How Uganda lost it on a nick of time

ICC Africa U19 World Cup

Results

Botswana 165 Ghana 167/8

(Ghana win by 2 wickets)

Uganda 60 Kenya 61/3

(Kenya win by 7 wickets)-249 balls remaining

The Uganda U19s had an almost impeccable tournament until the 7 wickets loss to Kenya, blowing out their chances of a third world cup appearance.

But how did things go south in the nick of time?

Was it a poor approach to the crucial game against Kenya by the men of tactics for Uganda?

Assistant coach Jackson Ogwang seems to disagree saying "The idea was to score at least 100 because here the Kenyans were mathematically required to chase that score in less than 10 overs."

The strategy looked realistic given the fact that Uganda had a great batting unit throughout the tournament and of course Kenya were not a free scoring side .They posted only one 200 (281) against Botswana.

However, there is also a general feeling that the game required cautious play, the team needed to hold their nerves but instead they panicked and the fall of 3 wickets in less than 2 overs gave Kenya an upper hand.

On the positives, there is a lasting foundation for future days and perhaps they can come back stronger in the next two years for another World Cup campaign.

Kenneth Waiswa, Fred Achelam and Richard Agamire are the only players that will be past the U19 bracket come next campaign meaning the team to some degree remains intact.