By Innocent Ndawula
Result Summary - Bagurusi Fundraiser in Jinja
Kampala Bagurusi 157/7 in 20 overs (Bashir Ansasiira 33, Norman Batanda 32, John Trust Mayeku 18, Paul Nsibuka Luswata 17; Ranmal Keshwala 4 for 16 in 4 overs)
lost to Jinja Bagurusi 161/4 in 19 overs (Habibu Mugalula 29, Michael Kintu 29*, Ranmal Keshwala 26, Nandkishor Patel 24; Kuldeep Kaushik 2 for 29 in 2 overs)
by six wickets.
‘Cricket Comes Home’ was the codename for the day with Jinja Secondary School the place to be on Saturday (April 26). And indeed ‘cricket came home’ as Jinja Oval, like in years gone-by when many players announced their arrival on the scene, came to life with yesteryear’s stars swarming their ‘second home’ in droves for a noble cause.
Host of the day Ranmal Keshwala, who is also a Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) Trustee, worked in tandem partnership with UCA Secretariat and Cricket Uganda to ensure that the day was an overwhelming success and they will be happy that their efforts came to fruition.
Keshwala, who is at the forefront of ensuring the oval that once had a cricket matting for playing to an astro-turf wicket develops into a fully fledged and functional grass wicket oval, also captained the Jinja Bagurusi side.
But although he lost the toss to Kampala Bagurusi captain Paul Nsibuka Luswata and was asked to have a bowl, Keshwala had his name inscripted all over the game.
Match proceedings
His bowling changes kept the Kampala side in check with regular scalps when they looked to up the scoring tempo. Keshwala was destroyer in chief with the ball - snaring four wickets with his swingers to keep things in control.
Norman Batanda (32) and John Trust Mayeku (17) got the Kampala Bagurusi off to an eye-catching start with Batanda in particular looking flawless with some booming drives.
UCA chairman Bashir Ansasiira added a breezy 33 off 20 balls but when he pulled a muscle in his left leg and requested for a runner; batting on literally one leg proved a hard art as he duly got stumped. His dismissal ensured there was no late flourish with the visitors setting 157 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs.
Needing to score at 8 per over, Jinja Bagurusi, whose side featured many youthful players, kept with the asking rate. All their six batsmen reached double figures. Openers Yasin Ngobi (17) and Henry Ekwangu (13) contributed 30 for the opening stand. Former Ugandan international Nandkishor Patel (24) and Habibu Mugalula (29) scored at more than a-run-a-ball. But it was the combo of Keshwala and Michael Kintu, who took the game away with an unbeaten stand of 55 runs after they came together at 106 for 4.
Kintu was unbeaten on 29 but it was Keshwala’s solid knock that laid platform for the victory with a patient innings of 26 not out off 32 balls that saw him bat from 71 for 3. Kampala Bagurusi bowlers struggled for wickets with Kuldeep Kaushik (2/29 in 2), Peter Sawyer (1/46) and Syed Thaha (1/25) all with poor economy rates.
Seamless fundraiser
Off the ground, UCA chairman Ansasiira disclosed that UGX45 Million had already been raised and it was all systems go for the grass wicket construction.
“We have many partners that have come on board for this good cause. We have at least UGX45 Million set aside for this project thanks to our partners; Keshwala Group, Jinja SSS and Nandkishor Patel. Many others have also shown their desire to be part of the project including Aziz Damani. This is the way to go if we are to make cricket become the most loved and number one sport in the country,” said the man popularly known as Badu.
For Keshwala, who also unanimously adjudged as the Man of Match, it was an emotional evening. “Jinja has produced many stars that have done well for their respective clubs and Uganda at the international stage. We want Jinja to once again become the hub of Uganda’s best cricketers.
“And we can only achieve that dream by having the right structures in the right places. A grass wicket in Jinja and proper nets will be a good start. We are committed to pull this off,” said Keshwala, whose speech was given special applause from the students that watched, members of the fraternity from Jinja and those that travelled from Kampala, cricket masters as well as both sets of Bagurusi players.
Kampala Bagurusi captain Nsibuka was both cheeky and grateful for the gesture shown by their host.
“Keshwala (Ranmal) is the worst captain. How do you host someone and always beat them? questioned the former national senior men’s team captain as he drew laughter from everyone in attendance.
“You’re supposed to be hospitable and let us win now and then. But we will be better prepared for you next time. Me and my team are grateful for the everything today; from lunch to our after party.”
Works to start in September
UCA Secretariat official Grace Mutyagaba disclosed to Cricket Uganda that construction for the grass wicket will most likely commence this September after a handful of astro-turf wickets have been laid in the different cricket-playing second schools of Jinja.
“We want to take the burden of hosting Jinja games from Jinja SS Oval to other institutions so that we can start the grass wicket construction. We ordered for 10 astro-turfs (Shs4m each) from South Africa and once they arrive and we lay them in our targeted schools then we shall know that we have somewhere to host the Jinja games from. We believe the astro-turf exercise will be done by August to pave way for the grass-wicket works in early September. That’s all that is holding us back,” said Mutyagaba.
Jinja SS deputy headmaster William Olara Ongom gave UCA the green-light to go ahead with the developments.
”We are a sporting school as you know,” Ongom told the cricket fraternity.
“Our boys and girls teams have been champions over the years and many of our products here have represented the country at the different levels. We want to give you our positive nod that we will support all the developments and chip in whenever we can. Probably we will also fence off the ground to ensure work goes on smoothly.”
Such was the day’s success many Kampala fraternity members stayed back at the ground discussing the strategic way forward for the game’s general improvement as they enjoyed a beautiful social evening with barbecue and drinks.
Cricket is indeed destined to come home, soon!