Ugandan captain hails T20I World Cup qualification

WINDHOEK, Namibia (CMC):

Uganda captain Brian Masaba described qualifying for the 2024 ICC Men’s Twenty20 International World Cup as an immensely emotional moment for the team.

The Ugandans formalised their place in the line-up of 20 teams on Thursday when they romped to a comprehensive nine-wicket win against Rwanda in the final round of matches in the Africa qualifiers for the tournament in Namibia.

Chasing a modest 66 to win, the Cricket Cranes, as they are known, reached their target with 71 balls remaining at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in the Namibian capital for their fifth win in their six matches in the qualifying tournament.

This will be the first appearance in a senior ICC World Cup for Uganda, and they join the Namibians from the Africa qualifying tournament in booking their place to the World Cup, which will feature the largest number of teams in its history.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Masaba said. “I can’t put words to the emotions we are feeling now as a team. It’s massive for Ugandan cricket and huge for African cricket.

“A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to get us where we are. It has been years of toil and hard work, four or five years of sacrifice. The fans joining in the celebrations were special.”

Before the historic win, Uganda had wins from four of their previous five matches in the seven-team qualifying tournament, beating Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Kenya, slipping against only co-qualifiers Namibia, who played unbeaten.

“We are all very excited as a group,” Masaba added. “Everyone is pumped up about the achievement. It’s a first for Uganda. We came into this tournament trying to seal a World Cup slot. We firmly believed that it was possible. We had put in a lot of work.

“We knew we had to beat one of the top teams. To come out here and achieve it is a different story. We are feeling a special kind of emotion right now.”

Apart from joint hosts West Indies and the United States, the other teams that will be appearing in the event to be staged from June 4 to 20 in the Caribbean and the United States are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Ugandans.

“The association in Uganda was very keen to get us (to the World Cup) by organising a lot of games and tournaments,” Masaba said. “We have played maybe 40 to 50 Twenty20 Internationals over the last three years. It’s not a mistake that the team has done well in this tournament.

“Much like any other sport in Uganda, the guys must look for alternative sources of income. But the association has tried to ensure guys have contracts over the past couple of years – and we still must work on the side to make ends meet.”

Masaba, who has played 53 T20Is to date, said the players hope that their participation in the T20I World Cup could spur an increase of participation in the sport in the country, recognising the persistent hard work put in behind the scenes over the past five years by the group of students and mostly semi-professionals that earn between US$200 and US $500 monthly.

“This opens a lot of doors for cricket back home,” he said. “It’s going to popularise the sport in the country. Hopefully, some players can get T20 and T10 gigs. It puts Ugandan cricket on the map.”