Zimbabwe Women Tour Botswana
The Zimbabwe Women's Team on invitation of the Botswana Cricket Association arrived in Gaborone on the 14 October 2011 for a four day tour which included two T20 matches and two 40-over matches against a young Botswana Women's Team.
Match 1 played on the 14 October was a T20 match played under lights at the BCA Oval. Botswana were put in to bat and there were no surprises as an awestruck Botswana team were rattled for only 15 runs on the board by a very experienced bowling attack. The Zimbabweans wasted no time in making their runs in 2 overs and earning themselves not only a nine-wicket victory .
Match 2 played on the 15 October was a 40 Over match and it was decided before the tour that in this format, the option to bat first was with the Zimbabweans. The Zimbabwean ladies took full use of this opportunity to get some batting time in the middle and amassed a total of 322 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Botswana went in to bat and the young girls seemed to have recovered from their sensational collapse in the T20 and put in a gutsy effort to bat out 37 overs before being bowled out for 78.
Match 3 played the following day was also a 40-over format and batting first in stifling heat, Zimbabwe made 277- 3 before being called in at the 33rd over for lunch because of the heat taking its toll on batters , fielders and also one of the umpires who had to be replaced momentarily. Botswana going into bat after lunch mustered up 63 before being skittled out in the 28th over
The following day's match was a reduced match of 15 overs. Botswana batted first and put on 48 runs for the loss of 5 wickets with all in the batting order chipping in. Things started shakily for Zimbabwe when a wicket was lost in the first over but the girls soon passed the score in the 5th over securing a 9 wicket victory.
For many reading this article, it must look like this was a series of mismatches. It should be mentioned though that the oldest girl in the Botswana team was sixteen and the BCA has earmarked a group of twenty girls aged-13-16 and to get them training together for the next few years and providing them with as much playing exposure as possible. This was more about the little victories for the Botswana girls as a team and as individuals, instances such as getting a chance to play against a Test playing nation so early in their cricketing years and batting out 37 overs against a good bowling attack. It was also about getting an opportunity to mingle with the ladies who play at the highest level in cricket and aspiring to be like them. The Zimbabwean women were very supportive and encouraging towards their younger counterparts from Botswana and every post match saw the girls sitting together having a laugh and also talking cricket.
This was the true spirit of cricket in how a big sister in Zimbabwe gave her time and energy to nurture the baby sister in Botswana and as the manager of the Zimbabwean ladies, Caroline Nyamande said before leaving on the bus to Harare, 'As we leave, we take every single one of you girls back in our hearts.'
This is the way forward in how the women's game could catch on around the world, in where the big sisters around the world could just take the time to play with the little sister in the backyard and Zimbabwe's Tour to Botswana was just that.
