Even with a game to play, Aziz Damani have won the Jazz Safari League in their first season after defeating Challengers by 5 wickets at the lakeside oval in Entebbe.
Damani needed only 2 points from their last 2 games to seal the title and stop Tornado B’s winning streak for a record 5th time.
And in Entebbe, they got all 6 points and even if they lose their final game to Tornado B the latter cant overhaul their superior net run rate.
Challengers batted first and only managed 149 all out and Damani knocked off this deficit for the loss of only 5 wickets.
Brian Masaba who took over captaincy mid season from regular captain Ghulam Hunzai was elated and this is what he said after the game
Massive win for us, coming from second division and taking it in our maiden season. The guys have worked hard for this they deserve it.
Damani got promoted to Division 1 this season and to win the league at the first time of asking shows how much the team invested in winning the league.
They added experienced duo Benjamin Musoke and national coach Steve Tikolo to their ranks, add this to local talents Kenneth Waiswa and Emmanuel Isaanez. Despite losing Shahzad Kamal they were the most consistent team this term.
A resurgent Kutchi Tigers in the second round helped them defeat their closet rivals and despite them losing to the same team they made sure they won the games they had to win.
Tornado B stayed in contention for second place after defeating KICC by 5 wickets in Kyambogo. Jerry Kibuuka Musoke and his troops saw off the unpredictable KICC and will need to defeat champions in waiting Damani next weekend to be certain of second place.
The other big story was in Buddo where Promotion favorites ACC took on Tornado. Tornado needed a win the go above Jinja SS in the relegation battle where as ACC needed to win to gain promotion to Division 1. But things didn’t go according to script for ACC as Tornado beat them by 15 runs in a very close encounter.
The win gives Tornado a chance of survival and will be counting on ACC defeating Jinja SS to be sure of survival. ACC on the other hand are hoping this isn’t another dejavu season as they have come close to promotion in previous seasons but failed at the last hurdle. This loss means they have to beat Jinja SS and SKPLS with bonus points to make up the 12 point difference between them and Strikers.
Man of Match Amos Kyazze in the loss to Tornado was at a loss of words after the defeat and lamented his teams teams chances going forward.
This loss badly affects our chances of promotion we need to win both games (Jinja SS and SKPLS) with bonus points.
Nile will have to play in Division 2 next season after they lost to Charity in Lugogo by 151 runs. Nile was nearly relegated last season but only stayed up because of boardroom decisions and they failed to add quality to their side eventually failing to match the quality of the other teams.
The win means Charity will play in the top league next season while Nile and Partidar go down to Division 2.
Match Summaries for the Jazz Safari National Men’s 2017.
24th Sept 2017
Budo Oval
Tornado CC 242/10 in 46 overs Beat Africa CC 227/10 in 50 overs by 15 runs
Toss won by Africa CC who opted to field
Batting Tornado: Peter Kituku 65(96), John Gabula 40(57)
Bowling ACC: Aggrey Kintu 4/48 in 10 overs
Batting ACC: Amos Kyaze 73(122) N.O, Emmy Odeng 36(57)
Bowling Tornado
Man of Match: Amos Kyaze 73(122) N.O, 2/23 in 8 overs and 2 catches
Entebbe Oval
Challengers CC 149/10 in 38.1 overs lost to Aziz Damani 152/5 in 35.5 overs by 5 wickets
Toss won by Damani who opted to field
Batting Challengers: Hamu Kayondo 40(49), Irfan Afridi 33(23)
Bowling Damani: Brian Masaba 4/37 in 9.1 overs
Batting Damani: Arnold Otwani 65(99), Steven Tikolo 42(47)
Bowling Challengers: David Wabwire 2/38 in 9 overs
Man of Match: Brian Masaba 4/37 in 9.1 overs
Kyambogo Oval
KICC 148/10 in 38.5 overs lost Tornado Bee 152/5 in 42.4overs by 5 wickets
Toss won by KICC who opted to bat
Batting KICC: Frank Nsubuga 65(65)
Bowling Tornado Bee: Roger Mukasa 4/25 in 9 Overs , Charles Waiswa 3/26 in 9.5 overs
Batting Tornado Bee: Akbar Baig 69(102) N.O, Frank Otieno 36(60)
Bowling KICC: Frank Nsubuga 2/37 in 10 overs
Man of Match: Akbar Baig 69(102)
Lugogo Oval
Charity 296/10 beat Nile CC 145/10 in 48.5 by 151 runs
Toss won byNile who opted to field
Batting Charity: Simon Ssesazi 71(66), Lawrence Ssempijja 67(60)
Bowling Nile: Abraham Oduch 2/36 in 6 overs
Batting Nile: Michael Ndiko 35(34), Eric Ndagamyambi 40(81)
Bowling Charity: Innocent Ndawula 4/18 in 10 overs
Man of Match: Ssempijja Lawrence 67(60)
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