Cricket: Ishimwe makes bright debut at Dubai tourney
Friday, May 06, 2022
Rwanda's bowler Henriette Ishimwe celebrates during the game after a bright start at the Fairbreak T20 Invitational Tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on May 5,2022. Courtesy

Rwanda's female bowler Henriette Ishimwe is all smiles after a bright start at the Fairbreak T20 Invitational Tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The 19-year-old on Thursday, April 5, made quite the splash in her first test at the tournament thanks to a beauty of a delivery that bowled Australia's Nicola Carey and a wily run-out that sent back Thailand's Nattaya Boochatham.

The women national cricket team youngster’s performance was key as she helped her team Barmy Army Women beat Spirit Women by 50 runs. Her team is now top of the six-team table with a Net Run Rate of 2.5.

Other teams involved in the tournament include Tornadoes Women, Falcons Women, Warriors Women, Sapphires Women and Spirit Women.

"I am so excited that I played well on my debut at the tournament because the wicket I bowled was from the captain of the opponent club,” she told Times Sport.

Her team returns to action today as they go head to head with Falcons who also won their opening match. 

Ishimwe is among the two female cricket players selected from Africa with the other one being Namibia’s Yasmeen Khan for the tournament taking place at Dubai International Stadium.

The FairBreak Invitational tournament is an ICC-sanctioned competition with support from Cricket Hong Kong and it is a privately funded female tournament. 

Among the other top cricketers around the world who will take part in the competition are Yasmin Daswani of Hong Kong, Maryam Omar of Kuwait, Nepal’s Rana Magar, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, and Gunjan Shukla of Sweden.