As the lady Chevrons shift their focus from the historic African Games gold medal win to the white-ball series against Papua New Guinea, coach Walter Chawaguta has demanded his charges to maintain a winning habit as they prepare for the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup Global qualifiers.
The Lady Chevron host Papua New Guinea in three T20I and three ODIS beginning on Sunday as part of the preparations for the T20 Global qualifiers scheduled for next month in Abu Dhabi.
Chawaguta, who described the gold medal win as a representation of hard-work and dedication by the Lady Chevrons, has challenged the senior women's team to build on the historic win and develop a winning habit as they head to the T20 Global qualifiers.
"The African Games medal represents the hard-work and dedication these ladies have to their work.
"We have also gotten ourselves into a habit of winning, my hope is we carry this momentum into every match in the near future," said Chawaguta.
He added that he was happy with the team effort that was showcased at the African Games.
"One thing the tournament revealed is the fact that this team is learning to win matches and getting better at it and there were few times we found ourselves in a spot of bother but there was always someone who put their hand up and rescued the situation.
"The other thing is that not one player dominated the scene but every match we won was as a result of a combined team effort," said the Lady Chevrons coach.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
As the lady Chevrons shift their focus from the games to a six-match white-ball series against Papua New Guinea, Chawaguta feels the series will play a pivotal role in the team's preparations for the Global qualifiers.
"Papua New Guinea is part and parcel of our journey to the qualifiers and the upcoming series will test us in how we are able to maintain our winning ways.
"The challenge will be different conditions and expectations are different hence we have to respond very well to these conditions.
"ODI series will test our defence and ability to bat long, while our bowlers will be tested on their longevity and ability to bowl well and for much longer than in T20s," said Chawaguta.
With Lady Chevrons having been caught wanting on the batting front in recent matches, Chawaguta revealed that they will use the upcoming series to work on the team's fielding, batting and chasing skills.
"I am satisfied with the bowling department although there is still room to improve in our accuracy but the big thing we want to really work on is our fielding in particular our catching which will key to our success in this PNG and beyond.
"Our ability to chase has also been worrying, o we will focusing on our mindset when we chase and also our finishing skills with bat," said Chawaguta.
