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Saturday Result

Fixture – Sunday, 10th April

Having lost by 8 wickets in the T20I Series opener against Nambia on Friday, the Cricket Cranes picked themselves up to stun The Eagles by 7 wickets on Saturday at the Trustco United Cricket Club Oval in Windhoek.

It was Uganda’s first T20 win over Namibia.

The three-match series decider will be played on Sunday afternoon at the same ground and the Cricket Cranes will be eager to double the act against the Namibians, who have already qualified for the T20 World Cup that will be staged in Australia later this year.

For Uganda to reach the coveted showpiece, the Cricket Cranes must fly to Zimbabwe in July and finish among the top two nations in the ICC T20 Global Qualifier B.

Cricket Cranes skipper Brian Masaba won the toss and asked the opposition to bat and rotated his bowlers well as Namibia limped to 75/3 after 11 overs.

However, Nabia captain Gerhard Erasmus set the park ablaze with an unbeaten century off just 47 balls to help Namibia set a commanding 177 for the loss of 4 wickets.

All-rounder Riazat Ali Shah stood out with the ball, registering 2 for 24 in 4 overs, and also anchored Uganda’s chase with an unbeaten 57 off 43.

Man of Match Dinesh Nakrani put the hosts to the sword with chance-less innings of 77 runs off 39 balls littered with eight fours and three maximums to give Uganda a deserved victory.

Early Arnold Otwani (16 off 10) and Kenneth Waiswa (24 off 24) laid the ground for Uganda.

In the series decider on Sunday, Cricket Cranes will once again be expected to throw the kitchen sink at the opposition, who are ranked 16th in the world whereas Uganda are nine places below at 25.

Match Summary
Namibia v Uganda | T20 | 2pm EAT, United Oval

Cricket Cranes will be looking to avoid a repeat of last year’s show where they lost to the Eagles of Namibia when they won both the T20 and 50 over series.

The team has since won the Pearl of Africa Series at home against Kenya and Nigeria and were also crowned T20 African champions later in the year in Kigali.

The Cricket Cranes make their second trip to Namibia and Coach Laurence Mahatlane takes the same principle to Namibia to test some of his promising talents and also see how far they are from ODI nations such as Namibia.

Juma Miyagi and Emmanuel Hasahya will get a chance at international cricket even though the former was at the U-19 World Cup.

The 1st T20 game will be played at the United Oval that Lawrence Ssematimba made his own in 2005 with a brilliant century aganist Namibia in the intercontinental cup.

Juma Miyagi may share the new ball with Cosmas Kyewuta or the tried and tested Richard Agamire may get the nod.

Simon Ssesazi could open batting with Arnold Otwani who this time doesn’t have the load of captaincy and keeping wickets.

Deus Muhumuza and Brian Masaba will marshal the middle order while Dinesh Nakrani and Riazat Ali Shah will come at the tail end.

Veteran Frank Nsubuga and left arm Henry Ssenyondo are the slow options for Brian Masaba.

Uganda is ranked 25th in the world and picking up a win aganist a 16th ranked Namibian side will earn them alot of ranking points.

The sides will play 3 t20s before switching to the 50 over games. The game will also have a live stream on Cricket Namibia Facebook page.

The National Cricket team – Cricket Cranes safely arrived at Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek ahead of their preparation series with Namibia.

The team had to endure two 7-hour flights and two 8-hour departure lounges plus one transit in Ethiopia to reach their desitnation.

According to Uganda Cricket Association, the team “came through unscathed after the strict 90-minute protocol at Immigration.”

This build-up tour is to help the Cricket Cranes prepare for the Challenge League B tournament in June and the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in July.

The Cricket Cranes will play three T20 games and two 50-over games and the tour will run from April 6th to 15th.

Full Contingent:

Squad

1. Brian Masaba (Captain), 2. Deus Muhumuza (Vice-Captain), 3. Dinesh Nakrani, 4. Riazat Ali Shah, 5. Kenneth Waiswa, 6. Fred Achelam, 7. Frank Nsubuga, 8. Arnold Otwani, 9. Henry Ssenyondo, 10. Cosmas Kyewuta, 11. Emmanuel Hasahya, 12. Simon Ssesazi, 13. Frank Akankwasa, 14. Richard Agamire, 15. Juma Miyagi.

