Prime
Ultimate night experience at Brian Lara Academy
Coach Abhay Sharma gets feedback from the batsmen after their practice under the lights at the Brian Lara Academy Oval in San Fernando. PHOTO/INNOCENT NDAWULA
What you need to know:
New Home: Driven on a long stretch for 55 kilometers, the Cricket Cranes soaked in every moment at the iconic, government-built Brian Lara Cricket Academy in San Fernando. They are set to play their two warm-up fixtures here.
PORT OF SPAIN. The International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup, running from June 1-29, is set to be the biggest-ever global event for cricket, featuring 20 teams and 55 games across six Caribbean cities and three in the United States of America (USA).
For Uganda, making its debut in this grand event, there will certainly be no time to acclimatize. The Cricket Cranes, accustomed to a different time zone, find themselves seven hours behind their usual schedule back at home.
After stops in Bridgetown, Barbados, they will fly from Port of Spain (POS), Trinidad & Tobago, to Georgetown, Guyana, on May 31 for their first three group fixtures against Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the West Indies. They will then return to POS for their final match against New Zealand’s Black Caps on June 15.
Godsend moments
This demanding itinerary leaves little time for adjustment. Instead, the Ugandan team is focused on savouring every moment, as evidenced by their 55-kilometer journey to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando, for a night practice session under standard floodlights on Sunday night (Monday morning in Uganda).
This was Uganda's first experience under lights since February 2020 in Doha, Qatar, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. The session was a significant moment for the current squad, many of whom were not part of the team back then.
“Training was amazing. We don’t have any experience under lights and we are happy to get our first at this beautiful Brian Lara Academy stadium built for the legend,” said left-handed all-rounder Dinesh Nakrani. “This is the true ultimate night experience because the World Cup games are going to be played at night. It is a big opportunity for us. And it will help us play with nothing to worry about. Our team is very confident.”
Seizing the chance
Coach Abhay Sharma, who played with Lara at the U-19 international level, underscored the importance of the session. “We emphasized that the batsmen should play for a long period in the middle. Every player had specific instructions for their roles. We were trying to refresh all our individual plans and we also had a tough and long fielding session that covered catching, direct hits, and all the other components of fielding. We made full use of the session and I am happy the guys brought a lot of energy,” Sharma shared about the goals and achievements of the session.
The batsmen showed signs of gradual improvement, working hard to enhance their techniques under the lights and adjusting to the slow, low-bounce practice pitches. The bowlers focused on hitting the right lengths on the fresh, double-paced surface.
By press time, Uganda was en-route back to San Fernando for their warm-up fixture against Namibia, scheduled for the early hours of today – 2am East African Time.
Uganda Warm Up Fixtures
Today, May 28 – 2.00 AM:
Uganda vs. Namibia, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad & Tobago
Thursday, May 30, - 5.30 PM:
Scotland vs. Uganda, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad & Tobago
Note: Fixtures schedule is in East African Time (EAT)
