Uganda national cricket team explained

Uganda
Nickname:Cricket Cranes
Association:Uganda Cricket Association
Captain:Brian Masaba
Coach:Abhay Sharma
Icc Status:Associate member
Icc Region:Africa
T20i Rank:21st
T20i Rank Best:21st (5 June 2024)
First T20i:v. at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala; 20 May 2019
Most Recent T20i:v. at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, San Fernando; 14 June 2024
Num T20is:95
Num T20is This Year:8
T20i Record:70/22
(0 ties, 3 no results)
T20i Record This Year:4/4
(0 ties, 0 no results)
Wt20 Apps:1
Wt20 First:2024
Wt20 Best:Group stage (2024)
Wt20q Apps:6
Wt20q First:2012
Wt20q Best:Runners-up (2023)
T Body:FFFF00
T Pants:FFFF00
T Rightarm:FFFF00
T Leftarm:FFFF00
T Pattern B:_uga_wc24
T Pattern Ra:_uga_wc24
T Pattern La:_uga_wc24
T Pattern Pants:_uga_wc24
Asofdate:14 June 2024

The Uganda national cricket team, nicknamed the Cricket Cranes, is the men's team that represents Uganda in international cricket. The team is organised by the Uganda Cricket Association, which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1998.[1]

Uganda first fielded an international team as early as 1914, against the East Africa Protectorate, but only began competing regularly in the early 1950s,[2] playing frequent series against regional rivals Kenya and Tanzania (then Tanganyika).[3] From 1966, Uganda contributed players to a combined East African team, which was reconstituted as East and Central Africa in 1989.

The country's first ICC tournament played in its own right was the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada. Uganda played in the next three editions of the tournament, renamed the ICC World Cup Qualifier, but did not come close to qualifying for the Cricket World Cup. In the World Cricket League (WCL), Uganda reached ICC World Cricket League Division Two on three occasions, but was relegated to Division Three each time.

The team participated in six editions of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. They qualified for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, making it their first time in the ICC T20 WC after they finished 2nd in 2023 Africa Qualifier.[4]

History

East Africa team

See main article: East Africa cricket team.

Uganda combined with their regional rivals Kenya and Tanzania to form the East Africa team. The first known match for this team was against a South African "Non-Europeans" team captained by Basil D'Oliveira in September 1958 in Nairobi, with the visitors winning by seven wickets.[5] East Africa became an associate member of the ICC in 1966.[6]

East Africa toured England in 1972[7] and the Marylebone Cricket Club played a first-class match against East Africa in January 1974, winning by 237 runs.[8] The following year, East Africa played in the 1975 Cricket World Cup in England. After various warm-up games, including a 3 wicket win against Glamorgan,[9] they played New Zealand, India and England in the World Cup itself, losing all three matches.[10] The World Cup was followed by a first-class match against Sri Lanka at the County Ground, Taunton, which the Sri Lankans won by 115 runs.[11] East Africa played in the ICC Trophies of 1979,[12] 1982[13] and 1986,[14] without qualifying for the World Cup from any of them.

Uganda continued playing their regular matches against Kenya and Tanzania, despite Kenya leaving the East Africa combination in [15] and the triangular tournament became a quadrangular tournament in 1966 when Zambia joined in. From then until the tournament's end in 1980, Uganda won the tournament just once.

East and Central Africa cricket team

See main article: East and Central Africa cricket team.

