Premier Cricket Club were able to hang on till the final day of the season enroute to scooping the 2017 Jazz Safari Men’s Division II National League title.
Their march to the title was no walk in the park as they faced stiff competition from the youthful Strikers Cricket Club and Africa Cricket Club (ACC) with the latter missing out after Jinja Secondary School failed to ‘honour’ their final game.
By virtue of winning Division II, Premier secured promotion to Division I together with Strikers for the 2018 season. They will have to thank left-hander Prakash Shan, who walked away with the MVP award after he snared 29 wickets with the best bowling figures of 7-11 against former champions Tornado.
Shan no more
Premier will, however, be without Shan in the top tier after he moved to Patidar Samaj in the off season.
ACC’s hard hitting all-rounder Emmaneul Odeng took the Best Bowler’s accolade after claiming 31 wickets and there was no surprise for the Best Wicketkeeper’s gong which was also snapped up by ACC’s Yusuf Nanga.
Nanga finished with a whopping 29 fielding dismissals, 26 of those being catches caught behind the stumps. Youngster Perry Wazombe, who is regarded as the future of Ugandan cricket, took home the Best Fielder’s accolade whereas John Tumusiime, the captain of Strikers, was the best batsman in season during which he notched a career high 401 runs in 13 innings at an average of 36.
Premier made merry at the UCA League Awards Gala held at Lugogo Oval on March 18 after receiving a bonus cash tonic of Shs2m.
DIVISION TWO INDIVIDUAL WINNERS
Player of Series: Prakhash Shan (Premier) 12 points
Best Batsman: John Tumusiime (Strikers) - 401 runs from 11 inns
Best Bowler: Emmanuel Odeng (ACC) - 31 wickets
Best Fielder: Perry Wazombe (Strikers) - 9 dismissals
Best Wicket-keeper: Yusuf Nanga (ACC) - 29 dismissals