Ronald Lutaaya was the star of the show at Lugogo Cricket Oval on Sunday after he blasted 116 runs off 65 balls, helping Itanda Kayakers beat Bujagali Rafters by 29 runs in the final of the Men’s Waterfalls T20 League.

Lutaaya’s 116 runs comprised 15 boundaries, 9 Sixes and 6 Fours. It was the first century of the four-day tournament and it was only fitting for the Aziz Damani and Cricket Cranes star to be named player of the match and as well as player of the tournament.

He shared the moment with his mother Deziranta Namigadde and the fans.

“I’m very excited about this. It has not been easy, it has been a journey that I attribute to hard work. I’m happy that we won as a team, the century is a bonus,” Lutaaya said.

Lutaaya was bowled out after he reached 116 runs off 65 balls. Pius Oloka ensured that Lutaaya became Kayakers’ second wicket to fall down after Anas Baig (27 runs) but it was clear that Bujagali Rafters would have a hard chase in their innings. Riazat Ali Shah posted 25 runs.

For Bujagali Rafters, Munir Ismael was the standout player with 43 runs off 26 balls (4 Fours and 2 Sixes). He was ran out by Riazat Ali Shah and Ignace Ntirenganya.

Skipper Brian Masaba, also the national team captain, came close with 33 runs off 24 balls and once he was bowled out by Bilal Hassan, it was almost game over for the Rafters.

Roger Mukasa (38 runs) and Robinson Obuya (26 runs) were the other players to manage double figures for the Rafters.

The Water Falls T20 League Women’s Edition
FINAL: RESULT
Sipi Trekkers v Itanda Kayakers
Sipi Trekkers 98/8
Itanda Kayakers 76 all out
Sipi Trekkers won by 21 runs
Player of the Match: Janet Mbabazi
Full scorecard link: https://cricclubs.com/viewScorecard.do?&matchId=1713&clubId=5335

Sipi Trekkers emerged winners of the third edition of the women’s Elite League after defending only 98 runs to be crowned champions.

Itanda Kayakers won the toss and elected to bowl 1st. Itanda had gotten most of their wins by chasing down totals and after restricting Sipi Trekkers to only 98.

Itanda used slow bowlers up front which worked wonders for them with the runs only coming later on when the quick bowlers came into the attack.

In the chase Itanda Kayakers lost their top order very cheaply and take left them chasing the game for a long time, this gave Sipi Trekkers the opportunity to tighten the noose for just 76.

Janet Mbabazi led Sipi Trekkers from the front as team captain with a sound all-around performance in the final that earned her the player of the match award.

Sipi Trekkers coming 1st ahead of Itanda Kayakers and Bujjagali Rafters, Proscovia Alako taking home a total of 300k for her two players of the match awards and MVP crown.

The men’s edition of the Waterfalls T20 league will start this week on Thursday.

Victoria Pearls will head into 2023 with a lot of opportunities on the table for playing more Cricket after impressing in 2022.

Their 1st engagement to Namibia was early in 2022 with players such as Phiona Khulume, Sarah Akiteng, Susan Kakai, Shakira Shadiq, and Leona Babirye featuring for the team.

Victoria Pearls lost all games in the Tri-Nation Series that had Namibia and Zimbabwe. However, positives were picked by the team with Phiona Khulume and Sarah Akiteng making an impression and Janet Mbabazi also delivering with bat and ball.

They toured Asia for the first time with a trip to Nepal for 5 T20I matches. Ugandans won 3 games on the bounce and climbed back to 19th from 21st in the World rankings.

Uganda made a return to the Kwibuka after missing 2021 due to Covid and two losses to Tanzania and Kenya in the groups hurt their chances of making the finals and eventually having to settle for a 3rd place finish.

The end-of-year four-nation tournament in Nairobi saw the girls win their second silverware in the year. The Victoria Pearls defeated neighbours Kenya and Tanzania.

Janet Mbabazi had another fine all-round performance scooping the Player of the tournament award. The return of Immaculate Nakisuyi, Stephanie Nampiina, Irene Alumo, Proscovia Alako and Esther Iloku boosted the squad.

In 2023, Victoria Pearls will make a maiden appearance at the All Africa Games in Ghana in August and the all-important 2024 T20 World Cup qualifiers that will be held in June.

The experience gained by new players such as Khulume and Akiteng plus the form of Mbabazi makes the Victoria Pearls are more improved side with the experience of Nakisuyi and Alumo.