The East Africa team left the ICC in 1989 and was replaced by the East and Central Africa team the same year.[16] This new team was a combination of Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, and they took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time in 1990, also taking part in 1994, 1997 and 2001.[17]

Independent National Team

Uganda left the East and Central Africa combination and became an associate member of the ICC in their own right in 1998. Their first international tournament was the 2001 ICC Trophy. After winning all five of their first round games, they lost a play-off match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the right to enter the second stage of the tournament.[18] The following year, they finished third in their group in the Africa Cup.[19]

In 2004, Uganda played their first first-class matches in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against Kenya and Namibia, winning against Namibia.[20] In August that year, they finished second to Namibia in the Africa Cricket Association Championships in Zambia.[21] This qualified them for the following year's ICC Trophy, in which they finished in the twelfth and last place after losing to Papua New Guinea in their final play-off match.[22] Earlier in the year, they again played against Namibia and Kenya in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, losing both games.[23]

2007-2018

In January 2007, Uganda faced Bermuda[24] and Canada[25] as those two teams prepared for Division One of the World Cricket League in Nairobi.[26] This also served as preparation for Uganda's visit to Darwin, Australia, for Division Three of the same tournament. Uganda won their Group B games against the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and Tanzania before beating Papua New Guinea in the semi-final[27] and Argentina in the tournament final.[28] Winning Division Three earned Uganda a spot in the ICC's High Performance Program,[29] and promotion to Division Two.

Uganda took part in a four-team Twenty20 tournament before the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, playing games against Pakistan, Kenya, and Bangladesh in Nairobi. As expected, they lost against Pakistan and Bangladesh before upsetting African rivals Kenya with a two-wicket win.[30]

Their next matches were two one-day games against Bermuda, also in Nairobi, in October 2007. They surprised their more experienced rivals, going down by just seven runs after Nandikishore Patel scored a half-century,[31] before winning the second match by 43 runs with Joel Olwenyi scoring a half-century of his own.[32]

In November 2007, Uganda travelled to Windhoek, Namibia to participate in the WCL Division Two tournament. Uganda lost their group matches against; Denmark, Namibia, Oman, and the UAE but did defeat Argentina in their group match and also their positional playoff to finish fifth.[33] Uganda's bottom two finish saw them relegated to Division Three.[34]

In January 2009, Uganda won four of their five group matches and edged Papua New Guinea on run rate, to finish second in the ICC Division 3 competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina and earn the final place at the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier.[35]

In April 2009, Uganda travelled to South Africa for the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier. Despite a first up win against Namibia, Uganda lost their remaining four Group A matches and failed to make the Super Eight stage, thus ending their chance to qualify for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[36] Uganda finished 10th overall after defeating Denmark but losing to Bermuda in position playoff matches, and thus was relegated to 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three.[37]

In August 2018, Uganda replaced Ghana in the 2018 Africa T20 Cup, after Ghana had declined Cricket South Africa's invite to compete in the tournament.[38] Uganda played in the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier Africa but got to the fourth position of the table.

2018–present

In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 cricket matches played between Uganda and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have been full T20I matches.[39]

After April 2019, Uganda played in the 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.[40] [41]

In 2021 and 2023, Uganda toured Namibia.

On 26 November 2023, Uganda registered their first win against an ICC Full Member by defeating Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier.[42]

Governing body

See main article: Uganda Cricket Association.

The Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) is responsible for all matches played in Uganda and by the Uganda cricket team. It was admitted to the International Cricket Council in 1998 as an associate member. Its current headquarters are in Kampala, Uganda.

International Grounds

Stadium! colspan="3"
CityTest matchesODI matchesT20I matches
Lugogo StadiumKampala005
Kyambogo Cricket OvalKampala005

Tournament history

World Cup

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

13th place

Did not qualify

Did not qualify

5th place

Runners-up(qualified)

ICC T20 World Cup

ICC T20 World Cup
width=150 Yearwidth=150 Roundwidth=50 Positionwidth=50 GPwidth=50 Wwidth=50 Lwidth=50 Twidth=50 NR
2007did not qualify
2009
2010
2012
2014
2016
2021
2022
2024Group stage 16/20 4 1 3 0 -4.51
Total 1/90 titles4130-4.51

ICC Intercontinental Cup

First round

First round

Did not participate[43]

Did not participate

World Cricket League

Champions – promoted

5th place[44]relegated

2nd place[45]promoted

5th place – relegated

2nd place – qualify for WCQ

2nd place – promoted

5th place – relegated

5th place – relegated

Champions[46]promoted

6th place – relegated

ICC World Cup Qualifier

10th place

12th place

10th place[47]

10th place[48]

Did not qualify

Did not qualify

ACA Africa T20 Cup

Champions

Champions

East Africa T20 Cup

Champions

Champions

Continent Cup T20 Africa

Champions

Records and statistics

International Match Summary — Uganda[49] Last updated 14 June 2024

Playing Record
Format M W L T NR Inaugural Match
Twenty20 Internationals 95 70 22 0 3 20 May 2019

Twenty20 International

Most T20I runs for Uganda[53]

PlayerRunsAverageCareer span
2,081 29.72 2021–2024
1,261 32.33 2019–2024
1186 23.25 2019–2024
891 27.00 2019–2024
805 25.96 2020–2024

Most T20I wickets for Uganda[54]

PlayerWicketsAverageCareer span
94 14.78 2019–2024
74 9.29 2022–2024
68 16.13 2019–2024
65 14.00 2021–2024
57 16.05 2019–2024

T20I record versus other nations[49]

Records complete to T20I #2682. Last updated 14 June 2024.

Opponent M W L T NR First match First win
vs Full Members
1 0 1 0 0 4 June 2024
1 0 1 0 0 14 June 2024
1 0 1 0 0 8 June 2024
1 1 0 0 0 26 November 2023 26 November 2023
vs Associate Members
6 6 0 0 0 20 May 2019 20 May 2019
1 1 0 0 0 19 October 2021 19 October 2021
4 4 0 0 0 23 May 2019 23 May 2019
2 2 0 0 0 11 July 2022 11 July 2022
1 1 0 0 0 15 July 2022 15 July 2022
16 11 4 0 1 22 May 2019 15 September 2021
1 1 0 0 0 19 October 2021 19 October 2021
2 2 0 0 0 16 October 2021 16 October 2021
2 2 0 0 0 18 September 2022 18 September 2022
9 1 8 0 0 21 May 2019 9 April 2022
1 0 1 0 0 14 July 2022
6 6 0 0 0 11 September 2021 11 September 2021
2 1 1 0 0 12 July 2022 5 June 2024
3 1 2 0 0 12 February 2020 15 February 2020
18 17 1 0 0 17 October 2021 17 October 2021
1 1 0 0 0 22 October 2021 22 October 2021
16 12 2 0 2 18 November 2021 18 November 2021

Players

See main article: List of Ugandan first-class cricketers.

See main article: List of Uganda Twenty20 International cricketers.

Personnel

Current squad

This lists all the players who were part of the most recent One-day or T20I squad. Uncapped players are listed in italics. Updated as of 31 August 2023.

NameAgeBatting styleBowling styleFormatsNotes
Batters
Right-handed One-day & T20I
Right-handed One-day & T20I
Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodoxOne-day
Pascal Murungi Right-handed One-day & T20I
Ronald Lutaaya Left-handed One-day & T20I
Right-handed T20I
Robinson Obuya Right-handed One-day
All-rounders
Right-handed One-day & T20I Vice-captain
Right-handed One-day & T20I
Right-handed One-day & T20I Captain
Alpesh Ramjani Left-handed One-day & T20I
Wicketkeepers
Right-handed One-day
Cyrus KakuruRight-handed Slow left-arm orthodoxOne-day & T20I
Spin Bowlers
Right-handed One-day & T20I
Right-handed One-day & T20I
Joseph Baguma Right-handed One-day
Siraje Nsubuga Right-handed T20I
Pace Bowlers
Left-handed One-day
Juma Miyaji Right-handed One-day
Right-handed One-day & T20I
Pius Oloka Right-handed One-day
David Wabwire Right-handed T20I
Right-handed T20I
Left-handed One-day

