Queentor Abel
Queentor Abel | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 6, 1997 Kenya |
| Occupation | Cricketer |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | Captain of the Kenya women's national cricket team |
Queentor Abel (born 6 October 1997) is a Kenyan cricketer who currently leads the Kenya women's national cricket team as captain. She is recognized as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm offbreak.
Uganda
Abel has been representing Pioneer in the women's domestic league overseen by the Uganda Cricket Association since 2017. In her inaugural season, she earned the MVP award after accumulating 239 runs and claiming seven wickets across five matches. During the 2018 final, she contributed an unbeaten 33 runs and took 2/30, although Pioneer was defeated by Olila High by five wickets.
In March 2022, Abel delivered exceptional performances in consecutive games against Olila at Entebbe, scoring 44 runs and taking 5/17 in the first match, followed by four additional wickets in the subsequent game, guiding Pioneer to two wins.
Kenya
From July to September 2021, Abel served as captain of the Nelion Knights competing in the Kenya Ladies’ Nairobi Province Cricket Association (NPCA) League.
As of that period, Kenya did not have a formal national women's domestic league; however, initiatives to launch one were in progress.
2014–18: Early years
Abel made her international debut for Kenya at the 2014 ICC Africa Women's T20 Championship held in Benoni, South Africa, in December 2014. She batted in three matches but did not reach double figures and did not bowl. In June 2015, she took part in Kenya's first appearance at the Kwibuka T20 Tournament in Kigali, Rwanda, where Kenya achieved its inaugural tournament victory; Abel’s highest score was an unbeaten 46 against Rwanda. During the 2016 ICC Women's Qualifier Africa in April 2016, her top score was 10 runs versus Uganda.
Returning for the 2017 Kwibuka T20 Tournament, Abel helped Kenya secure another title by scoring 40 runs and taking 3/8 against Rwanda. Later that year at the 2017 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier held in Namibia, she led Kenya’s batting with a top score of 24 and took 2/14 against Uganda. In the playoff match against Uganda, she remained unbeaten on 36 runs but Kenya narrowly lost.
In 2018, Kenya claimed their third Kwibuka T20 Tournament championship. Abel played a pivotal role by taking 2/20 and scoring an unbeaten 37 against Uganda U19, acting as interim captain against Rwanda, and securing figures of 3/13 in another match versus Uganda U19.
2019–present: WT20I era
Abel made her Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) debut on 6 April 2019 for Kenya against Zimbabwe during the Victoria Tri-Series in Kampala, Uganda—Kenya’s first ever WT20I match. On the same day, despite Kenya losing by 34 runs to Uganda, she earned player of the match honors for her bowling figures of 5/18.
She finished the Tri-Series as Kenya’s leading wicket-taker with the best bowling average and ranked third both in total runs and batting average. Additionally, Abel was one of two Kenyan players named to the Team of the Tournament and was credited with taking the catch of the series.
Abel was not included in Kenya's squad for the 2019 ICC Women's Qualifier Africa held in Harare. In December of that year, she featured in a seven-match bilateral WT20I series against Botswana in Gaborone; initially planned as a tri-series before Namibia’s withdrawal. Kenya won four matches to one with two games abandoned; Abel’s best bowling performance was 3/13 while her highest score was 23.
After a pandemic-related break, Kenya resumed WT20I competition at the Kwibuka Women's T20 Tournament in June 2021, capturing their fourth title. Abel made significant contributions including an unbeaten 35 against Botswana and receiving player of the match awards for innings of 40 and an unbeaten 47 against Nigeria and Rwanda respectively, also claiming 2/17 in the latter game. Although her impact was less pronounced during semi-final and final victories, she was named player of the tournament with cumulative totals of 165 runs scored, seven wickets taken, and five catches.
In January 2022, Abel represented Kenya at the Commonwealth Games Cricket Qualifier held in Kuala Lumpur. Highlights included bowling figures of 3/14 against Bangladesh and top-scoring with 33 runs off 53 balls against Sri Lanka. Despite her efforts, Kenya lost all their matches and finished last; Sri Lanka won the tournament with Bangladesh as runners-up.