Brazil Wins Final

A pitch keeping low, a wobble, a stutter, nerves playing a part no doubt, but ultimately Brazil won the final of the 2026 Kalahari Cup by 3 wickets.

Six teams gathered at Gaborone, Botswana in early April for the third edition of the Kalahari Cup. Joining the home team were Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique, Brazil, and making their debut on the international stage, Zambia.

A pattern formed early in the competition, with Brazil and Botswana – ultimately the finalists – dominating the early rounds, with both moving into the Super League play-offs with Mozambique. Malawi won a close encounter with Mozambique to win third place.

Final

Tuelo Shadrack won the toss for Botswana and chose to bat first. From the very first over, a maiden, by Maria Ribeiro it was evident that the pitch had variable bounce. It was third match on this particular wicket. The fourth delivery from Ribeiro kicked up wildly, but the general trend throughout the match was the ball keeping low and this accounted for a number of LBWs, particularly in the second innings.

The Brazil bowlers made life difficult for the batters with no loose deliveries and even scoring singles was risky. Indeed, it wasn’t until the fifth over that a two was scored and the seventh over before there was a boundary. The bowling tight, the fielding keen – every single catch on offer was taken. It was a clinical display by the fielding team.

Mpho Modise (12) was the only batter to reach double figures, while Lindsay Boas (3-9) was the pick of the bowlers. Botswana finished with a below par score of 37, but as the match continued that 37 was probably only about 20 runs short on this wicket.

It was skipper Tuelo Shadrack (4-7) who led the way with the ball and at 18/6 it looked as though an upset was looming, but a single wayward over from Goabilwe Matome yielded 10 runs and released the pressure for Brazil. With all the wickets falling at the other end, the calm presence of veteran Roberta Moretti Avery was the glue that kept the innings together. Her 8 not out might look insignificant on paper but it was a key reason Brazil got over the line to win by three wickets.

Lindsay Boas was named player of the match. While no record is shown for player of the series, one must assume it went to Laura Cardoso who topped the bowling (17 wickets) and the batting (203 runs), not to forget her record breaking 9-4 against Lesotho earlier in the tournament.

Scores

Botswana 37 (Mpho Modise 12, Lindsay Boas 3-9, Lara Moisés 2-4) lost to
Brazil 38/7 (Marianne Artur 9, Roberta Moretti Avery 8*, Tuelo Shadrack 4-7) by 3 wickets