Women’s cricket will be a part of the upcoming Commonwealth Games that will be played in July in England this year. Eight teams will participate in the Commonwealth Games, out of which seven have already qualified. There is just one place for which the Qualifiers will be played among five teams. The five teams that will lock horns against each other for that one spot are Bangladesh, Kenya, Malaysia, Scotland and Sri Lanka. The Qualifiers will see T20 matches being played. Malaysia will host the event between January 18 and January 24. All the five teams have announced their squads.
Here’s a look at Kenya’s squad:
Margaret Ngoche (c), Queentor Abel, Veronica Abuga, Ruth Achando (wk), Lavendah Idambo, Sharon Juma (wk), Sylvia Kinyua, Mary Mwangi, Monicah Ndhambi, Daisy Njoroge, Mercyline Ochieng, Flavia Odhiambo, Venasa Ooko, Jane Otieno, Esther Wachira, Sarah Wetoto
Margaret Ngoche:
The right-handed batter and right-arm seamer is the captain of Kenya. The 40-year old has featured in 14 T20Is between 2019 and 2021. She has scored 267 runs, including one half century. She has accounted for five wickets. Out of the 14 T20Is that she has played, she has captained in 12 of them.
Queentor Abel:
She is a right handed batter and a right arm off spinner who has featured in 14 T20Is for Kenya. She has mustered 240 runs at a strike rate of 94.11. With the ball, she has picked up 19 wickets, including one five-wicket haul. She is a genuine wicket-taker.
Veronica Abuga:
She is a right handed batter and an occasional right arm off spinner. Between 2019 and 2021, she appeared in 14 T20I fixtures for Kenya. She scored 177 runs in 12 innings, including the best of 47. She has good batting technique.
Ruth Achando:
The right-handed batter and wicket-keeper has been a part of 4 T20Is for Kenya, having made her international debut in 2021. Though she didn’t get a chance to bat in the four matches that she played, she was impressive behind the stumps.
Lavendah Idambo:
She is a right arm seamer, who has played 13 T20Is for Kenya between 2019 and 2021. She has scalped seven wickets, including the best of 2-17against Rwanda. She bowls tight lines and lengths and can give any batter run for her money.
Sharon Juma:
She is a wicket-keeper and a right handed batter. She is one of the most experienced players in the side with 17 T20Is under her belt. She has scored 198 runs, including the best of 39 not out. Behind the stumps, she has accounted for eight dismissals, including four catches and as many stumpings.
Sylvia Kinyua:
She is a right handed batter, who can also bowl right arm pace occasionally. She made her international debut in 2019 and in that year she featured in 11 T20Is. She scored 127 runs, including the best of 40. She was last seen in 2019 and this series will be her comeback into international cricket after a gap of two years.
Mary Mwangi:
She is an all-rounder, who bats right handed and bowls right arm seam. She made her international debut in 2019 for Kenya and in that year she played 11 T20Is. She scored 131 runs, including the best of 28 not out and picked up six wickets. Just like Kinyua, she will make her comeback into the international area after a gap of two years.
Monicah Ndhambi:
She is a right handed batter and an occasional right arm medium pace bowler. She made her international debut in 2019 and between 2019 and 2021 she appeared in 6 T20Is. She has had an ordinary international career so far, however, she will be looking to make the most of the opportunities that come her way in the near future.
Daisy Njoroge:
She is a right handed batter and a right arm speedster. She has featured in 11 T20Is for Kenya in 2019. She has scored 49 runs in seven innings and has accounted for eight wickets in 10 innings. She can be molded into a good all-rounder.
Mercyline Ochieng:
She made her international debut in 2019. She featured in 6 T20Is in her debut year. She scored 32 runs in five innings, including the best of 13 not out. With the ball, she picked up nine wickets in six innings. She is a right handed batter and a right arm seamer.
Flavia Odhiambo:
She is a right arm quickie, who made her international debut in 2019. Between 2019 and 2021, she played 9 T20Is for Kenya and accounted for four wickets, including the best of 3-0. She is consistent with her lines and lengths and does not allow the batters to score freely off her.
Venasa Ooko:
She is a right handed batter and can also roll her arm over to bowl right arm seam. She made her international debut in 2019. She has featured in 9 T20Is and has scored 80 runs in seven innings, including the best of 30 not out. She has not played international cricket for the last two years.
Jane Otieno:
She is a right handed bat, who made her international debut for Kenya against Rwanda, just last year. She played 6 T20Is and out of that she got a chance to bat in just the two games. She is still new to the international arena and will look to make the most of any chance that comes her way.
Esther Wachira:
She is one of the most experienced players in the Kenya team. Having been around since 2019, she has featured in 14 T20Is. The right arm speedster has scalped nine wickets in as many innings, including the best of 2-15. She is a right handed lower order bat.
Sarah Wetoto:
She is a right arm off spinner. The wily spinner has accounted for 18 wickets in nine T20I innings, including the best of 6-16, which is the best bowling figures by any Kenya woman in T20I cricket. She also holds the record of picking up the most wickets (17) on a single ground (Gahanga International Cricket Stadium in Rwanda) in WT20Is. She has featured in 11 T20Is between 2019 and 2021. She will form an integral part of the Kenya team.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
