The maiden Elite T20 League Cricket Tournament will be bowled off this Sunday, 25 October running all the way to Saturday, 31 October 2020 at Lugogo Cricket Oval.
The three-team event is the first cricket tournament ever since sports was halted way back in March as a Covid-19 preventive measure.
Run by the Uganda Cricket Association (UCA), the Elite League is a product of a lot of careful planning and preparation and the association is glad to finally have some cricket.
The elite league will involve the best 45 players in the country who will get to compete against each other. The teams have been carefully selected by the UCA technical team to ensure that the sides are balanced.
The round robin tournament will be played on the T20 basis with two games played per day for six days and a final game on the last day. The final will be played by the top two sides after six days.
National Council of Sports has also given the event a go ahead to hold the tournament as long as those involved observe the health guidelines.
The players had their mandatory Covid-19 tests done on 22nd October in Lugogo before they were all put in a bubble.
The three franchise teams are Royal Varsani BUCKS, MAMBA Challengers and Aziz Damani SCORPIONS.
Earlier on, UCA announced PEPSI Cola as the official supplier of soft drinks for the tournament with an offer of T-shirts, 80 cartoons of water and 16 crates of soda.
Karveli Restaurant has offered 15 food vouchers for every fan who will be following the tournament online.
Hisense has offered 15 mobile phones to be awarded to the winning team.
UCA have offered 3,000,000 for the winning franchise and the Man of Series will take home Sh.500,000.
All players in the tournament will take home a stipend from Uganda Cricket as a daily allowance to each one of them.
All the 13 games will have a live stream on the Cricket Uganda YouTube Channel. The media will have access to all match highlights from the association’s media team. A few journalists will be allowed on match days, but will have to follow strict SOPs to ensure that there is no contact with the players.
Fixtures:
Sunday, 25th October:
Morning: Metro Challengers vs Royal Varsani Bucks
Afternoon: Royal Varsani Bucks vs Aziz Damani Scorpions
Monday, 26th October
Morning: Metro Challengers vs Royal Varsani Bucks
Afternoon: Aziz Damani Scorpions vs Metro Challengers
Tuesday, 27th October
Morning: Aziz Damani Scorpions vs Royal Varsani Bucks
Afternoon: Metro Challengers vs Aziz Damani Scorpions
Wednesday, 28th October
Morning: Royal Varsani Bucks vs Aziz Damani Scorpions
Afternoon: Metro Challengers vs Royal Varsani Bucks
Thursday, 29th October
Morning: Aziz Damani Scorpions vs Metro Challengers
Afternoon: Metro Challengers vs Royal Varsani Bucks
Friday, 30th October
Morning: Metro Challengers vs Aziz Damani Scorpions
Afternoon: Aziz Damani Scorpions vs Royal Varsani Bucks
Saturday, 31st October
Morning: Free
Afternoon: Final
The Teams:
Scorpions – Brian Masaba, Zephaniah Arinaitwe, Calvin Watuwa, Charles Waiswa, Gerard Mubiru, Steven Wabwose, Trevor Bukenya, Derrick Bakunzi, Innocent Mwebaze, Wassim Butt, Lawrence Ssempijja, Jaffar Ochaya, Davis Karashani, Shazad Kamal
Coach – Michael Ndiko
Bucks – Arnold Otwani (Captain), Aneef Shah, Deus Muhumuza, Emmanuel Isaneez, Frank Nsubuga, Fred Achelam, Jonathan Kizza, Jonathan Ssebanja, Simon Oketcho, Simon Sesazi, Siraje Nsubuga, Richard Agamire, Robert Ajuna, Robinson Obuya
Coach – Habib Mugalula
Mambas – Frank Akankwasa (Captain), Cosmas Kyewuta, Alex Obanda, Daniel Ruyange, David Wabwire, Hamu Kayondo, Henry Ssenyondo, Kenneth Waiswa, Lawrence Ssematimba, Rogers Olipa, Irfan Afridi, Emmanuel Hasahya, Perry Wazombe, Younos Sowombi
Coach – Jackson Ogwang.
