NEWS
Follow UsUganda completed their maiden World Cup campaign on a sorry note. Playing New Zealand their last group game Friday (June 14), Uganda finished their tournament with two points in four matches. They defeated Papua New Guinea (PNG) to register their first World Cup win but lost against Afghanistan, West Indies and New Zealand.
In all these defeats, Uganda were bowled out for a double-digit score – 58 vs Afghanistan, 39 vs West Indies and 40 vs New Zealand. Their head coach, Abhay Sharma called Uganda the baby of this World Cup before their clash against PNG.
Now, as they wrap up, their captain, Brian Masaba, mentioned that this tournament has been an eye-opener for their team.
“It's been very eye-opening for us as a team, playing at this level for the first time against some of the full-member teams,” Masaba said.
“I say eye-opening because you realize the skill level is a bit different, the execution is very different and I mean these are guys that professional players that play all around the world so they're very, very good players. As a player, there is no better lesson than that to carry back home because it just shows you how much more work you need to put in to be able to come back and compete,” he explained.
“We want to make sure we come back again and again and that's what you want as a team because then it shows that you're growing.
“So going back home the work won't stop if anything will work twice as hard to make sure that the next time, we come we're a better team and we can compete a bit more with some of the big boys and that's going to be the plan going forward not just for this playing group but for the whole cricket association back home,” Masaba spoke on the goals moving forward for Uganda cricket.
Are there enough resources in Uganda cricket to meet these goals? Masaba sounded quite promising about these prospects.
“There's been a lot of good work over the last four or five years in sort of structures and stability with the national teams. It's not always been the easiest because of the lack of facilities, but you've got to find a way to work around that. You just try and do the best that you can with what you have,” he answered.
Masaba said Uganda cricket has received inputs from ICC and other private sectors and will look forward to support from their government as well.
“Considering the fact that this team has done well over the last four or five years, there's been a bit more resources coming in from the ICC as well as the private sector and that has definitely helped in preparing the team for all these tournaments that we've played.
“And we can only hope that us being at the World Cup opens up more doors in that regard, especially back home with our government, because we do need them to get a bit more involved in terms of providing the infrastructure so the game can grow a bit more,” Masaba said.
The 32-year-ol,d Masaba has played 63 T20Is for Uganda, leading the nation in 60 of those. He claimed that the win against PNG was one of the highlights of his 12-year-old career.
"I know how far this team has come and yes it was very, very special for me to lead my country at the World Cup more so to pick up a win yeah definitely the highlight of my career and something that's a whole dear to me for the rest of my life,” Masaba said.
At the end of the game, Masaba received a jersey from the opposition captain Kane Williamson.
"Being a huge Black Caps fan to play against them to line up against them at a World Cup.
"It's very nice of Kane to give me one of his jerseys, and good on him for doing that. But the experience of mingling with the best in the world it has an effect on the guys I can guarantee you they are not going to go back home the same the mindset has definitely changed and maybe sometimes that's all you need to become a better player," he reflected.
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