For the third time in a row, it will be green and orange ribbons on the National Men’s Division One 50-Over League trophy after Tornado B earned more than the required point in their washed-out derby against sister side Tornado at Kyambogo Oval on Sunday. 
In securing the feat, Tornado B became the third different club in local history to complete a hat-trick. “We’ve scored a hat-trick and this is history,” a jubilant Tornado B skipper Jeremy Kibuukamusoke told Daily Monitor.

To add to their 2013 and 2014 gongs, two points from the Sunday game moved them to 56 points to pip Nile (54) with a game to spare. “It feels great,” exhilarated wicket-keeper Nicholas Kebba said. “It was a long and hard fought campaign,” he said. 
Kibuukamusoke added: “We worked more as a unit. We knew we would have individual performers but we had to do it together.” Knowing they needed only a point from two matches ahead of Sunday, Tornado B players cut relaxed poses throughout. Star player Roger Mukasa made 14 fours and three maximums in an 85-ball 118 ton - his fourth of the season.

Before joining teammates for a barbecue and a few drinks at lunch, Mukasa had shared a 130-run combo with Davis Karashani (66 off 64) for Tornado B to set 281/8. Tornado managed only 18-2 before the skies opened for good after 7.2 overs. Tornado B will hold a party after their last match against Challengers tentatively this Sunday but also plan a five-day trip with selected fans to Nakuru, Kenya next month.

ROLL OF HONOUR
2011: Patidar Samaj 
2012: Tornado
2013: Tornado B
2014: Tornado B
2015: Tornado B

 Since Tornado B earned the required point to seal their third successive National Men’s Division One 50-Over League title last Sunday, there are now new points of focus.
The remaining interest lingers around how and where the rest of the beaten pack will finish by the time the championship folds up later this month. With Nile (55 points) appearing to have sealed second, the battle for third place is still alive. Challengers (40) can leapfrog Kutchi Tigers (44) and take it only if Mohammed Aneef and company can beat Kampala Institute of Cricket Clubs (KICC) at Kyambogo Oval today. 
“If all players turn up and perform on any day, Challengers can’t be matched,” said Aneef whose side has struggled with perpetual absence of key players. Arthur Kyobe, Arnold Otwan and Ivan Thawithemwira hold the mantle for a Challengers’ side that survived the knife by two whiskers last season. But Sudhir Ruparelia-funded KICC (31) will hope to win and keep their battle for fourth alive as well. 
“If we can win our two remaining matches, we’ll finish fourth,” KICC’s Hanumant Katkar said.

Men’s 50-over league 
KICC vs. Challengers, Kyambogo
WOMEN’S MEHTA T20 PL 
Pioneer vs. Wanderers, Lugogo 

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The Baby Cricket Cranes must beat a bunch of permutations if they are to progress to next year’s ICC U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.

A third appearance at the global stage will be a reality if Henry Okecho’s boys follow up yesterday’s nine-wicket win over Papua New Guinea (PNG) with another big one when they face Ireland in an epic qualifier in Malaysia today.

“We will carry this momentum from the PNG win into tomorrow (today)’s game,” coach Henry Okecho told Daily Monitor on phone from the team base at Hotel Istana in Kuala Lumpur. However, victory in their final round-robin contest alone is not enough. 
Uganda must also pray that one of unbeaten sides Ireland and Nepal falters in their remaining fixtures. “Our job is to beat Ireland and see how everything else goes. We have some plans for Ireland but will look at the wicket in the morning and take a decision,” Okecho said about a possibility to change his playing side.

Yesterday’s win over PNG at the Kinrara Academy Oval improved Uganda’s Net Run Rate greatly.

Like men on a mission, a charged bowling unit led by man-of-match Frank Akankwasa (3/15) and Abdallah Lubega (2/14) bowled out the Asian side for 83 runs in 30.4 overs.

Then seven boundaries and three sixes in a quick-fire half-century of 59 runs off 37 balls from opener Zephaniah Arinaitwe plus a 20-run combo from Kenneth Waiswa (13) and John Gabula (8) sealed the emphatic win.

ICC U-19 GLOBAL WORLD CUP QUALIFIER 
TODAY’S FIXTURES - 4.30AM (UG. TIME)
Uganda vs. Ireland, Bayuemas Oval
Nepal vs. USA, Kinrara Oval
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
PNG 83/10 Uganda 84/1
USA 100/10 Ireland 101/2

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Tornado B beat Kampala Institute of Cricket Clubs (KICC) by five wickets at Budo on Saturday to blow away the latter’s hopes and take the driver’s seat in the race for the National Women’s 40-Over League title.

Jackson Ogwang’s ladies were ruthless with the ball as they restricted KICC to 71 before chasing it in quick time for the loss of five wickets to go top with 68 points from 13 matches.
“It was a good and comfortable win,” a delighted Ogwang told Daily Monitor. “We bowled excellently and then one brilliant knock got us home.”

For star-studded KICC, it was an end to their nine-match winning streak as they slipped into second place and now trail the leaders by two points.

Sixes Challenge champions Tornado B can now clinch the title if they beat third-placed Pioneer in their final match this weekend. But, the result, too, put Pioneer back into the title frame after they saw off 2012 winners Charity Trust Fund by 113 runs at Kyambogo. They can also win the league if they triumph in their remaining two fixtures.

