Prime
Cricket Cranes adjusting to life in Caribbean
Obuya stretches during the final warm up game at Lugogo. PHOTO/EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
First Test. After soaking in three days of acclimatization, Uganda will have a feel of what to expect on their debut World Cup when they play familiar foes Namibia in the wee hours of Tuesday morning at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
PORT OF SPAIN. After traveling for a little more than 48 hours on four different flights from Entebbe to Dubai, London Heathrow, Bridgetown and Port of Spain, the Cricket Cranes are successfully acclimatizing to conditions in the West Indies.
The team flew business class all the way to the Caribbean and enjoyed the amenities of VIP lounges at all departure points to help mitigate travel fatigue. And it has seemingly paid off, as the team is showing no major signs of fatigue.
Captain Brian Masaba and vice captain Riazat Ali Shah stretch at the historic Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain on Saturday. PHOTO/INNOCENT NDAWULA
The players had a recovery session at their residence - Hilton Hotel’s Gymnasium in Port of Spain - followed by a four-kilometer jog at Queen’s Park Savannah, located adjacent to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Emperor Valley Zoo, to get their bodies in full motion on Friday.
Infectious reception
Saturday brought excitement to the camp when the team was driven to the historic Test cricket venue, the picturesque Queen’s Park Oval, for their first official practice session. This is where the legendary Caribbean batsman Brian Lara scored the highest ODI score (146* vs New Zealand on March 30, 1996).
The enthusiastic welcome from the World Cup volunteers and native net bowlers was followed by an intense three-hour workout session under the watchful eyes of assistant coach Jackson Ogwang, High Performance (HP) consultant Craig Williams and Strength & Conditioning coach Emmanuella Oroma.
“We are trying to keep things simple,” said Williams, a Namibian cricketing legend, after the whole team had done a bit of everything: batting, bowling, and fielding. “We have trained as per each player’s game plan that we worked on before. We don’t want to try out too many new things.”
Players had to sharpen their blades. PHOTO/EDDIE CHICCO
Impressive training
All-rounder Riazat Ali Shah and the bowling trio of Bilal Hassun, Juma Miyaji, and Cosmas Kyewuta looked sharp during the session, earning some praise.
“The wicket was slow and a bit double-paced. But the pace bowlers tried to extract something from it. Even their batting was more calculated. They watched the ball better and hit more cleanly. Let’s see how the next training sessions go,” said Ogwang.
As of press time, Uganda was about to embark on an hour’s road trip for a night training session at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy - - multi-purpose stadium in Tarouba, San Fernando, where they’re scheduled to play their first warm-up game against Namibia in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
UGANDA’S FULL SCHEDULE FOR ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2024:
Warm Up Fixtures
Tuesday, 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
Tournament Fixtures
Tuesday, June 4 – 3:30 AM:
Uganda vs. Afghanistan, Providence Stadium, Guyana
Thursday, June 6 – 2:30 AM:
Uganda vs. Papua New Guinea, Providence Stadium, Guyana
Sunday, June 9 – 3:30 AM:
Uganda vs. West Indies, Providence Stadium, Guyana
Saturday, June 15 – 3:30 AM:
Uganda vs. New Zealand, Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad & Tobago
Note: Fixtures schedule is in East African Time (EAT)
