Uganda makes another shot at World Cup bid
Jan 20, 2009
THE question on the collective lips of the Uganda cricket fraternity –– no prizes for guessing –– is whether the national team will prosper at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Division 3 World Cricket League which starts this Saturday in Ar
Division 3 World Cricket
League fixtures
Sat 24: Uganda v Afghanistan
Sun 25: Uganda v Cayman Is.
Tue 27: Uganda v PNG
Wed 28: Uganda v Hong Kong
Fri 30: Argentina v Uganda
By Charles Mutebi
THE question on the collective lips of the Uganda cricket fraternity –– no prizes for guessing –– is whether the national team will prosper at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Division 3 World Cricket League which starts this Saturday in Argentina.
To prosper, Uganda must first finish among the top two teams in Buenos Aires and thereby move on to the final qualification phase of the 2010 ICC World Cup, which is the penultimate target.
Uganda will battle against hosts Argentina, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and the Cayman Islands.
In real terms, Uganda must win at least four of its group matches as it will face five opponents, all of whom occupy lower places in the ICC Associate and Affiliate rankings.
Ideally, those rankings strongly suggest Uganda will do just that. Problem is, rankings are partly idealistic and cannot guarantee how hard-fought encounters will end.
In fact if it were possible, the Ugandan team would be kept away from looking at the rankings, just to ensure they avoid the temptation of complacency.
The fact is the 2007 champions will face a stern test from hosts Argentina, Hong Kong and Afghanistan ... yes you read right.
Afghanistan are current joint Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 Champions with Oman. They qualified for this tournament through successive conquests of the Division 5 and 4 World Cricket Leagues.
Indeed, Afghanistan is level on points in the rankings with Uganda but sits one place below in eleventh.
This Saturday, Uganda will get a taste of what Afghanistan, whose players recently received tips from Pakistan cricketers Shoaib Akhtar, Aamir Sohail, Rashid Latif, Ijaz Ahmed and Aaqib Javed, are all about. Moreover Afghanistan might just hire the services of a few as-of-yet unknown provincial Pakistani cricketers and steamroll everyone at the event.
For their part, Hong Kong are current champions of the ACC Trophy Elite 2008 which they won by beating the UAE, ICC Division 2 World Cricket League champions, in the final. Hong Kong are ranked 12th on 119 points so there is virtually nothing to separate them from Uganda.
Papau New Guinea are 15th with 116 points, the Cayman Islands 17th with 110 and Argentina 19th with 105 but playing at home is guaranteed to galvanise even the most pathetic of teams and Argentina are anything but.
Nevertheless, Uganda have the right cut between experience and youth and more than capable of holding their own. Coach Ebrahim Mohamed has “really enjoyed working with the Uganda team and... really looking forward to going to Argentinaâ€.
“I have got all the confidence in the world that we will do very well in the tournament,†he said, just the right answer to the question of the moment.
The team, comprising of 14 players and three officials flew out yesterday.
League fixtures
Sat 24: Uganda v Afghanistan
Sun 25: Uganda v Cayman Is.
Tue 27: Uganda v PNG
Wed 28: Uganda v Hong Kong
Fri 30: Argentina v Uganda
By Charles Mutebi
THE question on the collective lips of the Uganda cricket fraternity –– no prizes for guessing –– is whether the national team will prosper at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Division 3 World Cricket League which starts this Saturday in Argentina.
To prosper, Uganda must first finish among the top two teams in Buenos Aires and thereby move on to the final qualification phase of the 2010 ICC World Cup, which is the penultimate target.
Uganda will battle against hosts Argentina, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and the Cayman Islands.
In real terms, Uganda must win at least four of its group matches as it will face five opponents, all of whom occupy lower places in the ICC Associate and Affiliate rankings.
Ideally, those rankings strongly suggest Uganda will do just that. Problem is, rankings are partly idealistic and cannot guarantee how hard-fought encounters will end.
In fact if it were possible, the Ugandan team would be kept away from looking at the rankings, just to ensure they avoid the temptation of complacency.
The fact is the 2007 champions will face a stern test from hosts Argentina, Hong Kong and Afghanistan ... yes you read right.
Afghanistan are current joint Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 Champions with Oman. They qualified for this tournament through successive conquests of the Division 5 and 4 World Cricket Leagues.
Indeed, Afghanistan is level on points in the rankings with Uganda but sits one place below in eleventh.
This Saturday, Uganda will get a taste of what Afghanistan, whose players recently received tips from Pakistan cricketers Shoaib Akhtar, Aamir Sohail, Rashid Latif, Ijaz Ahmed and Aaqib Javed, are all about. Moreover Afghanistan might just hire the services of a few as-of-yet unknown provincial Pakistani cricketers and steamroll everyone at the event.
For their part, Hong Kong are current champions of the ACC Trophy Elite 2008 which they won by beating the UAE, ICC Division 2 World Cricket League champions, in the final. Hong Kong are ranked 12th on 119 points so there is virtually nothing to separate them from Uganda.
Papau New Guinea are 15th with 116 points, the Cayman Islands 17th with 110 and Argentina 19th with 105 but playing at home is guaranteed to galvanise even the most pathetic of teams and Argentina are anything but.
Nevertheless, Uganda have the right cut between experience and youth and more than capable of holding their own. Coach Ebrahim Mohamed has “really enjoyed working with the Uganda team and... really looking forward to going to Argentinaâ€.
“I have got all the confidence in the world that we will do very well in the tournament,†he said, just the right answer to the question of the moment.
The team, comprising of 14 players and three officials flew out yesterday.