By Denis Musali
Uganda Cricket has summoned 40 ladies to start training ahead of the World Cup qualifiers due in Zimbabwe later this year. The 40 ladies were selected based on their performances in the local league and all feature for local league sides.
The reigning African champions upset Zimbabwe in a pulsating final two years in Windhoek Namibia. This feat earned the lady cricket cranes a spot to at the global qualifiers in Netherlands in 2018 and a also a shot at the World Cup main event. All rounder Gertrude Candiru was the stand out player of the tournament for the lady cricket cranes earning herself the MVP award at the qualifiers.
Their maiden appearance at the global qualifiers in Netherlands was below par but they at least managed to pick up two wins finishing 6th out of the eight nations at the event.
In the squad that has been summoned former captain Barbara Mukankusi makes a comeback from her maternity leave on the back of a strong 2018 scoring lots of runs for her Pioneer side. There is room for Olila High run machine Damalie Busingye who last represented the lady cricket cranes in 2015.
There are no suprises that Olila High has up to eight players in the training squad given the quality of cricket they have been playing for the last two seasons. Double winners Aziz Damani have six players in the squad, Jinja SSS has seven, Pioneer (6), KICC (3), Soroti Challengers (6), Premier (2), with Wanderers and Ceylon contributing a single player.
There will be a group of girls trained in Jinja by Habib Mugalula while the group in Lugogo will be handled by Micheal Ndiko. The qualifiers run from May 3rd to 13th in Zimbabwe as the teams compete for the single slot for an African side at the global qualifiers.
Full Training Squad.
- RITA MUSAMALI
- JANET MBABAZI
- RACHAEL NTONO
- IMMACULATE NAKISUYI
- JOYCE MARY APIO
- STEPHANIE NAMPIINA
- FRANKLYN NAJJUMBA
- GERTRUDE CANDIRU
- KEVIN AWINO
- CONSY AWEKO
- CAROL NAMUGENYI
- PATRICIA MALEMIKIA
- ESTHER ILUKOR
- DAMALIE BUSINGYE
- EVELYN AYIPO
- IRENE ALUMO
- LEONA BABIRYE
- TEDDY AYELLA
- MARIA KAGOYA
- KEVIN AMUGE
- BARBARA MUKANKUSI
- JANET NAKIRANDA
- WANICHAN HOPE
- CLAIRE MUSHAKAMBA
- MACKENZIE AYATO
- PROSCOVIA ALAKO
- GLORIA OBUKOR
- EUNICE ALUNGAT
- BRENDA NABISALU
- LYNET NAKATO
- PATRICIA MUNGURYEK
- MARIA MWESIGE
- RACHEAL ACHAN
- SARAH WALAZA
- SARAH AKITENG
- SUSAN KAKAI
- SHAKIRA SADDICK
- MARY AKELLO
- CHARITY NYOKARU
- EUNICE KOBUSINGYE