Mali holds third National Cricket Championship

The third edition of Mali’s National Cricket Championship was held in Bamako, the capital city, from July 15 to 19 at the National Institute of Youth and Sport.

Four teams competed in the competition’s final stage, with two from Bamako (All Stars and Vampire Cricket Club), Sikasso’s regional team (Tata) and a team from Ségou (Reverend Père Bouvier). After a round-robin stage, Vampire Cricket Club and All Stars met in the final, with All Stars prevailing by 45 runs in a 30-over game to secure the trophy and the equivalent of US$200 in prize money.

As an indicator of the importance of the event to cricket in Mali a number of important officials were present at the closing ceremony, including the British and Burkina Faso Ambassadors, representatives of the Youth and Sport ministry and the general secretary of the Students Association. The event was covered by ORTM (the national television broadcaster), The Africable (a pan-African channel), and several local radio stations and newspapers.

During the ceremony, the speech of the president of FeMaCrik began with a minute of silence for the memory of Vanpee Orgle, the president of the Ghana Cricket Association who died last month. Players and match officials also wore black armbands during the competition to commemorate Orgle.