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Five days of high-octane quality cricket action were achieved in the week-long return of the Victoria Series UCA will feel extremely happy with that achievement.
However, a different offering was envisaged to evolve the Victoria Series into an event, not just a cricket tournament.
The weeklong event started with a captains' photoshoot, a first of its kind as respective team captains were treated to an experience of paddling the River Nile, which was thoroughly enjoyed.
With this event's start, the second edition of the Victoria Series was always going to be a huge extravaganza.
The five national event top availed an international cricket opportunity to players. It brought a lot of delight to home fans, those from across the border and the record numbers that followed the games on the live stream link by Uganda Cricket Association as a great advertisement for the women's game which numbers can only get better.
UGANDA: WINNERS
The Victoria Pearls lived up to the enormous weight of expectation from the home fans by playing a spirited attractive positive brand of cricket the team is in the middle of evolving into to create the perfect blueprint for the future.
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09:28 - 23.04.2023
CRICKET Victoria Series: Captain Sharon Juma, Rwanda own day five
In a day expected to be the ‘moving day’ for teams to make a last dash for the two coveted places for Sunday afternoon’s Victoria Series final, these spots were sealed by Uganda and Tanzania after day three of the tournament.
Lots of positives for the team as a settled, fierce duo of opening bowlers Irene Alumo and Evelyne Anyipo asked the right unanswered questions of opposition batters that consistently created a platform for the rest of the bowling unit to dominate batting lineups.
The batting prowess of Kevin Awino against spin was on display on the slow Ugandan wickets as she managed to put together some significant knocks.
A new finishing role for Uganda's leading run scorer Rita Musamali was ably executed when the question by Tanzania arose.
Most of all, and my runaway Player of the Series based on game impact vis a vis situation, Captain Consy Aweko continued her rich vein of form.
They stood up for her team finishing as the tournament-leading wicket-taker as she led from the front.
As Marvel comics villain Thanos said in Avengers: Age of Ultron said, "If you want something done right, you do it yourselWithith Tanzania in the driving seat, Consy Aweko went ahead to bowl the momentum-shifting 13th over that accounted for 4 Tanzanian wickets.
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16:40 - 21.04.2023
VICTORIA SERIES Uganda win table clash of the titans
Following the overnight rain and early morning showers, a delayed start and reduced over the game was the most likely offering for the morning top-of-the-table clash between the Victoria Pearls and Tanzania.
The team flies out to Namibia, Windhoek, tonight in search of a third trophy in 6 months to add to the Kenya Invitational and Victoria Series.
TANZANIA: RUNNERS-UP
The Fatuma Kibasu led side played such an attractive brand that lit up the oval and earned them a- couple of Ugandan fans.
A top-heavy batting side dependent on their captain and Saum Mtae, who both finished among the top three leading run scorers, presented the extreme swashbuckling million-dollar Tanzania leaving the young extreme mid-order a shadow of the openers leaving a lot to be desired.
In Tanzania, we found arguably the best bowling all-rounders in Perise Zakayo and Agnes Joseph that had a tremendous impact both with ball and bat in hand.
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18:56 - 19.04.2023
VICTORIA SERIES Tanzania roars loudest
In a battle of the top-ranked teams in the second edition of the Victoria Series, the UAE could not have asked for a better time to have a full-strength side in Lugogo following the arrival of their Fairbreak trio that included the ICC Associate Female cricketer of 2022 Esha Rohit Oza.
Having been denied a crack at the cherry against Uganda in the final due to the rain, Tanzania will feel heart done as a chance to stake a mark as the best team in the region went begging without a ball being delivered.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The UAE, which touched base in Entebbe as the first foreign team to arrive, landed in the Pearl of Africa as the highest-ranked team in the tournament with just 11 players.
Three of the 14 players, including the ICC Female Associate Player of 2022, Esha Rohit Oza, and Victoria Series leading run scorer Kavisha Egodage who scored 112 runs at an average of 56, had hoped to get quality experience for their very young side but quickly run into trouble from the East African nations.
UAE went on to lose to Uganda and Tanzania but will be hoping the lessons picked here will quickly be implemented as they hope for a better second leg of the African tour as they proceed to the similar flat batting tracks in Namibia, Windhoek on the same flight with Uganda hoping for success.
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18:56 - 18.04.2023
VICTORIA SERIES Favourites Uganda, UAE quickly out of the blocks
Day one of the second edition of the Victoria Series bowled off with tournament favourites UAE and Uganda hitting the ground running with comprehensive victories over Kenya and Rwanda, respectively.
RWANDA
Easily the biggest beneficiary in the tournament as the lowest-ranked team went on the make history by picking up their first victories against Kenya and Tanzania, both in reduced-over games picking up valuable T20 ranking points.
A team with momentum built up over 18 months, including a debut appearance in the inaugural U19 world cup and then winning all except one game in the Nigeria International, the work and investment put in by Rwanda Cricket Association cannot be overstated.
This Rwanda outfit is nowhere close to its full achievement potential. However, young talented players in Henriette Ishimwe (adjudged Player of the Tournament), Gisele Ishimwe, Belise Murekatete, Clarisse Umutoni Uwase and Rosine Irera lie a potential core group that potentially could have the cricket world at its feet.
KENYA
A traditional cricket powerhouse on the African continent has landed on hard times but trusts the 'Phoenix to rise from theses, which has trickled down onto the cricket field.
Kenya are yet to pick up a victory in the Victoria Series but will take the fact that they managed to get on the log with a point after a washed-out game against Uganda.
There were rays of hope in Lavender Alivitsa, Flavia Adhiambo, Mercy Awono and Kelvia Ogola, who will have to harness their skill and navigate international cricket under a new captain after the retirement of seasoned campaigner and reliable wicketkeeper batter Sharon Juma.
At this point, Kenya can only rise. There is no better person to go overseas than Francis Othieno (an Africa T20 winning coach with Uganda) and David Asiji, as this duo was quickly the most experienced technical duo in the tournament.
Bottom line, the curtains come down on what has been an exceptional tournament of big hits and near misses, but no doubt the event sought out by UCA was fully achieved.
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