Rwanda women's national cricket team

The Rwanda women's national cricket team is the team that represents Rwanda in international women's cricket.

For the men's team, see Rwanda national cricket team.

Rwanda

Association	Rwanda Cricket Association
Personnel
Captain	Marie Bimenyimana
Coach	Leonard Nhamburo
International Cricket Council
ICC status	Associate member[1] (2017) Affiliate member (2003)
ICC region	Africa
ICC Rankings Current[2] Best-ever WT20I 26th 26th (29 Mar 2023)
Women's Twenty20 Internationals
First WT20I	v.  Nigeria at National Stadium, Abuja; 26 January 2019
Last WT20I	v.  Kenya at Sikh Union Club Ground, Nairobi; 14 September 2024
WT20Is Played Won/Lost Total[3] 93 53/39 (1 tie, 0 no results) This year[4] 28 19/9 (0 ties, 0 no results)
As of 14 September 2024

History

Rwanda's women's team first played in 2007^{[citation needed]}, playing two matches against Uganda in December of that year, before participating in the 2008–09 East African Women's Championship. Since 2014 the country has hosted the Kwibuka T20 Tournament annually.

In March 2018, Cricket Builds Hope - a charity focused on the use the sport as a tool for social change in Rwanda - commenced the Women's Empowerment Programme, a multi-year project aiming to use cricket to help develop leadership skills amongst women from low-income families in Kigali.^[5][6]

In April 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) granted full Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Rwanda women and other ICC members since 1 July 2018 have been full WT20Is.^[7][8]

On 26 January 2019, Rwanda played their first WT20I against Nigeria, which was first WT20I for Nigeria as well. This was the first match of was a 5-match WT20I series between the two countries which Nigeria won 3–2.^[9]

In the 2019 ICC Development Awards, recognising advancement of the sport in Associate and Affiliate nations, Rwanda received two of the six awards available: Female Participation Programme of the Year, and Associate Member Women's Performance of the Year.^[10][11]

In December 2020, the ICC announced the qualification pathway for the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.^[12] Rwanda were named in the 2021 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier regional group, alongside ten other teams.^[13] Rwanda finished third in their group after winning three of their five matches, failing to progress to the knockout stages of the tournament.

Records and statistics

International Match Summary — Rwanda Women^[14]

Last updated 14 September 2024

Playing Record
Format	M	W	L	T	NR	Inaugural Match
Twenty20 Internationals	93	53	39	1	0	26 January 2019

Twenty20 International

• Highest team total: 246/1 v Mali, 21 June 2019, at Gahanga International Cricket Stadium.^[15]
• Highest individual score: 114*, Marie Bimenyimana v Mali, 21 June 2019, at Gahanga International Cricket Stadium, Kigali and Gisele Ishimwe v Eswatini, 12 September 2021, at Botswana Cricket Association Oval, Gaborone.^[16]
• Best individual bowling figures: 5/3, Marie Bimenyimana v Malawi, 31 May 2024, at Gahanga B Ground, Kigali.^[17]

Most T20I runs for Rwanda Women[18] Player Runs Average Career span Gisele Ishimwe 1,356 19.09 2019–2024 Marie Bimenyimana 1,075 16.53 2019–2024 Henriette Ishimwe 962 15.51 2019–2024 Sarah Uwera 506 11.00 2019–2023 Alice Ikuzwe 447 9.12 2019–2024

Most T20I wickets for Rwanda Women[19] Player Wickets Average Career span Henriette Ishimwe 109 10.48 2019–2024 Rosine Irera 55 9.90 2023–2024 Marie Bimenyimana 53 12.73 2019–2024 Margueritte Vumiliya 52 12.67 2019–2023 Belise Murekatete 52 12.96 2019–2024

Records complete to WT20I #2017. Last updated 14 September 2024.^[14]