Victoria Pearls’ captain Consy Aweko finished 2022 as the highest wicket-taker in Women’s Cricket with 40 scalps. Aweko is the very quiet customer who does all the talking with the ball and has grown into the leadership role.

Three Uganda National team Women’s Cricket team players captain Consy Aweko, Janet Mbabazi and Sarah Akiteng have been on the 2022 Women’s Criczone Team of the Year.

The trio starred in Uganda’s tours to Namibia, Nepal, Kwibuka in Rwanda and the Kenya Quadrangular Series where they finished winners.

Mbabazi was named player of the tournament for all the rounds of the tournaments played while Consy picked the most wickets overall.

Akiteng who debuted on the team this year also amassed the third most number of wickets in T20I in the whole world this year.

“Uganda’s Concy Aweko to lead, Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham to open & UAE’s Theertha Satish will take gloves,” Women’s Criczone tweeted.

Uganda's Concy Aweko to lead, Thailand's Natthakan Chantham to open & UAE's Theertha Satish will take gloves 🏏

Here's our Associate Team of the Year ⤵️#CricketTwitter | #GoodBye2022 | #NewYear pic.twitter.com/5qjaaNpiyA

— Women’s CricZone (@WomensCricZone) December 31, 2022

🇺🇬's Consy Aweko and Janet Mbabazi are the leading wicket-takers of 2022 in T20Is 🙌

Check out who follows them ⤵️#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/k2NepFZolY

— Women’s CricZone (@WomensCricZone) December 27, 2022

Match 10: Uganda v Tanzania

Match Summary:

Uganda 183/5

Tanzania 176 all out

Uganda won by 7 runs

The Cricket Cranes won the Tri-Nation T20 tournament in Kigali after picking up their 8th win of the series but Tanzania made it tough for them.

Bilal Hassun delivered on the final over with 11 runs required for the win and Tanzania had only two wickets in hand.

The experienced Bilal Hassun uprooted the stumps of Metha Atul and the final wicket of Maurice Yalinde.

Simon Ssesazi became the 1st Ugandan batter to score a T20I century as he helped Uganda score 183/5 in their 20 overs.

Cyrus Kakuru (38) finally got some runs under his belt as he repaired some damage with Simon Ssesazi that had been caused by the loss of early wickets.

In response, Tanzania came out guns blazing especially the blade of Ivan Suleiman who scored 39 off 15 balls to set off Tanzania.

Tanzania coming close for the second time in the tournament after a marginal loss of 2 runs in game 5 and this time falling short by 7 runs.

The win meant that no one can catch Uganda at the top of the table and therefore win the Tri-Nation T20 Cup.

Match 4: Uganda W v Tanzania

Tanzania 116/8

Uganda 102/8

Tanzania won by 12 runs

The Victoria Pearls lost their 1st match at the Kenya Women’s T20I tournament losing by 12 runs against Tanzania in the Kenya Quadrangular T20I series on Saturday.

Uganda won the toss and elected to bowl 1st. Victoria Pearls came off three consecutive wins because of their opening bowling combination of Irene Alumo and Evelyn Anyipo.

Tanzania finished on 116 and in the chase, Uganda lost the steady Kevin Awino early but Janet Mbabazi (33) got a promotion to number 3 and held the Uganda innings together.

Uganda kept losing wickets though and even though Rita Musamali (24) tried to amass as many for the possible win, the Pearls were short by 12 runs.

Uganda lost by 12 runs and will blame themselves for gifting Tanzania 16 extras which in the end made the difference.

The Victoria Pearls will be in action tomorrow as they take old enemy Kenya. The winner of this clash will be sure to play in the final.

Match 3: Uganda W v Tanzania W

Match Summary:

Tanzania 73 all out

Uganda 74/4

Uganda won by 6 wickets

The Victoria Pearls finished the 1st round of the Kenya Women’s T20 Tournament unbeaten after defeating tournament favorites Tanzania by 6 wickets.

Uganda won the toss and elected to bowl 1st a decision that has been working for them from the two previous wins.

Irene Alumo gave away just 9 runs in her 3 overs including a wicket, Sarah Akiteng (1/8) in 4 overs and Captain Consy Aweko (1/12) making sure the Tanzanians don’t get away as they were all out for just 73.

