Saturday was a day like no other for Bobby Kambarami. The Zimbabwean, who was in Lagos as a guest of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) during the just-concluded NCF Women’s T20i Invitational Tournament, was overwhelmed by sadness and joy as speakers at the event eulogized his late wife, Patricia, a former International Cricket Council (ICC) regional director.

The NCF Women’s T20i Invitational Tournament was named after his late wife, Patricia Kambarami, a former Regional Director at the International Cricket Council (ICC), who died in South Africa in 2024.

For Kambarami, it was a journey of discovery as he got to know more of the wife from strangers, who had only good things to say about the woman he lived with for 45 years.

Overwhelmed by joy, Kambarami openly confessed that he wished he had spent more time with the lady credited with lifting cricket in many parts of Africa.

Speaking with The Guardian at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, venue of the NCF tournament, Kambarami said coming to Nigeria has been an eye-opener: “I tell you, it has meant a lot of things to me. The first thing is that, when you have a wife, and you have lived for as long as I did, 45 years, and you’ve got three lovely children, who have gone to school and done very well, and you’re left with your wife, and you think you know your wife, but in reality, a lot of men do not really know their partners.

“I spent 45 years with my wife, before she passed on, and when she passed on, unexpectedly, I’ve since discovered and regret a lot of things that I think I should have picked up in my journey. There are so many times that I sit alone and wish I had done one or two things.

“Even to take my wife for dinner, I’m not saying I didn’t take her for dinner; but I’m saying I could have done it frequently. But not only that, a lot of times I could have smiled even better, but I did not, because of, you know, other things that come into play.

“But now, I go through this period where I’m lonely, I’m alone, and I discover that there was something very special about my wife. At that time, I just thought she was a lovely wife, but now the things that I’m picking up, that she has done, not for the family, but for outsiders, and her conviction and understanding of what life is all about amazes me.

“I was truly blessed to marry a woman who was full not only of compassion, but of loveliness, and I regret that the Almighty took her away.”

Kambarami said that he is surprised and shocked at the compliments he gets and the invitation that comes his way because of what his wife has done in African cricket.

“I’m so humbled, but also very appreciative of Cricket Nigeria for the fact that I was invited to come and witness a very peculiar tournament held for Patricia.”

Kambarami said the several honours he has received from different organisations due to his wife’s work in African cricket is consolation for his loss, adding that even his children encourage him to travel to fulfill these invitations.

“When I received an invitation from Cricket Nigeria to be with them on this particular day, I briefed my children, I am blessed with two sons and a daughter, and they all said, ‘Dad, you won’t ask us anything.’

Go and you’ll become a man. And I came here with that impression that they are 100 per cent behind me. I brief them on what transpires every day I’ve been here, and they’re overjoyed.

“So it is not only the occasion for me to smile and be happy about, but it has also been a special moment for the rest of the family and I thank Cricket Nigeria for this opportunity.

“Not only that, but to also say that, on my arrival here up to now, everybody who visits me or meets me is talking about how great Patricia was and what she did for her family, the companionship, the friendliness that she had, and I’m overjoyed and believe that this will continue for many more years.”

He prayed that Africa would one day achieve his wife’s dream of seeing the continent dominating world cricket.

Kambarami confessed that when his wife was alive, he sometimes got angry because of the attention she gave to cricket without realizing that one day her work in the sport would elevate him to a celebrity of sorts.

“She really believed that Nigeria’s cricket can rise to occasions where they come into the top eight in the world alongside South Africa, possibly Rwanda and one other country like Zimbabwe. Her dream was that Africa would dominate the cricket world and I believe that it is going to happen.”

He praised the NCF for the hospitality he has received since he arrived in Lagos, adding that his experience has opened his eyes to the beauty Africa possesses.

“Besides seeing what is happening in this tournament, they’ve taken me around, and this is actually my first trip to West Africa. I really look forward to coming to Nigeria. I’ll tell you frankly, I’ll come independently very soon to visit a little bit longer. And one thing I would like to learn very quickly is pidgin English. I love it.”