It was tough playing under lights at T20 World Cup but we learnt a lot: Uganda captain

Brian Masaba, the Uganda captain, and his band of players from the east African country have returned from the T20 World Cup in June a tad wiser. The experience of playing top flight, and that too at a World Cup, has given them an idea of what to expect at the highest level.

The team struggled in batting in all the matches and could put up scores of only 58, 39 and 40 in the three matches against Test nations Afghanistan, West Indies and New Zealand.

But they did have a great moment, beating higher-ranked Papua New Guinea by three wickets.

Masaba spoke to www.theflyslip.online about the experience at the tournament.

Q. How was the experience playing at the T20 World Cup?

A. It was awesome. Obviously being a first-time, playing against the best teams in the World Cup, it was always going to be a huge learning experience for us. We just tried to enjoy the experience, taking in the occasion. But more importantly, picking knowledge and information from the best in the world with regards to what their processes were and how they approach the game. We had conversations with them to try and pick their brains. How they went about with their cricket. For a lot of these guys, it was about learning as much as we can and carry the lessons back home with us to make sure that we become better cricketers, better players going forward. Hopefully, we can translate it into our game and become better cricketing nation.

Q. Your batsmen seemed to struggle against the moving ball at night...

A. It was a tough experience for us, playing under lights. We obviously don’t get a lot of practice because we don’t have those facilities back home, so it was a new experience for a lot of the guys to play under lights. So obviously, a whole different experience with regards to how the ball behaves and also with sighting the ball. But you know cricket is all about being able to adjust to the conditions and unfortunately, we didn’t do that very well. But big lessons for us with regards to how we prepare for tournaments. Hopefully, it is an area we can improve on as players just to make sure that when the opportunity comes next time, we are better prepared and better placed to counter whatever conditions we come across.

Q. What was the standout performance individual performance in the T20 World Cup?

A. Personally, the standout performance for me has got to be our bowling unit’s performance. But it is hard to pick any one person. Special mention to Jumma Miyaji, Cosmos Kyewuta and Alpesh Ramjani. I thought they did really well for us. The two young fast bowlers especially stood out, bowling in the Powerplay and at the death. Those are the most difficult phases to bowl in. They did very, very well for us, in terms of containing the run-rate but also striking. It is very exciting to see the two young men put their hands up for the team and hopefully they can continue to do that. They still have a long way to go in their careers and I look forward to seeing how they develop. Ramjani did well for us in the middle-overs. I think the bowling unit stood out for us in all the games. Full credit to them for doing that in tough conditions.

The Uganda cricket team had a tough experience at the T20 World Cup 

Q. What are the lessons and how do you hope to overcome the problems?

A. Lot of lessons for us to learn, especially with regards to the gap in skill level. The teams we played against had very skilful players but also they were very adaptable to the different conditions. It wasn’t easy to hit the ball out of the park in the West Indies and we just saw how the other teams adjusted, the guys were looking to spend more time on the wicket. It requires a whole different set of skills. It comes down to how well you can adjust to the pitch. That for me was the biggest lesson to pick from against the best in the world. Just the adaptability. The best players are able to counter the conditions, inspect the conditions and adjust accordingly. That’s what helped them stand out and win games for their country. Huge lesson for us to learn there. But more importantly, we had quite a young playing group and they benefitted from how the other young guys did it. It will help them as they progress in their careers and become better players.

Cricket, T20 World Cup, Uganda, Africa, Brian Masaba, West Indies, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea