Uganda finally got off the mark in the Division 3 World Cricket League defeating Singapore by 66 runs at the Lake side oval in Entebbe.
In a game which the Cricket Cranes needed to win to stay alive in the tournament, Coach Steve Tikolo named an unchanged team keeping faith with the guys involved in the loss to Canada.
Singapore won the toss and elected to field first. Hamu Kayondo and Arthur Kyobe opened batting for Uganda and were scoring at 2 runs per over before Kyobe fell for 20 with Uganda at 43 in the 14th Over.
In a surprise move, Irfan Afridi was sent in at 3 to try and take on the spinners but the gamble didn’t pay off as he could only manage 4 runs. Hamu Kayondo was more mature in his approach scoring 41 runs of 88 balls before he lifted his head trying to clear mid on losing his leg stump in the process.
Roger Mukasa didn’t hang around for too long only managing 15 runs. Shahzad Kamal and Arnold Otwani combined for the biggest partnership of the game putting on 86 runs together, they scored 46 and 47 runs respectively.
Uganda then lost the last 4 wickets for only 15 runs before posting 217/9 in their 50 Overs.
Singapore in response were solid in their chase losing their first wicket in the 11th Over with 41 runs on board. They never looked troubled in their chase picking up singles and putting away the bad balls till the Irfan Afridi show started. Afridi put on a Man of the Match performance picking up 5/38 in his 10 Overs with his mysterious spin bowling.
Singapore was bundled out for 151 in 44 Overs as the pressure got to their batsmen losing the last 5 wickets for only 7 runs.
However, Uganda will still need to work on their fielding before they take on Oman on Friday in Kyambogo.
Arnold Otwani is looking very shabby behind the wickets. He missed 5 stumps and dropped 2 sitters these can be costly on any other day.
Team Captain Davis Karashani spoke of Otwani;
As we a team we have decided to back Arnold and we feel he gives us an extra edge when it comes to batting.
Opening bowler, Charles Waiswa said this about Uganda’s poor record against Oman
The table is now even for all teams apart from Canada that has won 2 games. Despite the fact we have never beaten Oman, we are confident we can win on Friday and we rewrite that record.
At Lugogo
Canada icontinues to set the pace as they beat Oman by 80 runs. Canada scored 274/9 in their 50 Overs. Oman only managed 171 all out in reply. Canada is on top of the table with 2 wins out of 2.
At Kyambogo
USA beat Malaysia by 6 wickets. Malaysia only managed 117 all out and USA was never in trouble despite losing 4 wickets during the chase. Malaysia remains the only side without a win in the tournament.
It’s now close between Oman, Uganda and USA who all have a single win each. Net run rate is a key factor in a round robin tournament so how you win is as important as how you lose.
Tomorrow is a rest day for all teams. Action returns on Friday on all grounds.
Uganda plays Oman at Kyambogo in a key game for the Cricket Cranes. Canada plays Malaysia in Entebbe with USA taking on Singapore at Lugogo.