Vumiliya Marguerite who has been one of the mainstays of the Rwandan side since her debut in 2019 hopes to help her team qualify for their maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup before she retires from international cricket.
The 29-year old all-rounder has already accumulated quite an incredible CV. Playing in the middle order, she dons the role of an anchor for her side but can equally accelerate when the situation demands.
Marguerite was introduced to the game of cricket by her brother in 2014 and instantly fall in love with the sport. A year later she was signed by a local club called White Clouds.
She made her debut for Rwanda women’s cricket team in 2019 during the Nigeria-Rwanda Bilateral Series in Abuja Nigeria. Since her debut, Marguerite is undoubtedly one of the best spinner bowlers in the women’s game in Rwanda at the moment.
Speaking with Tatenda Gondo, Marguerite reveals the challenges women cricketers face in Rwanda and how she balances motherhood and her cricket career.
Marguerite, thank you for taking time out to chat with us. You recently won the best player of the tournament award at the Invitational Cricket tournament in Nigeria. How did you feel about attaining such an achievement?
Overwhelmed, the award was a justification for the agony, self-doubt, and hard work that went into winning the series. The tournament was very competitive hence I had to put my all into it special thanks to my teammates who contributed to my winning, Aside from making me overwhelmed, the award is a great boost to my career.
You played a pivotal role in helping your team secure their maiden T20I trophy at the Nigeria women’s Invitational Cricket tournament. What would you attribute your team’s success in Nigeria to?
Like I said before participating in the tournament was not a walkover the job we played as a unity and we were determined to win our first-ever T20I coach. We gave to us the field of play and in the end, we broke a jinx. All that we did was listen to our coach Leonard Nhamburo instructions and everything else went according to plan.
May you please tell us a brief history about yourself?
I am a leg spinner and right-hand bottom batter and a mother of two daughters. I was introduced to the game of cricket in 2014 by my brother who had also been introduced to the game by a friend of his. And I immediately fell in love with the sport. In 2015 I started playing cricket for a local club called White Clouds before I made my debut appearance for the national team in 2019 during the Nigeria-Rwanda Bilateral Series in Abuja.
How do you balance motherhood and playing cricket?
Balancing motherhood and playing cricket has been tough. I have been forced to sacrifice certain things to balance motherhood and playing cricket. But I am grateful that I have kids that are very supportive hence most of the time they make it very easy for me to balance motherhood and cricket.
What are some of the challenges female cricket players face in Rwanda?
In Rwanda, cricket is still a growing sport therefore people struggle to understand the concept of the game hence it is quite difficult for cricket players to get support from their families once they decide to venture into cricket full time.
What are some of your aspirations for the Rwanda national women’s cricket team?
It is every athlete’s dream to qualify for the world cup and win a trophy so with Rwanda women’s cricket my hope and prayer is to one day help my team qualify for the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup. Also, I would love to see more cricket players from Rwanda playing professional cricket abroad.
What should be done to make sure that Rwanda qualifies for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup?
We need to play more competitive cricket and our players need to be exposed to leagues outside Rwanda to gain international exposure and experience.
What are your plans once you retire from playing cricket?
I am not quite sure what exactly I want to do but one thing I can confidently tell you is that I want to help out in grooming the next generation of women’s cricket players in Rwanda as we aim toward growing and developing the game of cricket in the country.
Photo 1 Caption: Vumiliya Marguerite who has been one of the mainstays of the Rwandan side since her debut in 2019 hopes to help her team qualify for their maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup before she retires from international cricket. Photo: Supplied
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