UCA T20 Cricket Championship

KC Budo 62/10 Avengers 66/2

(Avengers win by eight wickets)

KC Budo 105/6 Avengers 108/3

(Avengers win by seven wickets)

With the blast of Aziz Damani’s withdrawal from national club cricket still rocking the sport, the 2024 UCA T20 Championship got underway at Lugogo on Sunday with two victories for the Avengers against KC Budo.

Low-key start for sure, but the UCA has pressed ahead with its plan for life without Aziz Damani, who pulled their four league teams from the 2024 season following disagreements with sport governing about the schedule.

Damani, who have (or at least had) three teams in the men’s Premiership and one in the women’s top flight, were discontented about the UCA’s planned original schedule that would have their two top sides deprived of multiple star players for a large chunk of the season through international duty.

Damani clubs Aziz Damani and Aziz Damani development have as many as 11 players on the national team, which has a busy schedule in 2024 highlighted by a historic appearance at the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June.  

With extensive preparations for the tournament lined up for the Cricket Cranes, in addition to participation at the World Cup, Damani were facing a campaign largely shorn of their talent. Discussions between Damani and the UCA before the start of UCA T20 Championship proved futile, with Damani’s request for a schedule that did not clash with international engagements for the Cricket Cranes dismissed.

Damani’s absence has opened the door for a new winner of the UCA T20 Cup and the UCA National League for the first time in seven years, with Damani dominating both competitions over that period.