Mahatlane: Former coach on Cricket Cranes’ World Cup chances and relationship with UCA Board

October 31, was your final day of duty, but let me start with one more thing, how it all ended. Was it something that you expected or like you always mentioned, when you get hired your  next experience is actually getting fired?
Yeah,! You know, fortunately I’ve been coaching for 28 years, so I think I’ve seen it all. And yeah, for me, the way it ended was how you expect when you sign a contract, I think you sign a three-year contract and you’re hopeful, but there’s no guarantee that you’re going to be retained in that particular job. So, yeah, you know, I don’t know the exact details, I’ve heard a lot of rumors, but yeah, to clear the air, all I got was a letter that the board, I think it was on August 7,had decided not to renew my contract. I responded and said, thank you, thank you for three years of great, great days. I really enjoyed my stint in Uganda.

What kind of relationship did you have with the board leading up to where everything ended?
Yeah, I think, again, it’s not about a relationship with the board. So, for me, it’s my direct person I reported to as the Chief Executive Officer (first Martin Ondeko and then Alan Mugume). I might have known people on the board, but all business was dealt with through the CEO. And that’s how I respected my contract.

Let’s go back to where it all began.A lot of people thought that you found the Cricket Cranes in a good place to get an opportunity of playing One Day International (ODI) cricket. Jersey nicked us on that one . But the journey was still going to be a very long one to go via Namibia. Even Jersey themselves who qualified from our group actually went to Namibia and played five ODI games and then that was it, they’re back into the Challenge League. Was it very difficult to find the balance between prioritising T20 cricket over List A cricket which we would ordinarily call ODI cricket?
Yeah, again, I don’t know how much you heard but I think on our first tour we lost to Namibia by 180 runs. I remember saying in the changing room that guys, ODI cricket is most probably a very, very difficult one to achieve unless you’re playing consistently at that kind of level.
If we break it all down, you’d have to say the game we played at Kyambogo against Hong Kong where we had the biggest loss of the tournament could have done us in.

Jersey who won Group B never did well in Namibia yet they seem to be a well-grilled unit. Is it a case of putting in an extra shift to make sure that we step up to play ODI cricket?
I think it’s a very tough one. I think it runs in systems. If you look at what Netherlands, Afghanistan, Ireland, and Scotland the kind of systems they’ve put in place, you will understand why they are where they are. And it’s important for Uganda cricket growth or for associate cricket growth on the continent to also understand that there’s a lot of groundwork that needs to happen.
It can’t just happen overnight. Your whole system has to hopefully align to make sure that you achieve those heights.

When you talk of systems, what do you think needs to be done by Uganda cricket to make sure that they get there?
Yeah, I think there’s so much talent. I think that’s the most exciting thing about Uganda. There’s just so much talent. It’s about nurturing it and really putting structures in place. Ideally, I know that three years ago we wrote a 10-year plan where hopefully teams from the north, the south, the east and the west could grow and make sure that our pool of players is beyond just the talent you have in Kampala.
But you have to try to spread the game as far and wide as possible and make sure the pool is certain.
I was chatting with Jackson Ogwang earlier about the same and I am sure there are  10 Jackson Ogwangs sitting up north and they can all bowl over 150 kph. Nurturing and finding that talent and making sure that it’s sustainable is a must
I think if you look at most sides, they have deficiencies. Namibia struggle when they lose two or three bowlers. You want to be able to stay up the top by making sure you’ve got depth and nurturing your talent.

In that case, was it fair to judge your three years by the team’s performance in the 10 games of the Challenge League?
Yeah, I think it is. I think that’s why you sign contracts. You know, you sign it because that’s what it is. And whoever decided that, obviously they’ve got a better plan going forward and it’s important to respect that. I think a lot of people, yeah, we can be emotional about it, but that’s how we as coaches operate. You go out there with a mission and goal and an objective and to clearly state it. And the fact that we didn’t achieve it, it’s part of your job . And as I always say that there are two kinds of coaches, those that are fired and those that are waiting to be fired.

When you signed, did you feel that that goal was achievable  and realistic from UCA?
Yeah, it was a tough one because as much as, you know, without getting into the details of it. But I did write an email before I even arrived in Uganda that it was not achievable. But that’s water under the bridge. And the administration issues that happened, maybe, led to the new board not reading through all the paperwork we’d gone through. But it is what it is. And for me, the key thing is I am hoping to see a lot of growth.
I’m hoping to see all these young men go on and improve. I genuinely believe that the team is more than capable of qualifying for the T20 World Cup next year in America. I don’t think we, Uganda, now fear Namibia on the cricket field. And having looked at what Namibia has just done to Zimbabwe in the recent series, I’m hoping the team is in a good state of mind and ready to roll over. And in terms of one-day cricket, it starts again next year. And the boys have a great opportunity to really put their marker down over the next three years and hopefully achieve qualification and go beyond that and end up at the World Cup in South Africa in 2027.

