Cricket Uganda has named a strong Victoria Pearls side to feature at the 10^th edition of Kwibuka Tournament in Kigali, Rwanda from May 30^th – June 8^th.

The annual ladies’ tournament hosted by the Rwanda Cricket Association which has grown in international stature since 2014 has attracted eight teams this year with Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Malawi set to feature for the first time.

The other teams include hosts Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana and Nigeria. Uganda and Kenya have each won the tournament three times with the hosts Rwanda the defending champions. 

The Victoria Pearls squad for the tournament is a balance of experience and youth with an eye on the U-19 World Cup Qualifiers later this year. The squad of 14 players features six players who are U-19 and will need the exposure at the Kwibuka to be game-ready for the qualifiers.

The baby Victoria Pearls technical team of Head Coach Yusuf Nanga, Assistant Coach Ivan Kakande and Team Manager Lelia Namaganda will be part of the contingent to have a look at the other teams.

Uganda last won the Kwibuka in 2016 and were on the wrong end of the result last year against Rwanda.

Zimbabwe will pose a new challenge for the teams but Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda are all hungry for success.

The tournament has international T20i status therefore teams will be looking for ranking points as well.

The Team: Janet Mbabazi (Captain), Rita Musamali, Consy Aweko, Kevin Awino, Stephanie Nampiina, Immaculate Nakisuyi, Sarah Walaza, Malisa Ariokot, Lorna Anyait, Patricia Timong, Akurut Asumin, Proscovia Alako, Jimia Muhammad, Immaculate Nandera, 

Team Officials: Lawrence Ssematimba (Head Coach), Yusuf Nanga, Ivan Kakande, Lelia Namaganda Ondeko (Team Manager) 

Uganda’s Kwibuka Fixtures 

Date	Match	Time	Venue
30/05/2024	Uganda W v Botswana W	14:30	Gahanga Main Oval
31/05/2024	Uganda W v Nigeria W	11:00	Gahanga B
1/6/2024	Uganda W v Zimbabwe W	15:00	Gahanga B
3/6/2024	Uganda W v Malawi W	10:30	Gahanga Main Oval
4/6/2024	Uganda W v Kenya W	11:00	Gahanga B
5/6/2024	Uganda W v Rwanda W	14:30	Gahanga Main Oval
7/6/2024	Uganda W v Cameroon	11:00	Gahanga B
08/06/2024	FINAL	14:30	Gahanga Main Oval

Match Summary

• Uganda W 62 all out (17.4/20 overs)
• Thailand W 64/1 (11.3/20 overs)
• Thailand won by 9 wickets

Victoria Pearls’ second defeat at the Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi means Uganda will not qualify for the global showpiece.

The Ugandans needed to win to stay in the hunt for a semifinal place but the nine-wicket defeat means there is no room for error in the last group game against favourites Sri Lanka.

Thailand won the toss and elected to have Uganda bat first under the lights. The Thai team was mean and disciplined with their bowling which limited the run scoring for the Ugandans.

Openers Proscovia Alako and Immaculate Nakisuyi had a good start but failed to continue falling in quick session.

Skipper Janet Mbabazi (14) got off to a good start but once she lost her wicket, there was no batting challenge from the Ugandans with the final six wickets falling for 24 to finish on 62 all out inside 18 overs as Rita Musamali (23) played a lone hand.

In the run chase, Thailand were never troubled with just three runs needed per over for them to get over the win.

The bowling which has often saved the day for the team never put the choke hold on the run scoring with Thailand getting to the finishing line inside 12 overs with only one wicket lost along the way.

The defeat all but ends Victoria Pearls journey to the World Cup unless they find a way against Sri Lanka in their final group game on Wednesday while also hoping for favours elsewhere.

Uganda drop to fourth in Group A behind leaders Sri Lanka, Scotland and Thailand in second and third respectively.

Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) has announced Victoria Pearls’ squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers slated for April 19 to May 2 in Abu Dhabi.

There is only one change to the team that played at the African Games last month with Immaculate Nandera making way for top-order batter Proscovia Alako.

There has also been a change in leadership of the team with Janet Mbabazi elevated to Captain and Rita Musamali taking up the Vice Captain role. Mbabazi who had been Vice Captain of the side since 2017 replaces Consy Aweko who was in the role from 2022.

Uganda is in Group A alongside Sri Lanka, the USA, Scotland and Thailand.

The games against Scotland and Thailand will be played at night which will be a first-time experience for the Ugandans.

Before the tournament, Victoria Pearls are expected to play a couple of warm-up games against the UAE and Vanuatu.

The Full Squad: Janet Mbabazi (Captain), Rita Musamali (Vice Captain), Consy Aweko, Kevin Awino, Stephanie Nampiina, Immaculate Nakisuyi, Evelyn Anyipo, Sarah Akiteng, Phionah Khulume, Proscovia Alako, Gloria Obukor, Esther Iloku, Lorna Anyait, Malissa Ariokot, Sarah Walaza.

The Group Fixture

Date	Matches	Venue	Time
25/04/2024	Uganda W vs Scotland W	Tolerance Oval	Night
27/04/2024	Uganda W vs USA W	ZCS	Day
29/04/2024	Uganda W vs Thailand W	Tolerance Oval	Night
01/05/2024	Uganda W vs Sri Lanka W	ZCS	Day

Cricket Cranes opening batters Simon Ssesazi and Roger Mukasa powered Uganda to a 142-run win over Ghana in their second at the African Games on Monday.

Uganda’s captain Brian Masaba won the toss and elected to bat and the pair of Ssesazi and Mukasa hit Ghana’s bowlers all over the ground for an opening stand of 160 runs.

Mukasa (69) notched his second century at the games while Ssesazi blasted 90 runs off 50 balls as Uganda set a very competitive 194/5 in their 20 runs.

Ghana’s run chase never got going as spinner Alpesh Ramjani 2/6 threw ropes around the hosts’ batters and got support from Henry Ssenyondo 2/18 and pacer Juma Miyagi 3/10.

Ghana were eventually limited to 73 all out as Cricket Cranes registered their second win in the group having beaten Kenya on Sunday.

The team takes a break today and returns to action on Wednesday for the final group game against South Africa.

Cricket Cranes got off to a winning start at the African Games, claiming a 72-run victory over East African rivals Kenya in the opener on Sunday.

Uganda’s captain Brian Masaba won the toss and elected to bat first. The start was far from convincing but opener Roger Mukasa (59) stuck in and steadied the ship.

In holding Uganda’s innings together, Mukasa reached a milestone of 1000 T20i runs with his fourth T20i half-century and he became the third Ugandan batter to get 1000 T20i runs. The other two are Simon Ssesazi and Riazat Ali Shah.

Dinesh Nakrani (43) and Cosmas Kyewuta (17) came in handy at the back to help the Cricket Cranes set a competitive 169/7 in their 20 overs.

In the run chase, it was only Rakeep Patel 42(35) who gave Kenya before he was trapped lbw by Bilal Hassun 2/14. Rakeep’s departure triggered the collapse with Kenya’s last six wickets only scoring 20 runs to be cleaned out for 97.

Alpesh Ramjani 4/17 was the pick of Uganda’s bowlers

Uganda will face Ghana tomorrow while South Africa take on Kenya.

Uganda’s national women’s cricket team, Victoria Pearls will play for bronze at the 13th African Games on Wednesday when they take on Nigeria.

The Victoria Pearls failed to go past South Africa in the semifinals as they fell to a huge 50-run defeat on Monday afternoon.

Consy Aweko won the toss and asked South Africa to bat but her decision was not backed in the field as the team conceded many singles and didn’t use the half chances.

South Africa managed to score 122 runs in their 20 over despite losing four wickets, one of which was Aweko’s 100th in WT20i.

The run chase for Uganda didn’t get off to a good start as Immaculate Nakisuyi went for cheap. Gloria Abukor and Esther Iloku tried to keep up with the scoring rate with some good running between the wickets but the boundaries didn’t come as the asking rate kept climbing.

Just after the power play, Uganda couldn’t hold and lost three wickets for cheap dropping to 33/4 and from thereon, the mountain became so high for the rest of the line-up eventually getting cleaned out at 72.

Nigeria who are Uganda’s opponents in the bronze medal match lost to Zimbabwe.

Uganda’s Victoria Pearls suffered a four-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in their second game at the African Games on Friday afternoon at the Achimota Complex, Ghana.

Zimbabwe won the toss and put Victoria Pearls to the bat but the Ugandans never got going as they were cleaned out for 72.

While the Lady Chevrons didn’t pick many early wickets save for Gloria Abukor who went in the third over, the Zimbabweans were happy to register dot balls as the Victoria Pearls struggled with the bat.

