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Masaba challenges batters to step up
Riazat Ali Shah was castled by five-wicket hero Akeal Hosein. PHOTO/COURTESY OF ICC MEDIA
What you need to know:
Unhappy. Uganda's bowling and fielding, despite a few forgivable lapses, have been commendable under the floodlights. However, the batting has failed to deliver, which is a significant concern for skipper Masaba, who is now demanding a turnaround ahead of the clash with the Black Caps.
For a debutant, Uganda has exceeded expectations at the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. Led by inspirational captain Brian Masaba, the team's bowling and fielding, despite a few fumbles, have been up to scratch.
Their performances have drawn praise, particularly the spin duo of experienced off-spinner Frank Nsubuga and left-arm orthodox Alpesh Ramjani, along with the pace attack of youngsters Juma Miyaji and Cosmas Kyewuta.
Bowlers’ praise
Uganda captured hearts with their spirited bowling against Afghanistan in their opening 125-run loss, their memorable maiden game against an ICC Full Member at a World Cup, where they didn't concede a boundary in the last six overs.
They then achieved a historic three-wicket win over Papua New Guinea in a low-scoring thriller and followed it up by bowling valiantly before falling by 134 runs against their cricketing idols, the West Indies.
The biggest glaring blur that has taken gloss off Uganda’s performances has been the batting no-shows. In three matches. The Cricket Cranes have scored an aggregate of 175 runs; averaging 58 per match. And skipper Masaba finds this “unacceptable.”
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“It’s going to take a lot of hard work,” said a candid Masaba.
“To compete at this stage, we need runs and there is no other way around it. The guys have to improve their batting skills significantly. There is another thing; you’re only as good as the teams you play and we need to make sure that we get quality opposition over a sustained period of time. That is the only way we will get better.
“West Indies and Afghanistan didn’t lower their standards because they were playing a weaker team (Uganda). It is a very steep learning curve for us and we have a long way to go in bridging the batting gulf in class but these are the tough lessons we would like to take back home.
"Obviously our batting performances have been unacceptable, and I believe we are a better side with the bat than we’ve shown. If we can do better against New Zealand, it will be another bonus for us.”
New base
Uganda touched down in Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday night (EAT), after a short flight from Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana, to prepare for their final Group C fixture against New Zealand, scheduled for the early hours of June 15 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando.
Strength & Conditioning coach Emmanuella Oroma conducted a light gym session at the Cricket Cranes’ new base at the exquisite Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain as well as a predominantly batters session in Tarouba yesterday.
All the five Group C teams are camped in Trinidad but all eyes are on New Zealand. The Black Caps are reeling in fourth place on the log with no points after they suffered a bruising 84-run defeat to high-riding Afghanistan and are scheduled to face West Indies in a do-or-die fixture on Wednesday evening.
ICC MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP
Uganda Results Thus Far
Afghanistan 183/5 Uganda 58/10
Afghanistan won by 125 runs
PNG 77 All Out Uganda 78/7 in 18.2
Uganda won by 3 wickets
West Indies 173/5 Uganda 39/10 in 12
West Indies won by 134 runs
Next Fixture – June 15, 3.30am (EAT)
New Zealand vs. Uganda,
Brian Lara Cricket Academy, San Fernando
GROUP C – TABLE STANDINGS
TEAM M W L PTS NRR
Afghanistan 2 2 0 4 5.225
West Indies 2 2 0 4 3.574
Uganda 3 1 2 2 -4.217
Papua New Guinea 2 0 2 0 -0.434
New Zealand 1 0 1 0 -4.200