Officials

1. Laurence Mahatlane (Head Coach), 2. Jackson Ogwang (Assistant Coach), 3. Shamim Nassali (Physiotherapist) 4. Alvin Mboijana Bagaya (Analyst), 5. Innocent Ndawula (Media Manager), 6. Jackson Kavuma (Team Manager)

Matches Breakdown

April 8 – T20 International:

April 9 – T20 International:

April 10 – T20 International:

April 12: 50-over Match

April 13: 50-over Match

Cricket Cranes will prepare for the second round of the Challenge League B with a tour to Namibia scheduled for 6th-13th April.

The team was flagged off on Monday and is expected to fly out in the wee hours of Wednesday for the tour at which they will play three T20 internationals and two fifty-over matches.

Last year, Namibia hosted the Cricket Cranes and swept all the games and Uganda’s head coach Lawrence Mahatlane believes this year’s tour will help gauge how far his side has come.

“This is going to be the highest team we have ever played in terms of ICC rankings. They’re ranked 16th in T20i and are already guaranteed a spot in the World Cup.

“We have the perfect chance to gauge where we are and it is going to be a good experience for the youngsters to experience some tough cricket. We want to see how far we have come in one year since we last played them,” Mahatlane said.

Young fast bowler Juma Miyagi who impressed at the U19 World Cup has been called up along with batter Emmanuel Hasahya.

“We have been preparing for this event for a while and I believe the boys are ready. The youngsters in the team have been equally exciting in the build-up and generally, we’re looking forward to a great year ahead,” added the South African coach.

The Team: 1. Brian Masaba (Captain), 2. Deus Muhumuza (Vice-Captain), 3. Dinesh Nakrani, 4. Riazat Ali Shah, 5. Kenneth Waiswa, 6. Fred Achelam, 7. Frank Nsubuga, 8. Arnold Otwani, 9. Henry Ssenyondo, 10. Cosmas Kyewuta, 11. Emmanuel Hasahya, 12. Simon Ssesazi, 13. Frank Akankwasa, 14. Richard Agamire, 15. Juma Miyagi.

Officials: 1. Laurence Mahatlane (Head Coach), 2. Jackson Ogwang (Assistant Coach), 3. Shamim Nassali (Physiotherapist) 4. Alvin Mboijana Bagaya (Analyst), 5. Innocent Ndawula (Media Manager), 6. Jackson Kavuma (Team Manager).

Janet Mbabazi, the youngest from a cricketing family, has gone on to play longer than her siblings who started the game before she did.

One of the brightest products of the Soroti Cricket Academy, Mbabazi learned her craft from Soroti competing for Olila High School.

She quickly established herself as an all-rounder moving to Jinja SSS for her A-levels and winning the Schools Cricket Week tournament with them.

Mbabazi made her debut for the U-19 Girls’ Team in 2010 and her performances caught the eye of the National Team (Victoria Pearls) coach she made her debut for the Victoria Pearls that same year.

Since then, Mbabazi has been one of the pillars of the national side as a batting all-rounder. She currently features for Soroti Challengers in the Women’s National League.

She was named season MVP for the 2019 season and was also named USPA Female Cricketer of the Year in 2019.

Janet Mbabazi runs between wickets during a Women’s Elite League game.

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Aziz Damani will start their quest for a fourth successive National Men’s 50 Over League title against SKLPS this weekend.

The side has dominated the last three seasons, winning the title unbeaten on all three occasions.

The champions will be starting their campaign against SKLPS, a side that is rooted at the bottom of the top division.

This season could be a big test for Aziz Damani after the league organizing committee introduced the rule of allowing teams to have only four national team players in their matchday XI.

Damani had to let go of players such as Brian Masaba, Fred Achelam and Frank Nsubuga. They will also be without national team batter Saud Islam who is out of the country. They have however added U-19 World Cup stars Juma Miyagi and Cyrus Kakuru as well as Dinesh Nakrani to their side which still makes them favourites.

Given in the strength in the side, Aziz Damani should not have trouble going past SKLPS with challenging games yet to come.

Division 2

At the Lakeside Oval in Entebbe, it will be an Aziz Damani affair as the two development sides in the second division battle each other.

The more senior of the two, Aziz Damani Development, is leading the Division 2 table and they will show any mercy to their brothers in their quest for promotion to the top flight.

They are the form team of the division having won all their three games so far and this fixture should be their fourth in a row if form is anything to go by.

Fixtures | Sunday, 27th March

As the Women’s National T20 League heads into the business end, Aziz Damani sits comfortably at
the top of the table having dropped no point.

Soroti Challengers moved into second with back-to-back wins last weekend and are four points behind the leaders with Olila Cricket Club and Wanderers in 3rd and 4th respectively tied on the same number of points.

