africa

We are still finalizing where the streams would go to, based on the intention to use the most wide-reaching platforms. However, all the matches with scorecards will be available on this link: https://www.pitchvision.com/#/pv-matches

Under the current Health Regulations, spectators will be permitted to come to the venues to watch, enjoy and support the teams on the field of play. “At the same time, we earnestly request that everyone strictly adheres to the rules and regulations of the tournament, as per ICC guidelines. It is also the onus of every individual to exhibit levels of courtesy, decency, and good behaviour, towards the visiting teams, officials, other visitors and patrons around. The BCA Executive Board wishes to acknowledge the efforts and support of the ICC, MYSC, BNSC, PitchVision, all participating teams and officials, service providers, BCA staff, and volunteers, in making this a reality,” said Damodar.

*Vice Chairman, Botswana cricket association