Mwatile sisters shine in T20 series
The Mwatile sisters Wilka (24) and Mekelaye (19) have become leading members of the Namibian Capricorn Eagles squad, while both excelled in their recent International T20 series against Uganda.
In a thrilling series, Uganda won the first two matches but Namibia struck back to tie the series at 2-2.
Namibia then edged 3-2 ahead after winning the fifth match by one run, but Uganda remarkably won the final match by the same margin to tie the series.
Wilka and Meke were both in great form with bat and ball, with Wilka winning the Player of the Series award with a total of 316 points, while Meke finished second overall with 307 points.
Both sisters were among the top bowlers of the series with six wickets each, while Wilka was the fifth best batter with 102 runs at an average of 20.40 and a highest score of 27.
Meke finished seventh amongst the batters with 87 runs at an average of 43.50 and a top score of 60 not out, which came off only 49 balls and included six fours and two sixes. In that match, the fifth T20 international of the series, she also took three wickets for 24 runs to win the player of the match award.
After making her debut for Namibia in 2018, Wilka soon established herself on the team and has since become one of the most experienced players in the squad, winning 84 caps for her country.
She has scored close to 700 runs at an average of 12.22 and a highest score of 33, while she has taken 77 wickets at an average of 14.70 and a best performance of five wickets for six runs.
Meke, who is still only 19 years old, has already won 41 caps for Namibia after making her debut in 2021.
She has scored 297 runs at an average of 13.50 with a highest score of 60 not out, and taken 28 wickets with a best performance of 3/12.
Wilka said it was a great feeling to win the Player of the Series award.
“I’m really excited and happy that I won the Player of the Series award because at least I know I didn’t work hard for nothing. It’s a perfect moment, and I’m thankful for it,” she said.
She said her personal best performance in the tournament was her innings of 21 not out in the final international, which came off only seven balls.
“When I came in today I was just hitting everything and it was really exciting. I was so confident, and I just thought that I had nothing to lose,” she said.
Meke was also delighted with her performances.
“It was great, this is the best tournament I’ve ever played in, I worked very hard for it, so I’m just glad that it paid off,” she said.
Meke said she started playing the game after joining Wilka at training.
“Wilka was the reason why I started playing cricket – she went to cricket practice every day so I just followed her because she was supposed to babysit me. Thats how it started and then I moved up the ranks from u11 and Kwata cricket, through the age groups up to the national team,” she said.
“Cricket is the best thing that I’ve ever had in my life. It’s a great sport and its never too late to learn, no matter how old you are. The most important thing is just to continue practising, to put in the hard work and never give up,” she added.
Wilka said her main ambition is to become a professional player.
“Cricket means a lot to me and I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional cricket player. I see myself playing really big cricket one day, and inspiring the younger generation. All I have to say to the young ones is that they should just keep working hard and keep believing in themselves, and that one day they will make it,” she said.
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