- Tournament: ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers Division 2
- Host: Rwanda
- Teams: Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
- Dates: August 7-16
The journey to the 2028 U-19 World Cup for the Baby Cricket Cranes starts in Kigali at the Africa Division 2 Qualifiers.
Uganda will be competing in the second tier of African cricket after dropping down a level from the last qualifiers in Nigeria.
A disappointing performance in Nigeria in 2025 relegated Uganda alongside Nigeria and Sierra Leone from the top flight of African cricket.
However, with a new generation of youngsters under the guidance of new Head Coach Grace Mutyagaba and his assistants Jonathan Ssebanja and Barack Turyamwesimira, they have been training since the Boys’ Cricket Week championship in Fort Portal last year.
The group is full of products of the boys’ schools program, with players from different schools making up the final 14.
The six-nation tournament will be played on a round-robin format with the top sides advancing to the Division 1 Africa finals next year.
The Baby Cricket Cranes played some games against the hosts Rwanda early this year, and that should give them some confidence against the home side, but they have to be wary of Nigeria and Sierra Leone, who have tasted some success at this level.
This opportunity gives the youngsters a chance to build momentum towards the more important qualifiers if they can read from the same script as Tanzania, who qualified for the World Cup in 2025 in Nigeria.
Grace Mutyagaba has an opportunity to build up a winning squad now and make sure they make the most of the opportunity in Rwanda. The pressure will be on his charges because of reputation, but at this level things change very quickly, and therefore it’s important to remain level-headed and take each game
Baby Cricket Cranes Squad: Ronald Rubangakene, Samuel Ahaisibwe, Devansh Patel, Robert Owili, Abraiz Ali, Richard Sohera, Daniel Rubangakene, Jackson Asiku, Kenneth Asiko, Adam Kassim, Felix Ochan, Eric Mukisa, Larry Itagi, Hamidu Munigwa
Fixtures:
- Game 1: Uganda U-19 v Nigeria U-19 – August 9th
- Game 2: Uganda U-19 v Mozambique U-19 – August 10th
- Game 3: Uganda U-19 v Ghana U-19 – August 12th
- Game 4: Uganda U-19 v Sierra Leone U-19 – August 13th
- Game 5: Uganda U-19 v Rwanda U-19 – August 15th
NOTE: All games start at 10:30 a.m. EAT
