It is a cold Tuesday morning after a heavy downpour at the famous Namilyango College hill and the surrounding areas.
The vast, moist grassed playground and the wicket are still watery after the adverse effects of the morning natural shower.
The rains ought to have been a good omen, as a delegation of Namilyango College old students from the 1995 to 2000 class, accompanied by officials from Cricket Uganda, made a rare visit to the school.
Along with them is an assortment of Cricket equipment, ranging from balls to wickets.
This is a donation to the Namilyango College Cricket family to help revamp the game at this institution, which dates back to 1902.
The old students are led by the former head prefect John Mpande, Joseph Kawombe, Ivan Gitta and Mark Namanya, a seasoned sports journalist.
Moments after arrival, Cricket Uganda chairman Jackson Kavuma introduces the vastly experienced Cricket Cranes wicketkeeper Fred Achelam, who will now be handling the head coach duties of the sport at the College.
“Cricket Uganda is honoured to visit Namilyango College, one of the traditional schools in Uganda that played Cricket. We yearn to witness the steam and vigour of this game at the College as we grow the sport from the grassroots,” Kavuma remarked before handing over the Cricket gear to the students.
Representing the old students, Mpande expressed gratitude for the efforts of other alumni and Uganda Cricket to grow the sport at Namilyango College.
“We played Cricket at Namilyango College during our years. We want to see this game revamped again to be played alongside Rugby and soccer. We, as old students, shall support whenever the need arises. We thank Uganda Cricket for the offer of the coach and the cricket equipment,” Mpande stated.
Achelam, a proven Wicketkeeper for the national team, is energized before his first training session this weekend.
“I cannot wait to get started (with coaching) the players at Namilyango College. I am very grateful for this opportunity to teach skills to the young lads and above all, impact the love of the game.
“I am ready to train the players, and we unearth the talents from the grassroots with a key objective of growing Cricket at Namilyango College and Uganda at large,” Achlam hinted.
Current head teacher at Namilyango College, Constantine Sajjabi Mpuuga, lauded the effort of other old students and Uganda Cricket to develop the sport at a time that the College is celebrating 124 years of academic and co-curricular excellence.
“Namilyango College is marking 124 years of existence. We are honoured to develop a holistic child that the country desires to have. Besides Rugby, which is the College’s main sport, there are also other sports that we engage in and encourage the students to be part of.
“Cricket is one of them. We therefore thank Cricket Uganda and the old students (1995 to 2000 class) for revamping the sport. We are glad for the old boys for pushing,” Mpuuga hinted.
Joshua Lwanzi, a cricket player at Namilyango College, is exceedingly humbled by the support from the Old Boys and Uganda Cricket, which he envisages as a step in the right direction to grow the sport at the institution.
“As players, we thank the old students of Namilyango College and Uganda Cricket for their support given to us. We are very humbled by the coach who will help us grow and the equipment that we shall put to the right use,” Lwanzi noted.
Over the years, Uganda Cricket has established clear pathways to grow the game right from the grassroots in primary and secondary schools.
At Namilyango College, it is the time to witness the leather on the willow, the ping, crisp, hollow, crack, snick as the cricket music plays aloud.