Kamyuka’s Midas touch yields gold
Feb 01, 2009
THE name Kenneth Kamyuka will be remembered in Argentina for a long time to come. In Uganda it will be remembered even longer.
CHARLES MUTEBI
THE name Kenneth Kamyuka will be remembered in Argentina for a long time to come. In Uganda it will be remembered even longer.
The flamboyant all-rounder has left the International Cricket Council (ICC) Division 3 World Cricket League in Argentina as the Man-of-the-Tournament, returning home to a country whose passage to the ICC World Cup Qualifier he has contributed to more than any other player.
Wicket haul
Kamyuka plundered a haul of 18 wickets, five more than the next bowler in the tournament. 10 of the 47.4 overs he bowled were maidens and he was one of only two players to take 5 wickets (for the loss of 36 runs) in a single match, a feat he achieved against eventual tournament winners Afghanistan.
Yet while any other player would have been content with leading the wicket-taking stakes, Kamyuka wrought almost as much damage with the bat. He finished with 110 runs, a tally only bettered by 12 players in the entire tournament. His average of 36.67 runs was sixth best overall.
Kamyuka was also Uganda’s third highest scorer, behind the opening pair of Roger Mukasa, whose 203 was the tournament-best, and Arthur Kyobe, who collected a total of 153 runs.
Coach Ebrahim Mohammed may not have guessed Kamyuka would outscore all but two of his teammates when placing him at number eight in Uganda’s batting lineup, a feeling which would have been strengthened when the 27 year-old was dismissed for one against Afghanistan.
Man for the big time
But as he put it himself after Uganda’s heart-stopping one-run win over Hong Kong, he’s a man for the big occasion.
“I enjoy bowling when there is a lot of pressure on the batsmen,†said Kamyuka after taking four wickets against Hong Kong, a match in which it was Uganda who were actually on the ropes.
Yet that’s the mark of greatness — seeing challenges were the rest see problems — and if there was any doubt about the place of Kamyuka in the place of Ugandan cricket, it has been resolved now.
A whole eight years after coming on to hit 100 not out when Uganda were 8-99 in response to Malaysia’s 159 at the Canada ICC Trophy, Kamyuka has shown he’s still got it and his contribution will be even more crucial at the World Cup Qualifier in South Africa.
Still, Mohammed will be hoping Kamyuka’s form rubs off some of his teammates before the Qualifier starts in April.
Big names mis-fire
With the exception of Kamyuka and Uganda’s opening pair of Mukasa and Kyobe, no other player had a more memorable tournament.
The middle order was of particular concern after demonstrating great charity with their wickets, leaving the team too dependent on the opening partnership.
There is also an urgent need to lessen the burden of taking wickets on Kamyuka’s shoulders seeing as his haul of 18 is just one wicket short of the next four combined.
Against the much tougher opposition at the Qualifier, Uganda cannot hope to have any chance of qualifying for the World Cup with a few stalwarts within the side. Other seniors, who include the skipper Junior Kwebiha, 2008 national Super Six league top batsman Joel Olweny, Frank Nsubuga, Benjamin Musoke, Akbar Baig and Nehal Bibodi have to up the ante for Uganda to have any chance down south.
Although that is not to say their exploits in Argentina have gone completely without notice. It was, after all, a team effort — a victorious one at that.
THE name Kenneth Kamyuka will be remembered in Argentina for a long time to come. In Uganda it will be remembered even longer.
The flamboyant all-rounder has left the International Cricket Council (ICC) Division 3 World Cricket League in Argentina as the Man-of-the-Tournament, returning home to a country whose passage to the ICC World Cup Qualifier he has contributed to more than any other player.
Wicket haul
Kamyuka plundered a haul of 18 wickets, five more than the next bowler in the tournament. 10 of the 47.4 overs he bowled were maidens and he was one of only two players to take 5 wickets (for the loss of 36 runs) in a single match, a feat he achieved against eventual tournament winners Afghanistan.
Yet while any other player would have been content with leading the wicket-taking stakes, Kamyuka wrought almost as much damage with the bat. He finished with 110 runs, a tally only bettered by 12 players in the entire tournament. His average of 36.67 runs was sixth best overall.
Kamyuka was also Uganda’s third highest scorer, behind the opening pair of Roger Mukasa, whose 203 was the tournament-best, and Arthur Kyobe, who collected a total of 153 runs.
Coach Ebrahim Mohammed may not have guessed Kamyuka would outscore all but two of his teammates when placing him at number eight in Uganda’s batting lineup, a feeling which would have been strengthened when the 27 year-old was dismissed for one against Afghanistan.
Man for the big time
But as he put it himself after Uganda’s heart-stopping one-run win over Hong Kong, he’s a man for the big occasion.
“I enjoy bowling when there is a lot of pressure on the batsmen,†said Kamyuka after taking four wickets against Hong Kong, a match in which it was Uganda who were actually on the ropes.
Yet that’s the mark of greatness — seeing challenges were the rest see problems — and if there was any doubt about the place of Kamyuka in the place of Ugandan cricket, it has been resolved now.
A whole eight years after coming on to hit 100 not out when Uganda were 8-99 in response to Malaysia’s 159 at the Canada ICC Trophy, Kamyuka has shown he’s still got it and his contribution will be even more crucial at the World Cup Qualifier in South Africa.
Still, Mohammed will be hoping Kamyuka’s form rubs off some of his teammates before the Qualifier starts in April.
Big names mis-fire
With the exception of Kamyuka and Uganda’s opening pair of Mukasa and Kyobe, no other player had a more memorable tournament.
The middle order was of particular concern after demonstrating great charity with their wickets, leaving the team too dependent on the opening partnership.
There is also an urgent need to lessen the burden of taking wickets on Kamyuka’s shoulders seeing as his haul of 18 is just one wicket short of the next four combined.
Against the much tougher opposition at the Qualifier, Uganda cannot hope to have any chance of qualifying for the World Cup with a few stalwarts within the side. Other seniors, who include the skipper Junior Kwebiha, 2008 national Super Six league top batsman Joel Olweny, Frank Nsubuga, Benjamin Musoke, Akbar Baig and Nehal Bibodi have to up the ante for Uganda to have any chance down south.
Although that is not to say their exploits in Argentina have gone completely without notice. It was, after all, a team effort — a victorious one at that.