The schools cricket champions Jinja SS are the form team of the league after winning their last 2 encounters by big margins. They saw off T20 champions Olila High at home in their 1st game and followed up that win with another against former champions Pioneer last weekend.
Coach Habib Mugalula wants to make up for the final loss to Olila High in the T20 league early this year by winning the league crown. The league title remains elusive but they have had a lot of success in the shortest version of the game and this well oiled side knows what needs to be done.
The exam period hasn’t distracted the school side and besides KICC, they are the only other team to win two games with no loss so far. Rita Musamali, Female cricketer of the year Stephanie Nampiina and national ladies captain Kevin Awino have played key roles for the Jinja based side and they will need to step up on Saturday.
Wanderers on the other hand have only won the odd game against defending champions Tornado B, a win that could be the difference between them staying up and going down. They were humbled by KICC in their second amidst complaints of poor umpiring.
However, Janet Mbabazi and her girls will need to look forward if they are to have a chance of winning the title. They have added Lydia Bakumpe to their line up and even though she has been out of the game for long she is a dependable 50 over player.
Janet is aware of the threat posed by Jinja SS and was candid in her preview.
I also don’t think I have a real plan for Jinja SS. They are really good players, but if we field well, take our chances, bowl well, we have a chance to win. I plan to bring Evelyn Anyipo to open the bowling with Patricia Malemikia, I think Aweko Consy and Wanichan Hope can push the overs and put up good fight against their star players [Stefanie, Kevin and Rita] in the mid order if they came in to bowl a little later.
Wanderers doesn’t score many runs and against a very balanced Jinja SS side they will need to score at least more than 150 to have a chance of winning the game.
A draw would be a fair result for this game because if Jinja SS win they will be only one win away from winning the title while a win for Wanderers will also pull them away from the relegation places. A loss for wanderers would be catastrophic to their campaign while Jinja SS can afford to lose for now and still remain with a chance of winning the league.
