Uganda in do or die start
Captains Chetan Suryawanshi (Singapore), Sultan Ahmed (Oman), Nitish Kumar (Canada), Davis Karashani (Uganda) Ahmed Faiz (Malaysia) and Steven Taylor (USA) during yesterday’s Captains’ Trophy Photo Shoot in Kampala ahead of the opening games of the ICC WCL Division Three today. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO
KAMPALA- Uganda start their ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament against Canada, a familiar rival at Lugogo Oval today.
Meetings between the two sides started way back in 1993 but Canada have been very dominant in these encounters winning six of seven limited overs encounters to-date, including the 2009 U-19 World Cup qualifier.
The two sides were relegated from division two in 2015 were Uganda finished fifth and Canada sixth.
Given the record, Uganda captain Davis Karashani has aptly named this tournament ‘the moment of truth’ and the first game ‘a do or die time for us.’
Coach Steven Tikolo gets the plaudits for working tirelessly to improve his side’s spin-play, batting and strengthening the depth of his squad. On Sunday, he also confirmed that wicket keeper Lawrence Ssematimba had recovered from a groin injury and will wear the gloves in this tournament.
“It is a cliché that a good start gives you the momentum so starting well is very important for us,” Karashani said during the Captains’ Trophy Photo Shoot held at the Independence Monument Grounds yesterday.
His message was re-echoed by his opposite number Nitish Kumar who was not particularly impressed with the wet wickets at Lugogo when they first trained on Sunday after a morning downpour.
Canada toured Barbados, West Indies and Zimbabwe before touching base in Kampala but are also keeping eyes on the prize.
“We did pretty well in Barbados and even better in Zimbabwe. It was nice to get four days in Africa before the tournament,” Kumar said.
There is a bit of a grudge tie in this game given that Canada’s head of selectors committee Henry Osinde is a Uganda. He has been to two World Cups for Canada but is also seen as the man that helped arguably Uganda’s biggest cricket talent Kenneth Kamyuka settle into Americans and forthwith make his debut for Canada.
“Honestly, I do not know what you (Uganda) know about him but we have gotten on well since I started playing with him in 2009,” Kumar said.
“He is a hardworking coach and has a comfortable relationship with everyone,” he added. Uganda will, however, hope to come in between this relationship.
Independence Monument
This art-piece shows the story of Uganda’s Independence. It shows a woman standing firmly on the ground seemingly pondering the future while hoisting a baby that raises his hands in triumph. The monument is strategically located behind the wall fence of Sheraton Hotel that overlooks Speke Road and it stares down at Grand Imperial Hotel to the right and Standard Chartered Bank to the left.
This the place that organisers of the ICC World Cricket League Division Three that starts today chose for the Captains’ Trophy Photo Shoot. The event lasted about 40minutes as the captains from five visiting countries made their first impressions about Uganda.
Kenyan wickets
As far as sporting rivalries go, Kenya is our biggest rival but they are also a helpful neighbor. First, Cricket Cranes coach Steven Tikolo is Kenyan but our eastern neighbours also gave us the best warm-up games as far as motivation of players goes. Uganda whitewashed Kenya 4-0 in the Easter Series. Malaysia, Oman and Singapore have been to Kenya with the hope of acclimatizing to the weather conditions in Uganda but they also say Kampala is currently a bit hotter than our eastern neighbour. Canada have been to Zimbabwe.
Batters Game
If what the captains of all teams are saying is anything to go by, then this should be a high scoring tournament – the weather permitting. USA captain Steven Taylor insists their strength is in batting while Canada’s Nitish Kumar said “we love to score runs more.” Our own Davis Karashani is eager to see Uganda make their former Achilles’ heel their strength while Malaysia and Singapore played a warm up game in Kenya where they score 306 and 305 runs respectively.
USA – Canada brotherhood
Canada and USA seem to revel a lot in the fact that the two countries border each other in North America that they have brought that bromance to the Pearl of Africa. We have seen players from the two teams keep each other’s company at Hotel Africa while they also visited the Lugogo Oval together yesterday.
Canada record vs. Uganda
2014 /15 Division 2
5th place playoff: Uganda won by 8 wickets
Group Stage: Canada won by 111 runs
2013/14 World Cup qualifier
7th place playoff: Canada won by 59 runs (Duckworth/Lewis method)
Warm up: Uganda won by 71 runs
2009 U-19 World Cup qualifier
Canada Under-19s won by 44 runs
2008/9 World Cup qualifier
Canada won by 5 wickets
2006/7 Division 1 warm up
Canada won by 109 runs
2005 ICC Trophy: Canada won by 18 runs