Victoria Pearls chased with Proscovia Alako and Gloria Obukor going quickly but a 28-run partnership between Janet Mbabazi (17) and Kevin Awino (10) steadied the ship before Immaculate Nakisuyi (16) and Stephanie Nampiina (10) finished the job.

Tanzania is ranked 16th in the World while Uganda is ranked 20th. The girls take a break and will be back in action on Saturday against Tanzania in the morning.

Match 3: Uganda v Rwanda

Match Summary:

Uganda 168/9

Rwanda 35/9

Uganda won by 133 runs

Match 4: Uganda v Tanzania

Uganda 169/9

Tanzania 156/9

Uganda won by 13 runs

Roger Mukasa was the star of the show as Cricket Cranes claimed a close 13-run win over Tanzania in their second game of Thursday.

89 from 62 balls, a knock that included 13 fours and two maximums was a delight to watch from Mukasa that has been desperate for a big knock.

Mukasa had fallen out of favor and a quick return to the side for the Global T20 Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in July never helped his cause.

He fell in the final over of the innings but his anchoring helped Uganda get to 169/9 after he batted with nearly everyone.

Tanzania pushed Uganda in the afternoon encounter especially after Ivan Suleiman decided to take on the quick bowlers Cosmas Kyewuta and Juma Miyagi.

Tanzania reached a point with 49 required from 18 balls and took matters into their hands, in the end, running out of resources with 13 runs still required.

In the morning game, Uganda crawled to 168/9 in their 20 overs, with no real stand-out contributions with the bat apart from Simon Ssesazi (35) and Pascal Murungi (22) plus a late cameo from Bilal Hassun (20) got them to a good total.

Match Summary:

Game One: Uganda v Rwanda

Uganda 185/9 (20 overs)

Rwanda 100 all out

Uganda won by 85 runs

Game Two: Uganda v Tanzania

Tanzania 48/9

Matched washed out

The Cricket Cranes narrowly missed walking away with two victories on the second match day of the East African T20 Tri-Nation.

Uganda had comprehensively dealt with Rwanda defeating the hosts by 85 runs but a late afternoon shower washed out the clash with Tanzania at 41/9.

In the clash against Rwanda, Coach Laurence Mahatlane handed T20I debuts to Ronald Lutaaya and Cyrus Kakuru with the former scoring a half-century on debut.

Lutaaya walked in after just two balls but he was relentless in his approach scoring all over the ground for a well played 64 off 36 balls.

Apart from Simon Ssesazi (34) the rest of the top order didn’t have any other double-digit and a late flourish from Frank Nsubuga (31 not out) and Captain Brian Masaba (29) helped Uganda to 185/9.

However, the approach from the Cricket Cranes wasn’t their usual consolidation early on and the team reached the 100 mark inside 9 overs, Rwanda restricting them to 185 in the end.

In response, local hero Orichide Tuyisenge (66) took the game to Uganda with some counter-attacking strokes and he was the only shining star in the Rwandan batting.

Joseph Baguma exploited the turning Gahanga wicket to claim his best T20I bowling figures of 4/14 which also earned him the player of the match award. Uganda gave away 100 runs but collected the win by 85 runs.

In the afternoon, Tanzania won the toss and decided to bat 1st, a decision that they would regret as Uganda ripped through their top order thanks to Cosmas Kyewuta (1/13) and Juma Miyagi (3/12).

The spin duo of Frank Nsubuga (2/4) and Henry Ssenyondo (3/12) ensured Tanzania was railing at 48/9 when the heavens opened.

The sides will be back in action tomorrow for Match Day 3 at the Gahanga. Uganda will take on Rwanda in the morning and then Tanzania in the afternoon.

Match Summary: Uganda W vs Qatar W

• Qatar 54 All out
• Uganda 55/3
• Uganda won by 7 wickets

Victoria Pearls picked their second win against Qatar at the Kenya Women’s T20 Tournament in Nairobi on Wednesday.

The team registered an 8-wicket win against Kenya, Uganda having won the toss and elected to field first.

Irene Alumo impressed (3/3) in her quota of four overs with Consy Aweko (2/13) and Sarah Akiteng (2/7) coming in handy, Qatar finishing on 54.

For the second game in a row Kevin Awino (21 not out) delivered as Uganda knocked off the required inside 10 overs with Vice Captain Janet Mbabazi (23) chipping in with a handy knock.

The Victoria Pearls will now face Tanzania in their next game tomorrow morning.