Opponent	M	W	L	T	NR	First match	First win
ICC Full members
Zimbabwe	3	0	3	0	0	9 May 2019
ICC Associate members
Botswana	9	9	0	0	0	6 June 2021	6 June 2021
Brazil	1	1	0	0	0	10 June 2022	10 June 2022
Cameroon	2	2	0	0	0	31 March 2023	31 March 2023
Eswatini	1	1	0	0	0	12 September 2021	12 September 2021
Gambia	1	1	0	0	0	1 April 2022	1 April 2022
Germany	1	1	0	0	0	12 June 2022	12 June 2022
Ghana	2	2	0	0	0	28 March 2022	28 March 2022
Kenya	13	8	5	0	0	10 June 2021	19 April 2023
Lesotho	2	2	0	0	0	22 April 2024	22 April 2024
Malawi	1	1	0	0	0	31 May 2024	31 May 2024
Mali	2	2	0	0	0	18 June 2019	18 June 2019
Mozambique	4	4	0	0	0	8 May 2019	8 May 2019
Namibia	2	0	2	0	0	7 June 2021
Nigeria	25	12	12	1	0	26 January 2019	28 January 2019
Sierra Leone	4	4	0	0	0	30 March 2022	30 March 2022
Tanzania	8	2	6	0	0	11 May 2019	22 April 2023
Uganda	11	1	10	0	0	19 June 2019	17 June 2023
United Arab Emirates	1	0	1	0	0	21 April 2023

Current squad

Updated as on 26 April 2024

This lists all the players who played for Rwanda in the past 12 months or named in the most recent squad.

Name	Age	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batters
Marie Bimenyimana	27	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Clarisse Uwase	23	Left-handed	Left-arm medium
Gisele Ishimwe	20	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Merveille Uwase	19	Right-handed	-
Shakila Niyomuhoza	18	Right-handed	-
Cathia Uwamahoro	31	Right-handed	-
Liliane Ufitinema	16	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
All-rounders
Henriette Ishimwe	21	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Alice Ikuzwe	25	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Flora Irakoze	24	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Captain & Wicket-keeper
Georgette Ingabire	22	Left-handed	Right-arm medium
Spin Bowlers
Rosine Irera	19	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
Marie Tumukunde	20	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox
Rosette Shimwamana	17	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
Pace Bowlers
Belise Murekatete	20	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Josiane Nyirankundineza	24	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Immaculee Muhawenimana	25	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Devotha Uwizeya		Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Nadine Nzayituriki	18	Right-handed	Right-arm medium

See also

• List of Rwanda women Twenty20 International cricketers

References

1. "Ireland and Afghanistan ICC newest full members amid wide-ranging governance reform". International Cricket Council. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
2. "ICC Rankings". International Cricket Council.
3. "WT20I matches - Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
4. "WT20I matches - 2024 Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
5. "Cricket Builds Hope in Rwanda". ICC Cricket. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
6. "Women's Empowerment Programme". Cricket Builds Hope. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
7. "All T20I matches to get international status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
8. "T20s between all ICC members to have international status". ESPNcricinfo. 27 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
9. "Rwanda Women tour of Nigeria 2018/19 - Fixtures & Results". ESPNcricinfo.
10. Cricket, Team Female (28 July 2020). "100% Cricket Female Participation Programme Of the Year award goes to Rwanda Cricket". Female Cricket. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
11. "The ICC celebrates cricket's growing global appeal". ICC Cricket. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
12. "Qualification for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 announced". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
13. "ICC announce qualification process for 2023 Women's T20 World Cup". The Cricketer. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
14. "Records / Rwanda Women / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo.
15. "Records / Rwanda Women / Women's Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
16. "Records / Rwanda Women / Women's Twenty20 Internationals / Top Scores". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
17. "Records / Rwanda Women / Women's Twenty20 Internationals / Best Bowling figures". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
18. "Records / Rwanda Women / Twenty20 Internationals / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
19. "Records / Rwanda Women / Twenty20 Internationals / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 April 2019.

Further reading

• Iribagiza, Glory (15 June 2022). "Women are taking over Rwanda's Cricket, and here is how". The New Times (Rwanda). Retrieved 25 January 2023.