Our strength lies in our athleticism, all rounders: Uganda cricket captain

Uganda’s success in reaching the next T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in 2024 in West Indies and USA, is their first chance to feature in an International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament, and has surprised the cricket followers since not many are aware of the progress the African team have made in cricket.

While football is the national sport and remains most popular, cricket isn’t far behind considering that the country was also a British colony till as late as 1962 and is a part of the Commonwealth.

Cricket in Uganda is structured, with the Uganda Cricket Association giving contracts to 24 players. The cricket association has one sponsor – Kansai Plascon, which is known as paint partner.

“Our players are semi-professionals. These contracts to 24 players range between 160 US dollars and 500 US dollars per month. The players also work as delivery guys, procurement officers, pharmaceutical attendants, fitness coaches while many have small personal businesses,” says Innocent Ndawula, the Uganda cricket team's media manager.

Team captain Brian Masaba says that qualification to the T20 World Cup is an important milestone. Here is an interview with Masaba:

Q. What does success in the qualifying tournament means to Uganda?

Brian Masaba: This is an important milestone for Ugandan cricket. This is the first time the senior team has qualified for the World Cup so hopefully it opens up a lot of opportunities and windows for the game to grow in the country. It has also shown the world a little bit about Ugandan cricket and about all the work that has been going on behind the scenes.

Q. How long did you prepare for the tournament?

Brian Masaba: This has been a long process. It has been 3-4 years down the road, preparing for this tournament. The team has been working as well as doing lots of tournaments and games. We are just trying to make sure that we move up the T20I rankings, and all that work has been leading up to this tournament. It has been a 3-4 years’ process that has finally led to us making the World Cup. 

Q. Tell us about the cricketing facilities in Uganda. Are these enough?

Brian Masaba: We have five grass wickets in the country now and several other artificials turfs but obviously in terms of facilities, there is lots that can be improved upon and it is an area that hopefully will develop, now that we have made it to the World Cup. That can help the game grow even more. The federation has tried to facilitate the team and make sure that we are properly prepared leading up to the tournament. So, hopefully we have lots of positives from here.

Q. What has been the team’s greatest strength?

Brian Masaba: I think what has made this team truly great is how well we play as a unit and how well we gel as a team. You know we are lucky in that we have four-five all-rounders who bowl and bat really well. They give this team a huge amount of balance and it allows us to try out different combinations on different game-days. We are very athletic and pride ourselves in our fielding. We won a couple of games in the field [during the qualifying tournament] but you know we have also developed as a batting unit over the last couple of years. Consistency shown by the batting unit has been really good to see. Our greatest strength is that we play as a team and support each other as a team. We play for each other.

Q. What is the way forward in preparing for the T20 World Cup

Brian Masaba: Obviously, we need to get ready for that World Cup because you know we intend to go out there and give a good account of Ugandan cricket. It is going to be a lot of intense hard work in the next half year. Obviously, we need to play a lot of cricket games against high quality opposition to hone our skills and make sure all our efforts are targeted towards doing well at that World Cup. That is the plan.

Q. Do you think success in the Africa qualifiers will help cricket grow in Uganda?

Brian Masaba: The fact that the team has done well at this qualifier and got into World Cup will help in growing the profile of the game in the country. There have been a lot of eyes on this tournament. We could hear all the messages of support from all over the country and outside the country. It raises the profile of the game in the country. Hopefully, the game gets the support it needs to grow, both from the government and the various other stakeholders. Getting into the World Cup will definitely help grow the game in the country.

Cricket, T20, Uganda, T20 World Cup, East Africa, Africa Cricket Association, Brian Masaba, T20 Cricket, ICC