Cricket Cranes go for perfect bowl off

 In varying proportions, the senior national men’s cricket team got a new status globally after they debuted at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean back in June.

The Cricket Cranes flew at new heights, setting a new benchmark for the future. There is a small window to qualify for the 2027 ICC ODI (One Day International) World Cup too.

And that journey begins on Wednesday at home. How sweet but nervous! Uganda will play host to the first round of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League (CWCCL) B tournament beginning with a fixture against Singapore at Lugogo Oval.

The CWCCL B has six teams including Bahrain, Hong Kong, Italy and Tanzania and after three rounds in 2026, the top two teams advance in the road to the ODI World Cup.

In the previous road to the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, Uganda fell short in the same route under the guise of Kenyan Steve Tikolo and then South African Laurence Mahatlane.

Now the Cricket Cranes have undergone changes over the past year, ushering in Indian coach Abhay Sharma and then recently Riazat Ali Shah taking over the captaincy from Brian Masaba.

Following warm-ups against Papua New Guinea in Entebbe, a tour of South Africa and then a three-match Series with Bahrain, the Cricket Cranes want a perfect against Singapore.

“The first game of the tournament is always important for any team because it will give you confidence and it will give you that momentum towards the tournament,” Shah told this paper in the chat on Monday evening after the tournament’s launch at the Commonwealth Resort in Munyonyo.

False starts have proved detrimental for Uganda in recent 50-over major outings on home soil. The best example is the 2017 WCL Three when Canada beat Uganda in the opener by 66 runs after Deus Muhumuza unfortunately dropped Rizwan Cheema’s catch, the latter going on to strike a pivotal 44-ball 91.

Again in June 2022, Nick Greenwood silenced the partisan crowd in Lugogo when he knocked a half-ton of 80 runs off 93 balls to help Jersey to 255-6 before they bowled out Uganda for 191 runs in the round two CWCCL B opener.

However, key in the trial matches was the blending of new faces atop the batting order; Raghav Dhawan and Shrideep Mangela have come in to improve on Simon Ssesazi and Roger Mukasa’s roles.

The latter pair was dropped for this tournament and Dhawan and Mangela seemed to have found their fitting with great thanks from a patient Robinson Obuya.

“We tried a couple of combinations and that gave us an idea of where our players can play with bat and ball and it worked for us. We have plans on the way we want to play,” stated Shah.

Certainly, Masaba or Kenneth Waiswa must play as many overs at four before Shah, Alpesh Ramjani, Dinesh Nakrani and wicket-keeper Fred Achelam come on to bat against Singapore’s fast bowler Ramesh Kalimuthu, left-arm orthodox bowler Anish Paraam and company.

With the ball, there are signs of maturity in economy control from young pace bowlers Cosmas Kyewuta and Juma Miyagi and they could dictate play from the adjacent Shell and Jinja Road ends in the power play phases.

Back from Nakrani, slow bowlers Ramjani, Henry Ssenyondo and veteran Frank Nsubuga, if selected, will come in handy when they face Singapore’s top-order of Aritra Dutta, Arjun Mutreja, Aryaveer Chaudhary and skipper Manpreet Singh.

“After the T20 World Cup, we can prove that we can play against big teams and improve our skills. We will give 100 percent. Our fans are loyal and we will give some happiness and exciting cricket in this tournament,” added Shah.

Decisions by Shah and Singh at the toss could be vital especially with the weather being a significant factor. Shah admits “it will play an important role in this tournament because it’s the rainy season” but they can’t control those things.

PROBABLE STARTING XI FOR UGANDA

Raghav Dhawan, Robinson Obuya, Shrideep Mangela, Brian Masaba, Riazat Ali Shah (Captain), Alpesh Ramjani, Dinesh Nakrani, Fred Achelam (Wicket-keeper), Juma Miyagi, Cosmas Kyewuta, Henry Ssenyondo 

12TH MAN: Pascal Murungi

SUBSTITUTES: Kenneth Waiswa, Frank Nsubuga 

ICC WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE CHALLENGE LEAGUE B

WEDNESDAY FIXTURE

10am: Uganda vs. Singapore, Lugogo

FRIDAY

10am: Bahrain vs. Hong Kong, Lugogo

10am: Italy vs. Tanzania, Entebbe

SATURDAY

10am: Uganda vs. Tanzania, Lugogo

10am: Hong Kong vs. Italy, Entebbe

UGANDA VS. SINGAPORE - LIMITED OVERS

RECENT MEETINGS

2014 ICC WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE

Oct 24, 2014: Uganda 196/10 Singapore 195/9

(Uganda won by 1 run)

2017 ICC WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE

May 24, 2017: Uganda 217/9 Singapore 151/10

(Uganda won by 66 runs)

2018 ICC WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE

Nov 15, 2018: Singapore 204/10 Uganda 141/10

(Singapore won by 63 runs)

FIRST ROUND DETAILS

Dates: November 4-16

Administrator(s): International Cricket Council

Cricket format: List A

Tournament format: Round-robin

Host: Uganda Cricket Association

Participants: 6 (Bahrain, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, Tanzania, Uganda)

Matches: 15