Uganda’s national men’s cricket team, the Cricket Cranes, kicked off their campaign in the second edition of the Pearl of Africa T20 Series with a narrow two-run loss to Namibia A at the Entebbe Oval on Wednesday.
Despite a spirited effort led by Simon Ssesazi’s half-century (66 off 66 balls) and an unbeaten 38 from Pascal Murungi, Uganda fell short in their chase of 146, ending on 143/5.
The result sets the stage for a highly anticipated showdown against Nigeria today, with the match slated to start at 9:30am. The clash is made even more significant as 22-year-old Juma Miyaji steps in as the new captain, marking his leadership debut for the Cricket Cranes.
“I know how everyone plays and I know they will want to deliver,” Miyaji said ahead of the match. “The youngsters are going to deliver and they must execute the game plans. Being captain is going to be easy for me because the team is talented and they know what to do against Nigeria.”
Miyaji’s appointment comes at a time of transition and renewed energy within the squad. Head coach Abhay Sharma emphasized the importance of providing younger players with international exposure.
“The way I’ve seen it shows it’s going to be a low-scoring tournament the way Entebbe plays,” Sharma noted. “We want the young guys to push for stakes in the senior team… this is a great opportunity to give many more players a taste of international action.”
The visiting Nigerian side, under coach Steve Tikolo and captain Sylvester Okpe, is equally eager for competition, having not played international cricket since November.
“It is a good thing to play teams ranked above you to gauge your potential,” Tikolo said. “Our expectations are to play every game hard and look forward to winning every fixture.”
Captain Okpe added:
“The team is excited to be in Entebbe. This will prepare us better for the Africa Qualifier in Zimbabwe and help improve our rankings.”
The Pearl of Africa T20 Series continues with more matches today, including UAE vs. Kenya at 1:30pm, as teams build up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier scheduled for September in Zimbabwe.
