Uganda look to end Namibia Tour on a high
Frank Akankwasa played out 30 deliveries.
What you need to know:
- The wicket with green grass patches wasn’t the ideal dancing floor the Ugandans anticipated as they failed to find their groove enroute to being dismissed for a basketball score - 68 all out in 23.5 overs.
On a brand-new wicket that offered palpable assistance to the bowlers, Uganda captain Brian Masaba was left ruing having lost the all-important pre-match toss as the Cricket Cranes suffered a marginal 7-wicket loss to Namibia in the first of two pivotal 50-over matches at the Trustco United Cricket Club oval in Windhoek yesterday.
The wicket with green grass patches wasn’t the ideal dancing floor the Ugandans anticipated as they failed to find their groove enroute to being dismissed for a basketball score - 68 all out in 23.5 overs.
The East Africans had only two men register double figures; left-hander opener Simon Ssesazi with 24 runs from 22 balls and all-rounder Riazat Ali Shah with 12 runs from 16 balls with extras (10) being the third highest source of runs in the first innings.
Ssesazi looked to have read the seaming conditions well and looked like he had adapted only for him to get dismissed in one of the weirdest ways – hit wicket – as he slipped and stepped onto his stumps after playing a shot and scampering off for a quick single.
“Yes, it was a spicy wicket but we are much better than that,” reasoned Masaba soon after the insipid batting display from his men. “Our batsmen obviously didn’t apply themselves in the tough conditions. And as Uganda we must look to improve better as we wrap up the tour tomorrow. We can only do that by following our processes and hitting some of our KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).”
Namibia’s elderly statesman Craig Williams was unbeaten on 36 runs off 51 balls as he guided the Eagles home in 16.5 overs with the scoreboard on 71.
Commendable bowling
But earlier, there were superb spells from Richard Agamire (1 for 8 in 3), Dinesh Nakrani (1/22 in 6) and 19-year-old Juma Miyagi (0 for 10 in 5) that had restricted Namibia to 25 for 3 in 7.5 overs.
“How we played today is unacceptable,” said Cricket Cranes coach Laurence Mahatlane after the game.
The other positive from Uganda’s camp was opening batsman Emmanuel Hasahya who made his senior team debut after a couple of years on the fringes.
The same wicket will likely be used for the today’s tour ender and Uganda will be looking to shed some skin and turn a new page as they continue to prepare for the six-nation International Cricket Council (ICC) World Challenge League B that they will host from June 14-28 – a pathway event to the 2023 World Cup in India but more importantly a decisive bend in Uganda’s journey to One Day International (ODI) status.
