Baby Cricket Cranes were flagged off by the National Council of Sports ahead of their World Cup Qualifiers in Tanzania.
The tournament will feature six teams that include Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda and hosts Tanzania. It will run from July 21st – 31st with the top team after the round-robin matches earning the right to represent Africa at the 2024 U19 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
The squad of 14 players features at least six players who were part of the U-19 World Cup in the West Indies. Captain Fahad Mutagana, Yunusi Sowobi, Ronald Omara, Brian Asaba, Joseph Baguma and Pius Oloka. Baguma and Oloka have had opportunities with the Cricket Cranes and that experience is what Uganda will be relying on to get the desired results in Tanzania.
The Ugandans will take on fellow favourites Namibia in their opening game on Sunday and will finish their campaign against Sierra Leone.
Namibia and Kenya have both been to the World Cup and that means that those are the teams that will test Uganda. Hosts Tanzania were knocked out of the World Cup on the final day by Uganda on net run rate and two years might not be enough healing time.
Uganda has been to three editions of the U-19 World Cup after featuring at the 2004 (Bangladesh), Sri Lanka (2006) and West Indies (2022). They will be seeking a fourth appearance at the World Cup if they can achieve success.
