Uganda earn their stripes in ‘Group of Death’

Group A comprising of defending champions Kwazulu Natal (KZN) Inland, fellow Pietermaritzburg-based KZN Coastal, Western Province, Easterns and tournament debutantes Uganda was fittingly codenamed ‘Pool of Death’, and it duly lived up to its billing.
No one was spared
Starting out as unknown quantities, Uganda were given a rude welcome to the tournament when Roger Telemachus’ KZN Coastal served them a ‘cold’ 20-run loss in the opening match at the Pietermaritzburg City Oval.
Naivety exposed
Uganda were left ruing a missed chance to ink their name in the history of the showpiece as one of the sides that had won their bow matches after they dictated pace throughout the match and only to let slip when needing a possible 32 to win from three overs.
Legendary Coach Steve Tikolo’s troops were then made to pay the price of naivety and lack of awareness against defending champions KZN Inland - going down by a mammoth 133 runs at the University Oval in a heavily one-sided encounter.
The East Africans, however, managed to shake off the two-flights fatigue and six-hour bus ride from Johannesburg, and proved their worth on Day Two.
They restored dentend pride by subjecting Easterns, who won the group with more bonus points and will progress to next weekend’s semifinals, to their first defeat, with an authoritative five-wicket triumph at the University Oval in Pietermaritzburg.
Easterns, playing their fourth successive match in two days, were in all sorts of trouble at 28 for 5 after 6.2 overs with left-arm orthodox Henry Ssenyondo (2/16 in 4), military medium Riazat Ali Shah (2/23 in 4) and paceman Bilal Hassun (1/34 in 4) bowling well upfront.
And even when skipper Grant Thomson (41 off 34) and Matthew Arnold (58 off 42) added some lusty blows at the back end of the innings, Easterns could only reach 143 - a target that was well within Uganda’s sight.
Batting solidity
Skipper Roger Mukasa (4) went for an early shower but the rest of the top order batsmen showed solidity especially teenager Zephaniah Arinaitwe (34 off 20), who fearlessly took on the opening bowlers and dispatched them to the boundary eight times.
Hamu Kayondo stroked 25 off 31 whereas Dinesh Nakrani (34 off 37) and Riazat Ali Shah (26* off 14) got their first purposeful runs of the tour to script a stunning win against a highly rated opponent - with three balls to spare.
Easterns coach Richard Das Neves saluted Uganda for their fearless and exciting brand of cricket, and also gave special praise to wily spinner Ssenyondo.
“He is quite something,” said Neves of the Ugandan slow bowler. “Most of our guys are used to playing the quick stuff and if you take pace off the ball in a calculated manner, you will always have them in trouble. And that’s what Henry (Ssenyondo) and many of the Ugandan slow bowlers are good at.”
Neves, who had earlier predicted that if Uganda showed the same hunger in their last match against Paul Adams’ Western Province they would emerge victorious again, watched from the sidelines on Day Three as his prophecy came to pass. Easterns got things off like a house on fire - reaching 48 for no loss in four overs.

Quick runs
Qaasim Adams (65 off 47) and George Linde (52 off 31) enjoyed blitzes after ‘master blaster’ Janneman Malan (15 off 11), who was fresh from hitting a century against Kwazulu Natal Inland on Saturday, was sent for an early shower.
But the quick scoring came to a halt when Ugandan skipper Mukasa introduced his quartet of slow bowlers.
Blood brothers Frank Nsubuga (2/22) and captain Mukasa (2/26) plus Ssenyondo (1/23) and leggie Brian Masaba (1/32) bowled lines of deceit in their four overs to deny the South African side any chance of a late carnage.
And with 153 needed for victory, all of Uganda’s batsmen, once again, came to the party. Kayondo (27 off 22), Dinesh Kumar (46 off 23), Shah (36* off 19), Kenneth Waiswa (17* off 15) and skipper Mukasa (13 off 7) ably chipped in to ensure safety for Uganda in 15.3 overs against a fiery bowling attack that included legendary Makhaya Ntini’s son Thando Ntini, former U-19 international Dayyaan Galiem and South Africa International Dane Paterson - winning with 27 balls to spare.
Worthwhile scorecard
In the end, Uganda’s scorecard read 2 out 4, a more than healthy 50 per cent record, which justifies that their third-place finish in the group - ahead of 2017 champions KZN Inland - will leave a bold mark on the tournament.
The Cricket Cranes will fly back after their 50-over match build ups with KZN Inland knowing that they have done enough to earn an invite for next years showpiece from organisers Cricket South Africa