Only Immaculate Nakisuyi 17(40) and Ritah Musamali 13(20) reached double-digit run-scoring.

In the defense of the small total, Victoria Pearls did pretty well to stay in the game despite picking their first wicket courtesy of Janet Mbabazu with 35 runs on the board for Zimbabwe.

Musamali and Nakisuyi would puck the next four wickets as what seemed an easy chase turned into a contest as Zimbabwe needed 16 runs off the final three overs.

Nakisuyi conceded 6 runs in the 17th, Mbabazi conceded 5 in the next despite picking the wicket of Nyasha Gwanzura and skipper Consy Aweko had to defend 4 in the final over but started with two wides and defeat was eminent for the Ugandans.

The teams will take Saturday off and Uganda will return to action on Sunday against Rwanda.

Match Summary: Uganda Women vs. Omtex ICWC

• Omtex ICWC 67/9
• Uganda 68/4

Uganda won by 6 wickets

Victoria Pearls were devastating with the ball as they picked up an empathetic victory against Omtex ICWC on their training Tour to India ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Sarah Walaza (3/4) opened the bowling and had good control with the new ball conceding just for runs her quarter of overs.

Skipper Consy Aweko (3/5) and Sarah Akiteng (3/14) ensured that there was no comeback for the hosts who finished on 67/9 in their 20 overs.

In the chase, Gloria Obukor who knocked a half-century against Zimbabwe did not stay for long but her opening partner Immaculate Nakisuyi (21) found her grove with a calculated knock and got support from Rita Musamali (12 not out) who knocked off the winning runs.

Esther Iloku (10) and Janet Mbabazi (11) had double-digit scores in between as Uganda registered a six-wicket win.

The Victoria Pearls will play their final tour game tomorrow (Friday) against the same side before returning to Uganda.

Cricket Cranes suffered two defeats to National Cricket Club in their first two T20 games on Friday as their Training Tour to India got underway.

The two games showed the Cricket Cranes have a lot of work to do with their bowling and fielding as they failed to defend 166 runs in the first game and 188 in the afternoon.

In the first game, Ronald Lutaaya marked a return to the national team colours with a solid half-century, knocking 52 runs off just 33 balls in some aggressive batting. Kenneth Waiswa (26) and Robinson Obuya (21) came in handy as Uganda set 166 for a loss of six wickets.

However, Cricket Cranes failed to control their destiny with the ball as the home side scored freely and easily to ensure that they stayed with the required rate. Kenneth Waiswa (3/5) was the pick of the bowlers but his efforts couldn’t stop the home side from closing out the win by two wickets.

In the afternoon game, Roger Mukasa stepped up and a scored magnificent half-century, blasting 64 runs off 42 balls. He found support from Ronald Lutaaya (37) as the Cricket Cranes finished on 180/8 in their 20 overs.

The hosts (National Cricket Club) were brutal in the run chase finding the boundaries and gaps regularly as they kept up with the required rate and in the end, they got over the line in a clinical fashion winning by seven wickets.

Jackson Ogwang’s. charges again failed with the ball but should take lots of positives from the performance of the batters, especially the very positive strike rates of each batter.

Match Summary: Uganda vs Kenya

• Uganda 186/8
• Kenya 95 all out
• Uganda won by 91 runs

Uganda’s Cricket Cranes have defended the ACA T20 Africa Cup after defeating Kenya by 91 runs on Tuesday.

In the final played at Willowmoore Park in Benoni, South Africa, Kenya won the toss and asked Cricket Cranes to bat first.

Uganda started aggressively with Simon Ssesazi and Roger Mukasa going for 18 in the opening over to show intent. Ssesazi went for four boundaries before he was caught out.

Mukasa and Riazat Ali Shah las long but the innings were kept together by Robinson Obuya who blasted 57off 38 balls.

With significant contributions coming from Dinesh Nakrani (29), Kenneth Waiswa (17), Alpesh Ramjan (19) and Bilal Hassun (18), Cricket Cranes set a commanding 186 for loss of eightwickets.

In the chase of the total, Kenya failed to get going with the required rate going up with every over.

Henry Ssenyondo 4/20 was the pick of the bowlers with Nakrani 2/18, Hassun 2/21 and Kenneth Waiswa 1/13 cleaning up the rest of the wickets.

Uganda ran out as winners by 91 runs in a one-sided final to fretain the cup.