By ELIAS CHIPEPO –
NKANA, Luanshya and Mufulira picked up early wins as the 2015 Copperbelt Cricket Association (CCA) Girls 35 Overs Knock league kicked off at the weekend with teams jostling for early honours.
In Ndola, hosts Ndola B suffered a five wicket loss at the hands of visiting Luanshya. Ndola B won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch offering uneven bounce.
They were all out for 54 runs in 20 overs with none of their batsmen able to score double figures. Erica Chisenga top scored with six runs while Beatrice Mbale made five runs with Bridget Yombwe finishing on five not out.
Pick of the bowlers for Luanshya was Susan Kasakula who picked up three wickets.
Luanshya batting second raced to their victory target in 11.1 overs with opener Jean Chabula top scoring with 15 not out. Beatrice Mbale was the best bowler for Ndola b with two wickets.
At Kanini Sports Club, Nkana beat hosts Ndola A in a tense match by three wickets.
Nkana won the toss and opted to field first and the decision by club captain Martha Mulenga to field first was justified when the Ndola A openers Getrude Banda and Prudence Kasongo were out cheaply for one respectively.
Ndola A were eventually dismissed for 52 in 17.2 overs.  Nkana bowlers Martha Mulenga, Royce Mayamba and Chilufya Kunda both picked up two wickets apiece.
In reply, Nkana batsmen also struggled with Royce Mayamba departing without scoring while a well set Martha Mulenga was bowled for two runs by Ndola A opening bowler Patience Muchindu who troubled the Nkana batsmen throughout her five over spell.
Nkana dug deep to reach their victory target in 12.4 overs thanks to some erratic bowling by the Ndola A bowlers.
In Chingola, the hosts Nchanga lost to Mufulira by five wickets in a game played at Nchanga Cricket Club. Mufulira won the toss and elected to field first and in their innings Nchanga were dismissed for 37 runs inside 16 overs.
Esther Mulenga top scored with 8 runs while Faith Bwalya made six runs. The best bowler for Mufulira was Mercy Nguni who claimed four scalpels.
Mufulira batting second managed to surpass Nchanga’s score in 12 overs for the loss of five wickets. Tamara Banda made 16 runs while Precious Makoma was unbeaten on six runs. Esther Mulenga was the pick of the bowlers for Nchanga with three wickets.