Sekonyela Qaitsane
Maseru – Preparations are in full swing for the under-19 national cricket team for the women’s T20 World Cup Africa qualifiers set to take place in Rwanda this month.
The Lesotho Cricket Association media officer, Clifford Molefe, has confirmed that the association has provided a provisional squad of 17 girls from which a final 14-girl squad will be selected. He said the players have been gathered from teams in Quthing, Maseru, Mohale’s Hoek, Berea, Leribe, and Botha-Bothe.
Molefe says they are very confident in their team and hope to make it all the way through. He says the cricket sport is growing in a satisfying manner, and the future is bright for the country. The team will be led by the head coach, Ms. Neo Majara.
The qualifications will commence from August 19th to September 3rd in Kigali, Rwanda. The teams will play in a TwentyTwenty/T20 format for the duration of the tournament. Furthermore, the participating nations are Lesotho, Botswana, Cameroon, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
To prepare the warriors for the battle, a series of rehearsals and training sessions are being conducted at various venues, such as Lesotho High School and Maseru West, and friendlies are organized by the association in Bloemfontein (Free State Cricket Union).
The 2025 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup will be the second edition of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup and is scheduled to be hosted by Malaysia and Thailand in 2025. This will be the first ICC World Cup tournament to be hosted in Thailand. The schedule of the tournament has yet to be announced. India are the defending champions.