Cricket Cranes fail Italian Job in second game of Challenge League final stop

Uganda’s Cricket Cranes failed to get past a well oiled Italian machine, leading to the first defeat in 12 games of the Challenge League.

The toss was going to be critical in the game on wickets that have proved difficult for anyone batting second on wickets that wear out fast and take a lot of turn in the afternoon.

The Cricket Cranes opted for a spin heavy team so there was no place for the two quick bowlers with Gerald Olipa the preferred option in the place of Juma Miyaji.

It was no surprise when Italy won the toss and elected to bat first. Italy worked hard for their runs on a difficult surface with contributions through out the entire team. The part time spin of Sumeet Verma (4/49) got good back up from Joseph Baguma (1/38), Henry Ssenyondo (1/32) and Alpesh Ramjani (2/27).

Italy finished on a par score of 193/9 in their quota of 50 overs.

The run chase never took off for Uganda. Simon Ssesazi (19) and Gerald Olipa (19) tried to hang around but from the onset the context seemed like Uganda was trying to survive the avalanche of spin rather than show initiative.

This approach derailed the run chase for Uganda in a situation that required a positive mindset to survive. All the Ugandan batters were dismissed while trying to survive rather than being positive and in the end they fell along the way for just 79 runs.

The loss is a small bump not set back for the Cricket Cranes because they still have their fate in their own hands. However, they might have lost the opportunity of winning the tournament because Italy goes to the top of the table despite both sides being on the same number of points.

Hong Kong China is off the top by four points and they will need Uganda to drop two more games including the one against them to climb into second.

Steve Tikolo and Jackson Ogwang Credit: Aminah Babirye

There is no time to rest for the Cricket Cranes because they will take on Hong Kong China on Wednesday in a must win game.

Coach Steve Tikolo and his boys must regroup quickly and make sure that tomorrow goes better than today.

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