However, Olila Cricket Club could move into second place on Saturday if they pick up two wins
against Pioneer at the Lakeside Oval in Entebbe.

Pioneer failed to go past Soroti Challengers at the same ground last weekend but they face a different challenge as they take on a very young agile Olila Cricket Club.

Olila is one of the most disciplined bowling sides in the league this year and Pioneer batters will have to work hard to score runs.

Kenyan international Abel Queentor has not yet lit up the show for Pioneer Cricket Club but her experience and character could be something the team can count on especially once she gets the fortune she needs.

Meanwhile, at the University Oval in Kyambogo, Wanderers are back in action and they face a side that
has not won a single game in the tournament.

Wanderers looked like challengers to the title after starting so well but losses to Olila and Aziz Damani derailed their charge and slipped them down into fourth.

Tornado Bee is their second last game before finishing the season against Soroti Challengers and they will be looking at finishing high on the table.

Fixtures | Saturday, 26th March

Wanderers Cricket Club was on track again after winning their 3rd game in a row in the 2022 National 50 Over League in Kamengo.

The outfit upstaged Ceylon Lions in their own backyard to remain top of the log after winning by 5 wickets.

Ceylon Lions were asked to bat after Wanderers won the toss and they failed to deal with Frank Nsubuga whose 10 overs had 7 maidens for 4 runs.

The Cranes star got support from Zubair Tembo (2/23) and Davis Karashani (3/3) who picked up a hattrick, a first for the season.

Ceylon Lions were bundled out for just 47 with Brian Masaba also picking 2 maidens and 2 wickets. In the chase, Wanderers lost 5 wickets.

Brian Masaba – Wanderers CC

At Kyambogo, Tornado Bee and ACC couldn’t be separated as both sides, at the end of 50 overs, had identical scores.

Tornado Bee, in their first game of the season, won the toss and elected to bat first with all-rounder Jonathan Ssebanja (73) anchoring the run-scoring to help me post a competitive 222/7 in their 50 overs.

In the chase, ACC looked like they were struggling at 127/7 in 29 overs but an 8th wicket partnership between Emmanuel Odeng (39) and Sadam Oyaga (42) rescued the game for ACC to force a draw.

In Entebbe, Aziz Damani Development picked up their 3rd win of the season and it keeps them on top of the Division 2 table.

Fixtures | Saturday, March 19

Soroti Challengers seek to continue their winning ways on Saturday when they take on Pioneer Cricket Club.

The ladies in pink have won just one game this season against Tornado Bee and lost to Wanderers.

Their opponents Soroti Challengers lost to favourites Aziz Damani in their opening game of the season but managed to overcome Tornado Bee last weekend.

Soroti Challengers will be relying on the experience of senior players Kevin Awino, Naomi Kayondo, Evelyn Anyipo, and Captain Janet Mbabazi to secure maximum points.

Pioneer Cricket Club also has experience running through their side led by Captain Carol Namugenyi, Barbara Mukankusi, Leona Babirye, and their Kenyan imports Queentor Abel and Daisy Wairumu.

Soroti Challengers need to win if they are to stay in touch with table leaders Aziz Damani while Pioneer can finish high above the table if they pick up a win against Soroti Challengers.

At Lugogo, Phiona Kulume will be leading Olila Cricket Club against Tornado Bee. Tornado Bee, the only side yet to win a game this season, will be in search of their first win against a youthful Olila Cricket Club.

Olila Cricket Club has managed to pick up a single win against Wanderers and Tornado Bee will need to be at their best to pick up at least a win from the doubleheader.

With Wanderers requiring victory to remain top of the National Men’s 50 over league, the management has acquired the services of veteran off-spin bowler Frank Nsubuga.

The second oldest indigenous entity will be walking out against Ceylon Lions in their first league game at the Serenity Oval Kamengo as the two unbeaten sides faceoff. 

Nsubuga was one of the players who were released by Aziz Damani after the league management enforced the only four national team players per club rule. 

He will join his Cricket Cranes captain and Aziz Damani comrade Brian Masaba at Wanderers as the tides change in the competitiveness of the League.

Nsubuga returns to a club he started playing cricket and he reunites with one of his idols Sam Walusimbi who is the coach of Wanderers.

Ceylon Lions have won both their games this season against Challengers and ACC while Wanderers have defeated ACC and SKLPS.

Abu Seguya, the captain for Wanderers, has been in prolific form with the bat and he will need to contribute with the blade if Wanderers are to walk away with victory.