By Juma Ali
Cricket Cranes were flagged off for their Tour to Namibia for the Castle Lite Series that will run from July 4 – 13 with the team playing four T20i and two ODI games.
Namibia is the highest-ranked associate nation in the World in 13th place, 11 places ahead of Uganda ranked 24th.
The Eagles of Namibia will most definitely offer a strong challenge for the Cricket Cranes who recently won the Continent Cup T20 tournament.
Cricket Cranes’ last two visits showed that the team is making progress after a 5-0 drubbing was followed up by a 3-2 loss last year.
Lutaya who missed the trip due to an examination is excited about his return.
“I felt bad when I missed the Continent Cup, but I was always hopeful of retuning to the team,” Lutaya who only made his senior team debut last year in Rwanda said.
“I feel excited to be back. It’s a big thing for me, and I have to continue helping the team. My role is to score runs. I have to get those runs, but most importantly I have to enjoy.
“The management still has hope in me and my abilities. I will continue working hard to see that the team stays on the high.”
There are only two changes to the squad that won the Continent Cup T20 with Roger Mukasa and Sirjje Nsubuga missing out as Ronald Lutaaya and Juma Miyagi coming back into the team.
Mukasa had an excellent Tour to Nairobi and was one of the consistent batters for the Cricket Cranes but the Tour to Namibia came so soon for his hamstring. The return of Miyagi meant that Siraje Nsubuga had to make a way despite making an impressive debut in Nairobi.
Namibia will be hosting the finals of the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in November this year and this trip should help the core of the side to get familiar with the conditions.
The traveling squad:
Brian Masaba (C), Kenneth Waiswa, Juma Miyagi, Ronald Lutaaya, Simon Ssesazi, Obuya Robinson, Dinesh Nakrani, Alpesh Ramjani, Riazat Ali Shah, Henry Ssenyondo, Cyrus Kakuru, Frank Nsubuga
