East Africa Trophy showed our squad depth – Mahatlane

Eleven wins out of 12 matches for a haul of 22 points, Uganda were surely deserved winners as they retained the East Africa Trophy at Gahanga Stadium in Kigali-Rwanda over the weekend.

Uganda’s bogeyside Tanzania could only pick 12 points – after winning six matches and losing as many. For hosts Rwanda, the writing is clear on the wall and there is a whole lot of work to be done after they managed just one victory from 12 outings – many a time failing to seize moments of dominance.

But for Uganda, the fraternity knows that winning the title was the least of priorities the team had set after it came from a tough tour to Namibia where the Cricket Cranes were swept in both T20Is and Limited Overs matches.

“It was a very important tournament for us to bounce back after the disappointment of Namibia,” said coach Laurence Mahatlane.

New options

“Given that we were missing a lot of players for the Namibia trip, it was good to see Ssesazi (Simon), Ssenyondo (Henry), Mukasa (Roger), Patel (Ronak) and Ssebanja (Jonathan) back on the park. It was also exciting to work on other options and give different opportunities to some future talent in the country.”

Ssesazi (337 runs) and Ssenyondo (9 wickets) were on the plane from Windhoek after Day One of the tour bilateral series to pay their last respects to their deceased mother. Mukasa (318) was left back home crocked with a recurring hamstring injury.

But with Uganda’s frontline bowlers Juma Miya and Cosmas Kyewuta back home in Kampala nursing injuries alongside veteran ace Frank Nsubuga and all-rounders Riazat Ali Shah and Dinesh Nakrani, coach Laurence Mahatlane feels the title defence in Kigali was a good work out for the new look out as it also helped grow the squad strength in numbers.

Jonathan Ssebanja, making a return to the Cricket Cranes for the first time since 2019, finished among the top 10 bowlers with 10 wickets at an average of 15 and another returnee Ronak Patel manufactured 239 runs at an average of 39 and strike rate of 127. There was also a successful story of a debutant in paceman David Wabwire(7 wickets at an economy of 7.04), who had last donned the national colours at the U-19 level, disappeared for six years to finish his degree at medical school and has now returned as a man with renewed passion.

Taking responsibility

“I am very proud of the group’s performance even though we were missing some senior players. Kenneth Waiswa’s Man of Series performance at crucial times in the game will stand him in a good space going forward in his career. Mukasa, Ramjani (239 runs, 25 wickets & 7 catches) and captain Masaba’s displays show how different people took responsibility for the team at different times,” added Mahatlane.

“The debut and growth of Wabwire throughout the tournament was also pleasing to see. So overall, it is a great outing that keeps building depth and creating healthy competition for spots in the squad.”

Uganda returned home yesterday and will continue the hard work in the nets with focus on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in Windhoek from November 20 – December 1 where two spots are at stake to the coveted World Cup in West Indies and USA next year.

EAST AFRICA TROPHY

UGANDA – FULL RESULTS

Uganda 146/6 Rwanda 106/9

Uganda won by 40 runs

Tanzania 143/8 Uganda 146/4

Uganda won by 6 wickets

Uganda 176/6 Tanzania 180/7

Tanzania won by 3 wickets

Uganda 186/10 Rwanda 125/10

Uganda won by 61 runs

Uganda 171/5 Tanzania 111/10

Uganda won by 60 runs

Uganda 192/6 Rwanda 106/10

Uganda won by 86 runs

Uganda 161/9 Tanzania 142/6

Uganda won by 19 runs

Rwanda 126/7 Uganda 127/4

Uganda won by 6 wickets

Uganda 180/6 Tanzania 121/10

Uganda won by 59 runs

Rwanda 110/6 Uganda 114/2

Uganda won by 8 wickets

Uganda 141/10 Tanzania 122/10

Uganda won by 19 runs

Rwanda 131/10 Uganda 133/2

Uganda won by 8 wickets

FINAL TABLE STANDINGS

Team                                   M          W           L            N/R        NRR       Pts

1.            Uganda                12         11           1             0             2.156    22           

2.            Tanzania              12         6             6             0             -0.125   12

3.            Rwanda               12         1             11          0            -2.045   2