Cricket Cranes head to Namibia on a high after Zimbabwe preps
6th T20: Uganda v Takashinga
Uganda 182/4
- Robinson Obuya 91
- Dinesh Nakrani 61
Takashinga 138/8
- Tinotenda Mutombodzi 54
- Brian Masaba 2/20
- David Wabwire 2/10
Uganda won by 46 runs
Robinson Obuya put his hand up for a place in Cricket Cranes playing XI at the World Cup Qualifiers with a team-high 91 in the final T20 match against Takashinga.
The visitors posted the highest total of the tour and despite losing Simon Ssesazi early for nothing, a 74-run partnership between Robinson Obuya (91) and Riazat Ali Shah (23) settled things.
The departure of Riazat Ali Shah didn’t slow down the run-scoring with Dinesh Nakrani (61) blasting a half-century off 25 balls to help the Cricket Cranes finish on 182/4 in their 20 overs.
In response, the hosts failed to stitch together a good partnership as the visitors picked wickets in regulation to halt any chance of mounting a challenge. David Wabwire (2/10), Alpesh Ramjani (2/27) and Brian Masaba (2/20) were the top wicket-takers to close out a 46-run win on a tour that has been successful for the visitors.
The visitors managed to win five games out of the six T20 games they played on the tour to Zimbabwe. The only failure for them was a 7-wicket loss to the Zimbabwe U-25 side in their 5th T20 game.
The whole squad of 15 gave a great account for themselves as they each pushed for a place in the playing XI in Namibia. Roger Mukasa and Ronak Patel were consistent at the top of the order and they showed the aggression that is repaired at the top of the order, Simon Ssesazi had some flashes of brilliance and he only gets to put everything together for him to show some consistency. Riazat Ali Shah missed the first three games but he got a decent shift in his favourite position in the order and that should be good enough to get him interested in Namibia.
The worry for Jackson Ogwang could be at the back end of the innings for the Cricket Cranes. Not so many runs have been coming from the mid-order and that could hurt the team in case the top doesn’t anchor the innings. That is something the team will need to find a way around.
Bilal Hassun was in superb form with the ball upfront and at the back end of the innings and he should be one of the obvious selections in the playing XI of the team. Ssesazi took the gloves in a couple of games which shows that if the coach needs to play another all-rounder, Cyrus Kakuru might be sacrificed. Masaba also bowled a lot more and always picked wickets which is another indicator that in case the slow options are required, one of the medium pacers will be sacrificed.
The Cricket Cranes get down to business on Wednesday against Tanzania.