Nonetheless, its Ogwang and his team (with an average age of 16) that are happiest. Devoid of key players, they suffered an eight-run defeat to KICC in the first round on August 22. 
But they healed the wounds with a clinical shift on the day.

WOMEN LEAGUE - SATURDAY 
KICC 71/9 Tornado B 72/5
Pioneer 143/8 Charity 30/10
Premier 22/10 Jinja SS 221/3

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Coach Henry Okecho believes Team Uganda has the ability to win the imminent six-nation ICC U-19 World Cup Global Qualifier and secure the remaining ticket to next year’s Youth World Cup in Bangladesh.
“We have a very good chance,” the tactician told Daily Monitor. “But only if the boys play to their potential,” he said after releasing his final 14-man squad for the October 14-23 event in Malaysia.
Despite the unbearable omission of vital Kololo SS pair Rogers Olipa and Siraj Nsubuga who have to sit Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations, five schoolmates made the cut.

“We will surely miss both of them but their voids are well filled,” he said. Leg spinner Simon Okecho will cover former U-16 captain Nsubuga as Collins Byaruhanga does for Olipa.
Aside from Byaruhanga, reigning Pespi Schools Cricket Week champions Busoga College Mwiri have Zephania Arinaitwe, Collins Okwalinga and David Wabwire.
“Overall, it is a well-balanced team with talented players who have the x-factor you need,” Okecho added.
Schools Cricket Week MVP Kenneth Waiswa, Kampala Institute of Cricket Clubs’ (KICC) opening pair of Abdallah Lubega and John Gabula are other notable inclusions.

With assistance from Lubega, Derrick Bakunzi will lead the side that seeks to return to the final showpiece for the first time since 2006 against favourites Nepal, USA, Ireland and Papua New Guinea. Baby Cranes last played at the WC in 2004 (Bangladesh) and 2006 (Sri Lanka).

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 Defending champions Tornado B and season surprise package Nile picked up contrasting wins to maintain grip of the National Men’s Division One 50-Over League summit on Sunday.
For holders Tornado B, they did not even stretch a muscle after the umpires of the day Patrick Makumbi and John Trust Mayeku awarded them a walk over. Their opponents Rounders arrived more than 20 minutes late at the lakeside oval in Entebbe. 
But 1995 winners Nile relied on a decent batting onset to defeat Kampala Institute of Cricket Clubs (KICC) by four wickets at the University Oval in Kyambogo. “This win is very key to us,” said Nile’s stand-in skipper Martin Ondeko. “The fact that Tornado B didn’t get a bonus point gives us a slight advantage. We are hoping they falter along the way.”
The result meant Tornado B and Nile are at the summit with 52 points apiece, the latter with a game in hand. And relatively, the pair are in a league of their own since the chasing pack is 20 points adrift. Sixth-placed KICC (29), champions some 17 years ago, would have scripted a different story had their top-order contained Nile’s Ivan Kakande (3/30) and Kenneth Waiswa (5/33).

NATIONAL MEN’S 50-OVER LEAGUE
WEEKEND RESULTS - DIVSION ONE
KICC 183/10 Nile 184/6
(Nile won by four wickets)
Tornado B vs. Rounders
(Tornado B got a walkover)
DIVISION TWO
Premier 220/10 Wanderers 188/10
(Premier won by 32 runs)
ACC 282/7 [298] Patidar 149/9
(ACC won by 149 runs via D/L)

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Charity Trust Fund continued to bear the season’s chokers’ tag as they yet again flattered to deceive in an 11-run defeat to Tornado despite vital skipper Jonathan Ssebanja’s return at Kyambogo Oval. 
It’s a result that left both outfits with contrasting moments to look reflect to as the National Men’s Division One 50-Over League approaches its final bend. For their superb bowling accompanied with batting self-destruction, youthful Charity continued to languish in the relegation zone with just 18 points and need a miracle to survive. 
The 2012 champions Tornado may have been mediocre all day but their experience lifted them to third place on 32 points to guarantee safety. “Charity would have won but they just let it go,” said Tornado’s Deus Muhumuza. 
“We just stayed calm, they fumbled as the effect of our experience took its toll,” noted skipper Frank Nsubuga, arguably man-of-match. 
Three maidens from Cosmas Kyewuto (3/10) and Ssebanja (2/20) squeezed Tornado at 28-5 in the opening 12.5 overs. Somehow, evergreen Nsubuga changed the tune with 12 boundaries in a 67-ball 75 half-ton. It was here that Nsubuga also threaded a 68-run combo with fellow veteran Benjamin Musoke (43 off 94) for Tornado to set 151 in 48.3 overs. The manner in which Charity failed to win is one would equate to failing to recognize one’s own parents. By the time Ssebanja’s (30 off 28) wicket fell, they were 94-5 at 16.5 overs. 
Despite Lawrence Ssempijja’s fortitude (34* off 40), Brian Masaba wrapped up the remaining batsmen for a five-wicket haul before Mitch Horrocks’ run-out dismissal of Kyewuto pounded the agony in the 30th over.

Division One results
Challengers 159/10 Kutchi Tigers 106/10
(Challengers won by 53 runs)
Tornado 153/10 Charity TF 142/10
(Tornado won by 11 runs)

DIVISION TWO
ACC 197/10 Mwiri 199/6
(Mwiri won by four wickets)

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