All right. In hindsight, when you realised that the ODI dream may be far-fetched, what were your immediate goals? And over the three years, were you able to achieve those goals?
Yeah, I think we sat down in September 2021 with the board at the time and spoke about how we’re going to try to achieve getting to the T20 World Cup.
Because, you know, if I look back and I remember doing my research, when I got to Uganda, the guys were playing a few games.  Hamu Kayondo had scored the most runs the previous season.
And he had batted 12 times in the whole year, had got 278 runs and 170 of them in one game. So part of the objective was to try to play more cricket. And I have to say, I was supported by the then CEO Martin Ondeko. And I think if you look now on average, there's not a single Ugandan player over the last three years has not played more than 150 games. So we did have a plan.
We started the process of getting guys to understand how the game works and to play more than just 12 club games, a couple of practice games and tournament cricket.

And did you feel that over the three years you were able to do this, guys were able to play more cricket?
 I think we did. If you look at the statistics over the last three years, Uganda played second only to India in terms of T20 games. India played 59, Uganda played 56. So in the whole world, there was a real plan and a real mission.
And yeah, so third, I think is Pakistan on 50 and Rwanda is on 49. The board really went out of its way to make sure we played a lot of cricket.

But coach when you knew you were coming to Uganda, what was your plan, in terms of approach of how you are going to take on the job, given the information you knew about the players and how amateurish they were. So what was your plan and how were you going to make sure that you win them over into your way of thinking?
One of the biggest things that I did was to have a chat with Steve Tikolo (former coach) and I asked him if I should apply.
And he gave me quite a bit of insight into how he operated. And one of the things I really tried to push and help the players was understand that how do we become professional cricketers? How do we get to the next step?
And I’ll never forget, I was actually laughing with a friend the other day. My first week in Uganda, we actually went on strike because the outfield was not cut and the nets had holes all over them.
So, yeah, and when I first arrived, I think I wrote 400 emails in my first three weeks because I really wanted the players to understand that it is not normal to practice the way they were and, you know, in those kinds of conditions.
And to give credit where it is due, you know, the secretariat really went out of their way and made sure that the grass was cut, made sure that the nets were fixed. And yeah, we might not have had the best facilities in the world, but it allowed us to play a lot of cricket at the time.

One of the things I think a lot of guys will appreciate is you gave opportunities to players who maybe would never have thought they would get a chance to play for Uganda. Was that your way of doing things, of maybe increasing the playing pool for the national team, as well as making sure that everyone gets a chance?
I’m watching the World Cup right now and there’s a young man, Marco Jansen, who comes from a town an hour away from Potchefstroom. And I was just thinking about it, that, you know, for me it’s always been about talent not just being nurtured in certain areas or certain schools only. You just never know where you can find the expected players. So, throughout my coaching career, you know, whether it was a guy like Dane Vilas picked up from elsewhere and yet he ended up playing 180-odd first-class games. For me,  it is always about being good enough.
And I’ve always believed in that. I’m not saying it was Laurence alone, but, you know, Michel Pongwane has scored 140 this weekend, man of the match. And if you know his story and where he comes from, the guy only started playing cricket at 17. So, for me, there’s no bad player. It’s all about opportunity.
And sometimes it’s about being at the right place at the right time.

The non-renewal of your contract caused quite a stir within cricket circles and cricket probably had its most media coverage over the years. It might have been negative, but did you feel the love from the fraternity? And would you be open to come back if the chance presented itself?
I would never say no. You know, I’ve never believed in saying no. I’ve had some interesting meetings this week where I never thought I’d have those kinds of meetings. So, I’d never say no.
And I love Uganda so much that I will be back. And not necessarily in cricket coaching capacity, but I’ll be back in the next couple of weeks.
I’m sure I’ll have a few drinks with a few of my mates I’ve met over there.

I thought you would come back for cricket. But what’s good is that you’re going to come back. It’s good to know that you didn’t burn any bridges. You made a lot of friends that would always welcome you back.
Yes, like I said, I love Uganda so much and my mates over the years will see a lot of me.

CONTINUATION OF INTERVIEW NEXT SUNDAY