The much-anticipated ICC CWC Challenge League B 2024-26 round two has bowled off in Hong Kong China where 6 teams; Hong Kong China, Tanzania, Italy, Singapore, Bahrain and Uganda are competing to better their cumulative points from the first round with the ultimate goal of earning a spot in the 2027 Cricket World Cup qualifiers and ODI status.
With 9 points and leading the 6-team table, Uganda’s Cricket Cranes will start this tournament at an advantage and as they say, it will be their position to lose.
How tough will it be?
Well, if we are going by the team’s results in the first round, Uganda impressed against its opponents making easy shifts against the teams; only having an uphill task against Italy which they overcame by 24 Runs.
The overall performance was considered good, of course, because the results went in Uganda’s favour but also, we saw Uganda’s batters making a mark; managing to put runs on the board which was a bit of a surprise and relief to the fans. I am not saying Ugandan batters cannot put runs on the board but after the trauma of the 2024 T20 World Cup, the fear of the batters not showing up was strong. But the batters did show up; from Captain Riazat Ali Shah to Shrideep Mangela, Robinson Obuya, Kenneth Waiswa, Alpesh Ramjani and Dinesh Kumar Nakrani. They all made good enough contributions with the bat to get Uganda past the line.
The bowlers as usual did not disappoint. The spinners Henry Ssenyondo, Alpesh Ramjani and Dinesh Kumar Nakrani led the bowling charge with pacers Juma Miyaji and Cosmas Kyewuta also adding a press to give the opponent batters a run for their money.
From that, the expectation is that Uganda will have a smooth sail through round two.
However, from the recent Tri-Series played in Hong Kong China, the expectation for the team to have a smooth sail may be a stretch. The Cricket Cranes travelled to Hong Kong China way before the tourney to assimilate the conditions. To do this the team took part in the Tri-Series against Hong Kong China and Bahrain.
Uganda played three games winning the two group games but falling short in the final. The team’s performance was not as convincing as expected especially in the two games against Hong Kong China; illuminating the gaps in the Ugandan camp and the effect of the different playing conditions.
Uganda’s top order still struggling to put on satisfactory runs for the rest to build on. The four openers being used since the first round Kenneth Waiswa, Raghav Dhawan, Robinson Obuya, and Shrideep Mangela; each can score runs but on a given match game, 3 of them fall so cheaply with very minimal contributions pushing the run burden of the whole game to the middle order and tail-enders. In the trial games, Alpesh Ramjani and Cyrus Kakuru tried their lack in the top four producing some good runs; but the challenge for Uganda remains; will the top order deliver enough to build on? Can the top order drive the game for some good overs?
The consolation though is that the middle order of Dinesh Nakrani, Alpesh Ramjani and Riazat Ali Shah usually comes through. But in a game like the Tri-Series final against Hong Kong China; the burden of the top order falling short will be felt and it won’t be a good stand for Uganda.
On the bright side however Uganda’s bowling is still one to celebrate; blowers Cosmas Kyewuta, Henry Ssenyondo, Juma Miyagi, Frank Nsubuga, Bilal Hassun and all-rounders Alpesh Ramjani, Dinesh Nakrani, and Riazat Ali Shah are all trusted to do the job right 90% of the time.
Fred Achelam’s wicketkeeping gets better and better every other game, making him a reliable wicketkeeper for the team. He has shown admirable concentration during the games, good game reading, agility, quick reflex reactions, and good catches among other qualities.
This gives the fans hope, that this round is winnable for Uganda.
The competition for Uganda in this round will shift. Though Uganda is at the top, Italy and Hong Kong China are equally fighting for the top position and rightly so, all teams are in this league to win and make it to the WC qualifiers. Italy and Hong Kong China who are 2 points behind Uganda have the better chance of taking that spot and if they do their work right, they can use this tournament to close the gap and push Uganda to third place which makes this round a daunting task for Uganda.