Coaching staff

PositionName
Team manager
Head coachAbhay Sharma
Batting coach
Bowling coach
Fielding coach
Physiotherapist
Strength and conditioning coach
Analyst

Captains

Name Began Ended
John Wild 1952 1957
Dr. Ian McAdam 1955 1955
William Handley 1956 1956
Allan Boucher 1957 1957
Ed Wilson 1958 1958
Premji Patel 1958 1959
Shashikant Patel 1959 1959
John Sequeira 1959 1960
Ron Meredew 1960 1961
Mangaldas Kotecha 1961 1962
1962 1966
Maqsood Malik 1966 1968
1968 1969
1969 1970
1970 1971
Mushtaq Ramji 1971 1971

Coaches

Name Nationality Appointed Ended Tournament(s)
1998 April 2001[55]
Andrew Meya April 2001 December 2003 2001 ICC Trophy
December 2003[56] August 2004[57]
Henry Okecho September 2004 March 2007[58] 2005 ICC Trophy
April 2007[59] November 2007 2007 WCL Div. 3
November 2007[60] July 2008 2007 WCL Div. 2
Barney Mohamed July 2008[61] October 2010 2009 World Cup Qualifier
October 2010[62] January 2011
February 2011[63] May 2013 2011 WCL Div. 2
2012 WT20 Qualifier
2013 WCL Div. 3
Henry Okecho (acting) May 2013[64] July 2013
Johan RudolphJuly 2013[65] February 2014 2013 WT20 Qualifier
2014 World Cup Qualifier
Davis Turinawe April 2014[66] August 2014
May 2016[67] 2014 WCL Div. 3
2015 WCL Div. 2

