Masaba the talking point as Cricket Cranes head to South Africa for maiden Africa Cup

Cricket Cranes captain Brian Masaba has bounced back from injury and ready to lead the national team all the way through the maiden edition of the Africa Cup Challenge in South Africa.

Masaba recovers from a broken finger he suffered during the first round of the T20 World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe. The injury has since kept him out of the national team fold and missed the trip to Jersey.

Upon return, he will captain the Cranes in the continental championship scheduled for 15th – 21st September in Benoni, South Africa.

Masaba believes the trip to South Africa will fine-tune the Cricket Cranes ahead of the World Cup qualifiers coming next year in March.

“It’s important for us to have a look at the players that we have and give guys some opportunities to put their hands up and stake their claim for a place in the team. It will be good preparation for us as we begin our journey towards that world cup qualifier.”

The team has four players making their senior debut including Pascal Murungi, Munir Ismail, Joseph Baguma and Alpesh Ramjani. The first three were part of the U-19 team that took part in the World Cup qualifiers in West Indies while while Ramjani has been slotted into the team after a series on knocking on the Cricket Cranes door.

The Africa Cup was initially scheduled to take place in Nairobi in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on the tournament.

The tournament in South Africa will have eight countries placed into two groups. Uganda is alongside Botswana, Ghana and Mozambique in group A.

Group B has Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Cameroon. The two teams will advance to the semifinals before the final.

The Africa cup will be played in the T20 format and all the matches will have T20I status. Therefore, Uganda has an opportunity to pick some valuable ranking points.

The Team travelling

Brian Masaba (Captain), Deus Muhumuza, Frank Nsubuga, Kenneth Waiswa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Juma Miyagi, Alpesh Ramjani, Joseph Baguma, Pascal Murungi, Munir Ismail, Fred Achellam, Henry Ssenyondo, Riazat Ali Shah, Simon Sessazi

Team Officials

1. Laurence Mahatlane – Head Coach,

2. Jackson Ogwang – Assistant Coach,

3. Shamim Nassali – Physiotherapist,

4. Steven Tusiime – Analyst

5. Jackson Kavuma – Team Manager.

Cricket Cranes fixtures:

• 15/09/2022 – Uganda V Botswana (Main field) 10:30

• 17/09/2022 – Uganda V Ghana (Main Field) 10:30

• 18/09/2022 – Uganda V Mozambique (Main field) 15:30