Against Italy, Uganda may be relieved to learn that the team will not have top cricketers Harry Manenti, Emilio Gay and Joe Burns, however, the additions in the team for this round Justin Mosca, Thomas Draca, Nicholas Maiolo and Stefano di Bartolomeo are equally good; plus the other top performers in the team Crishan Kalugamage, Grant Stewart, Gareth Berg, Rakibul Hasan and Captain Marcus Campopiano make the squad. In a nutshell, Uganda will have to have to play its A+ game against Italy to get a favourable result.
In the first round, the Uganda versus Hong Kong China game was washed out after the Cricket Cranes had batted their hearts out. Well, both teams get a do-over and Uganda will now be up against Hong Kong China’s top cricketers Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Martin Coetzee, Yasim Murtaza, Ayush Shukl, Anas Khan and Ateeq Iqbal who are playing in their home conditions. Another tough one for Uganda.
If Uganda can knock these two countries off; the hope is that Tanzania, Bahrain and Singapore will be a smooth sail for the Cricket Cranes.
In this round, the playing conditions will be a big factor for Uganda and the rest of the teams.
In November 2024; the first round of the ICC CWC Challenge League B 2024-26; the weather in Uganda was a lottery for everyone, yes it had some showers on some game days, but 70% of the time it was warm weather good to play in.
The wickets were favourable to all, in Entebbe a bit slow wicket and assisting spin out; in Lugogo a bit more flat and fair balance between the batsmen and bowlers. Entebbe a much bigger ground, so the bowlers had a bigger chance to get wickets while Lugogo with smaller boundaries was more favourable to the batsmen
It’s winter time in Hong Kong China, the weather is pretty cold; temperatures going as low as 16/15 degrees centigrade on a day; not the weather our boys are used to. In fact, in one of the trial games Riazat Ali Shah retired due to a cramp caused by the weather conditions.
Meaning, the weather in Hong Kong China is going to play a very big part in Uganda’s performance. If the boys can find a way of overcoming the conditions or working around them, the best they can; then we are hopeful for good results from the team.
The playing wickets in Hong Kong China are quite fast giving a decent bounce to the ball and this favours the seaming bowlers a great deal; not saying spinners can’t shine; just saying it won’t come easy for them.
What this means for Uganda is that they will have to rely more on their pace lineup of Juma Miyagi, Cosmas Kyewuta and recently added paceman Bilal Hassan; especially in the first batch of overs.
The good thing is as the pitch wears during the day, everything kept constant; the wicket becomes more spin-friendly, so hopefully, then Uganda can shift to spin.
Miyagi and Kyewuta have had a decent run with the bat lately, meaning even at the tail end of the game, they can support the team with runs. For Bilal who averages a 6.46 econ rate from 44 T20 innings, Uganda will count on his bowling. His batting on the other hand has not been as promising, but nonetheless, if he can perform with the ball, the batters will do the rest.
Speaking of batting, the playing wickets as stated give a decent bounce to the ball, which means the ball fairly carries and this can be both a blessing and curse to big hitters who can score maximums easily but also be prone to having their balls caught if the doesn’t make it over.
That said for the batters to make the most of these wickets, it will be the dynamics of how the batter faces the ball, how soon they strike, how much power they use, the shot selection etc; that will determine if one can get runs off the ball or not. The advantage is all the pitches have short boundaries so big hitters will have a filled day.
But generally, the wickets are not as easy to bat on and the Ugandan batters will have to apply both their skill and mental calculations to get runs.
Uganda will look to its big hitters Robinson Obuya and Riazat Ali Shah to take advantage of short boundaries likewise other batters Shrideep Mangela, Kenneth Waiswa etc.
On the flip side short boundaries are a nightmare for the fielders, so the fielders have to be quick and alert.
Good thing Uganda has had a chance to play at both the playing grounds; Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground and Kowloon Cricket Club in Kowloon, so we assume they have this all figured out.
Uganda will start their campaign against Bahrain at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground at 4:00 am Ugandan time. The games will be live on ICCtv.
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