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/28.html Uganda
  2. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Teams/0/367/Other_Matches.html Other matches played by Uganda
  3. http://www.friendsofkenyacricket.org.uk/know.html History of Kenyan cricket
  4. Web site: A historic first for Uganda as side joins Namibia into T20WC 2024. Tripathi, Divy. ICC . 30 November 2023.
  5. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/97/97177.html Scorecard
  6. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/10.html East Africa
  7. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/ENG/1972_ENG_East_Africa_in_England_1972.html East Africa in England 1972
  8. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/33/33969.html Scorecard
  9. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/35/35168.html Scorecard
  10. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/WC75/ 1975 World Cup
  11. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/35/35269.html Scorecard
  12. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/ICCT79/ 1979 ICC Trophy
  13. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/ICCT82/ 1982 ICC Trophy
  14. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/ICCT86/ 1986 ICC Trophy
  15. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/16.html Kenya
  16. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/96.html East and Central Africa
  17. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/EastandCentralAfrica/Icct/Icct_List.html ICC Trophy matches played by East and Central Africa
  18. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/ICCT2001/ 2001 ICC Trophy
  19. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2002/TOURNAMENTS/AFRICACUP/about.shtml 2002 Africa Cup
  20. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2004/TOURNAMENTS/INTERCONTINENTAL/about.shtml 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup
  21. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/ICCT2005/DATABASE/QUALIFYING/africa.shtml African qualifying for the 2005 ICC Trophy
  22. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/ICCT2005/ 2005 ICC Trophy
  23. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2005/TOURNAMENTS/INTERCONTINENTAL/about.shtml 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup
  24. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/118/118621.html Scorecard
  25. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/118/118622.html Scorecard
  26. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/KENYA/2007_KENYA_ICC_World_Cricket_League_2007.html 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division One
  27. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2007/TOURNAMENTS/WCLDIV3/about.shtml 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division Three
  28. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES/articles/000046/004698.shtml Uganda lift Division Three title
  29. http://www.cricketeurope.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES/articles/000027/002781.shtml Denmark added to ICC High Performance Program
  30. http://www.cricketworld.com/uganda-win-all-african-clash-as-kenya-disappoint/13084.htm Uganda Win All-African Clash As Kenya Disappoint, 2 September 2007, www.cricketworld.com
  31. http://www.cricketworld.com/bermuda-hang-on-to-clinch-narrow-win-over-uganda/13675.htm Bermuda Hang On To Clinch Narrow Win Over Uganda, 23 October 2007, www.cricketworld.com
  32. http://www.cricketworld.com/uganda-hit-back-with-43-run-win-over-bermuda/13680.htm Uganda Hit Back With 43-Run Win Over Bermuda, 24 October 2007, www.cricketworld.com
  33. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wcl/engine/series/314541.html Cricinfo, Accessed 22 February 2009
  34. http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/development/wcl_div1-5_2007-2009.pdf World Cricket League structure
  35. http://content.cricinfo.com/wcl/engine/series/382526.html?view=pointstable, Cricinfo, Accessed 4 May 2009
  36. http://content.cricinfo.com/iccwcq2009/engine/series/384067.html?view=pointstable, Cricinfo, Accessed 4 May 2009
  37. http://content.cricinfo.com/iccwcq2009/engine/match/390241.html, Cricinfo, Accessed 4 May 2009
  38. Web site: Uganda replaces Ghana in upcoming Africa T20 Cup . Cricket South Africa . 28 August 2018.
  39. Web site: All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status. International Cricket Council. 26 April 2018. 1 September 2018.
  40. Web site: All to play for in last ever World Cricket League tournament . International Cricket Council . 11 April 2019.
  41. Web site: Uganda cricket team departs today for South Africa. 6 January 2015.
  42. Web site: Uganda stuns Zimbabwe to throw T20 WC Africa Region Qualifier open. ICC. 26 November 2023.
  43. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2006/TOURNAMENTS/INTERCONTINENTAL/about.shtml 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup
  44. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wcl/content/story/323270.html Cricinfo, Accessed 22 February 2009
  45. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wcl/engine/series/382526.html?view=pointstable Cricinfo, Accessed 22 February 2009
  46. http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/23421090/the-cranes-defend-90-save-danes Cricinfo, Accessed 7 May 2018
  47. http://content.cricinfo.com/iccwcq2009/engine/current/match/390241.html Cricinfo, Accessed 27 April 2009
  48. http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-qualifier-2014/engine/current/match/696749.html Cricinfo, Accessed 28 January 2014
  49. Web site: Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary . . 22 September 2022.
  50. Web site: Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals . . 14 December 2022.
  51. Web site: Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / High scores . . 22 December 2022.
  52. Web site: Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Best bowling figures . . 22 September 2022.
  53. Web site: Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Most runs . . 21 May 2019.
  54. Web site: Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Most wickets . . 21 May 2019.
  55. (5 April 2001). "Meya to coach cricket"Saturday Vision. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  56. Ronnie Kintu (17 December 2003). "U-19s stars get in camp"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  57. (9 September 2004). "Uganda: Tom Tikolo's Contract Ends" – allAfrica. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  58. (14 March 2007). "Ugandan national cricket team coach to quit"People's Daily. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  59. Ronnie Kintu (22 April 2007). "Walsumbi (sic) to coach Australia-bound team"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  60. Will Luke (3 November 2007). "Uganda call on Otieno" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  61. Charles Mutebi (14 July 2008). "Cricketers bring in top South African coach"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  62. Charles Mutebi (21 October 2010). "Uganda: Shukri is New Cricket Coach" – AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  63. Dennis Mabuka (3 February 2011). "Martin Suji appointed as Ugandan Cricket team coach" – Michezo Afrika. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  64. (7 June 2013). "Uganda seeks new national cricket team coach" – African News Xinhua. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  65. (5 July 2013). "South African Johan Rudolph Appointed New Cricket Coach" – Redpepper. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  66. David Isabirye (22 April 2014). "UGANDA CRICKET ASSOCIATION APPOINTS NEW COACHES" – Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  67. Samson Opus (22 August 2014). "Peter Kirsten named new national cricket coach"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.