Mawanda deserves gold

By Joshua Serufusa Zake THE Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) has included the Mawanda Cup on its annual calendar in memory of one of the greatest names in the game. The late Prince George Mawanda -Chwa or "The Prince" as he was popularly known in cricket circles - was a great player and organiser. Mawanda spent his formative years in Ceylon (Sri-Lanka) and England, where he learnt the game from an early age. While in the U.K he captained the Herbay College Kent in 1935. When the Prince captained the Southerns against the Northerns in U.K Public Schools Cricket Tournament, he scored an unbeaten 248 runs, setting a record, which is yet to be broken. The Prince was later made an honorary member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lords cricket ground. He was, and is the only Ugandan to have been given that honour. When the Prince returned to Uganda, he started the African Cricket Club in 1940 and captained it until 1951. His aim of starting the club was to encourage the Ugandan Africans to play the game. As a result of his foresight the game continued to be played in Uganda even after the exodus of the Asians, who had dominated the game, in the seventies. The Prince was the first Ugandan African to be selected for the national cricket team and was the manager of the first East African team that toured the U.K. in 1972. He also led the ACC to the first tour of Kenya. A match, that was played in 1954 as, one of the events to mark the opening of the Lugogo Stadium calls for special mention. Mawanda's masterly batting delighted the capacity crowd, that included the Queen Mother. The Prince hit a majestic six over the perimeter wall- the first Ugandan to achieve this feat at Lugogo. The ball landed on a lorry that was heading towards Jinja and was never recovered. The Prince later miss timed a delivery and missed the ball that hit his pads. He matched off without waiting for the umpire's signal, a gentlemanly gesture that earned him a hearty ovation. As a matter of great honour at the end of the match, the Prince was introduced to the Queen Mother who officially opened the stadium. A tournament in honour of this great cricketer ends this weekend, with the final at Lugogo Oval on Sunday. Ends