Meet a 19-year-old female cricket prodigy
• By Michael Uugwanga
VICTORIA Hamunyela wrote her name into Cricket Namibia history books at the 2021 Kwibuka Women’s T20 tournament in Rwanda, when she took four wickets for eight runs and was named player of the match, as a result she was also named in the team of the tournament.
Namibia lost to Kenya in the final match at the Kwibuka tournament.
Hamuyela of Walvis Bay, was born at Ekelembo village in Ohangwena region, and currently plays for coastal side Blue Waters Ladies in the country’s top women cricket league.
She made her international debut for the women senior cricket side, the Capricorn Eagles in 2018 in the Women’s Twenty20 international series against Malawi in Botswana.
Today she has played 18 matches for the national team, while more matches await her and her teammates in the coming months.
Her performance last year for the Capricorn Eagles did not go unnoticed after she was awarded with the Players’ Player of the Year and Bowler of the Year award at Cricket Namibia Awards early this month.
Speaking to Confidente in an exclusive interview, Hamunyela said it was through her friends that she started playing cricket in school, as she knew nothing about the sport.
She finished her secondary education at Kuisebmund Secondary School in Walvis Bay.
She said that cricket keeps her away from bad situations and that through cricket she gets the chance to see new places and meet different people from other countries.
“At school cricket was just a sport that I joined because my friends at the time also joined the sport and at the time I knew nothing about cricket however on the other hand I knew that it would be something important in my life. It feels great to play cricket because it keeps one away from dangerous activities and you get the chance to meet a lot of people and to see new places,” she said.
Cricket has for many years been labelled as a man’s game, similar to rugby, football and boxing, but this is no longer the case as the sport continues to produce some of the world’s finest female cricketers, and Hamunyela is not that far from that list if she continues to do what she does best.
Despite her gender, Hamunyela has singled out Australian male spinner Nathan Lyon as her cricket idol.
“My parents have always been supportive.
Lyon is one of the world’s best spinners and I play the same role as he.
“I want just to play against the best female cricketers and against the best cricket playing nations.
“Winning the two awards means a lot to me as it motivates me to work harder, even though I was shocked as I did not expect them,” said Hamunyela.