Mbabazi Janet is a Ugandan Cricketer and Vice-Captain of the national women’s team, Victoria Pearls. The 26-year-old picked up the sport as a kid and has since become a formidable figure in Uganda’s cricket scene, bagging several accolades and inspiring many in her wake.
“I’m just a normal girl from a small town in Uganda, who loves to play sports.” Janet describes herself.
“Cricket is fun, I like the challenges that come with it but the best thing I like about it is hitting the ball.”
Every day the Victoria University Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality student journeys from Entebbe to Uganda’s capital Kampala to train with the national team. While juggling education and a sports career is no walk in the park, she pulls it off impeccably, thanks to a strict daily routine.
“A typical day for me starts by waking up at 6:00 am and making breakfast. I usually have a cup of coffee and then hit the road to the Cricket Oval in Kampala for my cricket practice. I have one or two zoom classes in the afternoon, and have the rest of the classes in the evening because that’s the only time I have to study.”
Janet admits the grit to stick it through is mostly inspired by a burning passion and ambition to take her sports to a professional and international level.
“The desire to play in bigger stages and get my country to a certain level in the world in terms of ranking and games played is what drives me most.”
Janet was inspired to take on sports at an early age. Coming from a large ardent sports family comprised of 7 girls and one boy, her childhood involved watching her elder sisters engage in different sports. This nurtured her zeal to venture into sports as well.
“I watched my sisters travel to Kampala for games, and come back and tell stories about their performances and how fun it was. So I was like oh if my sisters are doing this, I want to go and do it out there too.”
At the age of 8, she started playing sports.
“My family was very, supportive of sports. I remember as a child I was allowed to go out and play. Even when I got to high school, I had this independence, to pick up any sport I wanted to play.”
She thus tried her hand at different sports including soccer, cricket and softball.
“Eventually, I had to pick a particular sport that I had to play as I was growing up because it got hard juggling three sports in school. I chose cricket.”
Currently one of the most outstanding cricketers in Uganda, Janet’s relentlessness, passion, grit and hard work are undoubtedly paying off. In April 2019, she was named the vice-captain of Victoria Pearls and has represented her country in both local and international tournaments including the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 qualifiers, the 2019 ICC Women’s Qualifier Africa tournament in Zimbabwe, the Capricon Tri-Series in Namibia, among others.
In recognition of her tremendous contribution in cricket, Janet has been the recipient of several awards and recognition such as the 2019 USPA Award for Outstanding Player of the Year, and the MTN Outstanding Woman in Sports award. Most recently, she was nominated ‘ICC Player of the Month of April 2022 alongside England’s Natalia Sciver and T20 World Cup winner Alyssa Healy. Janet says this nomination served as a wake-up call to do and achieve better.
“I felt a lot of things, I was happy, excited, and a bit nervous, it felt scary as well, but the nomination to me was like a wake-up call. It was like ‘hey you’re a good player and you’re capable of achieving great things’. So I feel like I’ve been challenged to do even better to my teammates as well, because when they see my name up there, then they will do better.”
Janet is among the Victoria Pearls squad that was flagged off on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, by the National Council of Sports at Lugogo for the 2022 edition of the Kwibuka Women’s T20 tournament that will take place in Kigali Rwanda from June 9 to June 18.
While it’s exciting to represent her country in different tournaments, she, however, says it’s not always all roses. The immense pressure that comes with the media spotlight, her fellow teammates and the all consuming desire to make her team win can be challenging at times.
“I have recently learnt that pressure is a privilege, so I am learning to embrace it”
A pre-game self-care routine that involves listening to a lot of k-pop music and surrounding herself with positivity has also been a go-to remedy.
“I like to listen to music that I don’t understand. I just like to listen to the beat, temple and all. The sound of music helps me stay calm, especially before the game, and then when I get into the oval, I put on sunscreen and lip balm if it’s a sunny day and get my shoes on and then chat. I like to stay happy, I like to smile a lot so when I get to the field I like to stay around people who make me laugh, who make me smile, it’s another way that I cope with my pressure before the game.”
As Janet’s star continues to ascend, the success she has witnessed thus far has only whetted her appetite for more. She harbours ambitions to take her game to a professional and international level, and owing to the great impact sports has had on her life, Janet hopes to use her platform to inspire other African girls to join sports.
“I want to see a lot of young people playing cricket, especially the girls because sports has helped many of us express ourselves, showcase our talents financial or travel the world.
“Sports have helped a lot of girls stay out of trouble like early pregnancies, getting into drugs and all, because it keeps them productive. So I would want girls in Africa to consider playing sports.”
