{"id":122088,"date":"2026-04-15T14:53:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:23:23","slug":"italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali","title":{"rendered":"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The Italian women’s national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament, but an entirely new cricketing experience.<\/p>\n

For many within the Italian camp, the ICC Women Challenge Trophy marks their first time competing outside of Europe, adding an extra layer of excitement and uncertainty ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a long journey most of us spent the rest of the day in bed,\u201d admitted head coach Sean Trouw, reflecting on the team arrival.<\/p>\n

But fatigue quickly gave way to admiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cKigali is incredible. The people are so friendly it\u2019s a very unique experience,\u201d he said, describing their first impressions of Rwanda.<\/p>\n

For Trouw, the trip carries personal significance. \u201cThis is the first time I\u2019ve been outside Europe in my 47 years. I can\u2019t believe it,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n

Italy were the first to arrive in the country on Monday, April 13, ahead of the tournament which is scheduled for April 18 to May 1 at Gahanga Cricket Stadium. They will join four other countries\u2014Vanuatu, the United States, Nepal and hosts Rwanda\u2014for the five-team battle of the trophy.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s first training session at Gahanga Cricket Stadium offered a glimpse of what lies ahead.<\/p>\n

Under the Kigali sun, players began adjusting to conditions very different from those back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sun was out, it was quite warm this is something new for many of us,\u201d Trouw explained. \u201cBut the session went very well. It\u2019s just about getting into rhythm after the long trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience extended beyond cricket. From children joining training sessions to locals interacting with the team, the atmosphere left a strong impression.<\/p>\n

For team captain Emilia Bartram, the moment is just as significant. \u201cThis is the first time we\u2019ve played outside Europe, so for many of us, it\u2019s our first world tournament,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite the new environment, the team spirit remains high. \u201cThe team is very united the energy is good, and we trained well today,\u201d Bartram told Times Sport, highlighting the positive mood within the squad.<\/p>\n

While Italy acknowledges the learning curve ahead, their ambition remains clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur expectations are just to get into the game and build our strategy over these three weeks,\u201d said Trouw. \u201cBut we\u2019re in a good place.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when asked about the ultimate objective, his answer was simple. \u201cWe have the experience, ultimately it is to win [the trophy],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bartram echoed the same mindset, saying, \u201cWe always want to win but we\u2019re also here for the experience and to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the tournament approaches, Italy\u2019s journey in Rwanda is already about more than results. It is about discovery, adaptation, and stepping onto a broader international stage.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. The Italian women’s national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament, but an entirely new cricketing experience. For many within the Italian camp, the ICC Women Challenge Trophy marks their first time competing outside of Europe, adding an extra layer of excitement and uncertainty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":122086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[9621,9620,758],"class_list":["post-122088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-icc-women-challenge-trophy","tag-italy","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nItaly Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Italian women's national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Italian women's national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T14:53:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T15:23:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-15T14:53:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T15:23:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali\"},\"wordCount\":474,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ICC Women Challenge Trophy\",\"Italy\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali\",\"name\":\"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-15T14:53:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T15:23:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Italian women's national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":666,\"caption\":\"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali - Rwanda","description":"The Italian women's national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali","og_description":"The Italian women's national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2026-04-15T14:53:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-15T15:23:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":666,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali","datePublished":"2026-04-15T14:53:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T15:23:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali"},"wordCount":474,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg","keywords":["ICC Women Challenge Trophy","Italy","Rwanda"],"articleSection":["all news","Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali","name":"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-15T14:53:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T15:23:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Italian women's national cricket team are stepping into unfamiliar territory in Kigali, not just at a new tournament ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253984.599654.jpg","width":1000,"height":666,"caption":"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/italy-women-face-new-cricket-challenge-in-kigali#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Italy Women Face New Cricket Challenge in Kigali"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122089,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122088\/revisions\/122089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}