It was a day for the Twinkle Ladies, who sparkled, shone and crushed the Crushers in the one-day Pink Day T20 Bash at the Obuasi KNUST Campus Cricket Oval on Saturday, October 21, 2023.
Organised by the Ghana Cricket Association (GCA) and sponsored by the Underground Mining Alliance and Bel Aqua, the T20 game between which saw selected players from across the cricket playing hubs in Ghana was aimed at creating awareness for Breast Cancer.
The Crushers led by vice-captain of the Senior Women’s Team Rozabel Asumadu threw the Twinkle Ladies into the crease upon winning the toss. Twinkle Ladies scored 112 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, building great partnerships between them.
Elizabeth Annor 10(19) and Miriam Eshun 15(31) set the tone for the Twinkle Ladies but Annor was sacrificed after 15 minutes while they had 19 runs. Captain Rhyda Ofori Amanfo came to boost their score, as her boundaries threatened the Crushers who dropped catch twice until she was stamped in the entire 20 overs that saw Emmanuella Abdulai take 4-0-10-3.
In the second innings, Rozabel Asumadu had an early change when Kate Awuah got her out for bowled before her partnership with Rashidatu Salia 7(11) could heat up. Eva Kodie 16(30) became the highest scorer, as the Twinkles worked hard on the field, getting quick fall of wickets, weakening the Crushers and limiting them to 72 runs, all out in 15.4 overs, to win by 40 Runs.
Captain of Team Crushers, Rozabel Asumadu says they had a bad day.
“I guess, it is a game. our fault was the fielding side. Around the 8th Over, we had problems. I know next year we will come well. We did not have our day. Our top batters could not play like we wanted to, other than that, on a normal day, we will crush them.”
Kate Awuah was adjudged the Best Bowler, with figures 4-0-11-3 and an economy rate of 2.75, while Rhyda Amanfo grabbed both Best Batter Accolade and Player of the Match with 34(34) and strike rate of 100 as well as figures 3-0-9-1.
With prizes to all individuals by veteran cricketer Eric Manu (Ajors), Evelyn Nobanie was adjudged the most improved player. She took 4-0-15-3 including the last wicket to wrap up the game, with an economy rate of 3.75.
Winning Captain, Rhyda Ofori Amanfo dedicated the win to her bosses.
“I am so excited, I wanted to win this at all cost. We did the basic things that helped us to win. We did not even want them to get to 50 runs, so we wanted to finish by 10th over, so we kept taking the wickets. I wanted to win this for my bosses at UMA and for them to be proud of me wearing the badge of UMA in Cricket. I needed to up my game, so my fans will know I am doing what I am capable of doing. Great thanks to our Coach Maajah Mohammed for all the work. We want more from him.”
With Breast screening and Prostate conducted by the Anglogold Health Foundation, the PinkDay was filled with great awareness of Breast Cancer, as both men and women turned up to be educated and screened while the game was ongoing.
Desmond Kojo Amponsah is one of the leaders of the Anglogold Health Foundation.
“This year we have screened a lot of people in the communities, numbering over 1000 and today we came to support the program and have screened both those playing and fans around. Early detection we say helps, so once we screen and pick out the early signs and symptoms, it makes managing it relatively easier and that will get the person to be safe and sound again. That is why we are committed to these interventions and the reason we supported this event.”
Project Manager of Underground Mining Alliance, Darren Howard, who was in the company of Account Officer Joseph Van Addo, touched on their support to Ghana Cricket.
“We are happy to support the Ghana Cricket Association and especially the PinkDay bash because it is a very hot subject around the World for women to be aware of the breast cancer. One of our own plays for the national team and it sparked our interest and it is something good to be involved in, to make awareness and also support the Ghana team. We will be helping the women game grow in Ghana and be supporting activities like this and it is very encouraging.”
With special eyes on the players, female national Coach, Obed Harvey tells TalksenseSports, the game went well.
“We wanted more than this but we could not ask for more. The game went really well, especially with the first innings, they hit the ball around, with captain Rhyda leading the front and Miriam staying in to support her. We merged most of the junior girls from the other regions and I have seen some great players. Evelyn Nobanie came in and has been a good revelation, Grace Quaicoo, Suglo, and others proving their worth.”
Both Teams, Twinkles and Crushers were presented with individual certificates, after which the Ghana Cricket Association presented a Citation to the Underground Mining Alliance for their continuous support to the development of the game.
Treasurer of the Ghana Cricket Association, Angella Cassandra Allotey, who doubles as Women rep was elated about the event and shared few words.
“Over the past years, we had always wanted to do something to promote breast cancer and in all countries around the world, the Cricket fraternity does show support to breast cancer awareness, so here in Ghana, we decided that as part of female activities, we will add this event to the calendar. The game has been interesting and it has helped us showcase it to people who do not know about it. We have been humbled to have two big companies support this event, the Underground Mining Alliance and Bel-Aqua.”
Gracing the maiden edition was Board Member, Seth Nti, Cricket Operations Officer, Prince Eugene King from GCA, as well as Dr Dakorah, Joyce Agyei Badu, Hannah Penorkie and their medical team from Anglogold Health Foundation.
The PinkDay T20 Bash is intended to be an annual event with the Ghana Cricket Association targeting next year’s event to be held in Accra.
Source: TalksenseSports
