Uganda national cricket team

(Redirected from Cricket in Uganda)

The Uganda national cricket team, nicknamed the Cricket Cranes, is the men's team that represents Uganda in international cricket. The team is organised by the Uganda Cricket Association, which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1998.[4]

Uganda
Refer to caption
Uganda Cricket Association logo
Nickname(s)Cricket Cranes
AssociationUganda Cricket Association
Personnel
CaptainBrian Masaba
CoachAbhay Sharma
International Cricket Council
ICC statusAssociate member (1998; 26 years ago (1998))
ICC regionAfrica
ICC Rankings Current[1] Best-ever
T20I 21st 21st (5 June 2024)
Twenty20 Internationals
First T20Iv.  Botswana at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala; 20 May 2019
Last T20Iv.  Bahrain at Jinja Cricket Ground, Jinja; 29 October 2024
T20Is Played Won/Lost
Total[2] 97 71/23
(0 ties, 3 no results)
This year[3] 10 5/5
(0 ties, 0 no results)
T20 World Cup appearances1 (first in 2024)
Best resultGroup stage (2024)
T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances6[a] (first in 2012)
Best resultRunners-up (2023)

T20I kit

As of 29 October 2024

Uganda first fielded an international team as early as 1914, against the East Africa Protectorate, but only began competing regularly in the early 1950s,[5] playing frequent series against regional rivals Kenya and Tanzania (then Tanganyika).[6] From 1966, Uganda contributed players to a combined East African team, which was reconstituted as East and Central Africa in 1989.

The country's first ICC tournament played in its own right was the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada. Uganda played in the next three editions of the tournament, renamed the ICC World Cup Qualifier, but did not come close to qualifying for the Cricket World Cup. In the World Cricket League (WCL), Uganda reached ICC World Cricket League Division Two on three occasions, but was relegated to Division Three each time.

The team participated in six editions of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. They qualified for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, making it their first time in the ICC T20 WC after they finished 2nd in 2023 Africa Qualifier.[7]

History

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East Africa team

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Uganda combined with their regional rivals Kenya and Tanzania to form the East Africa team. The first known match for this team was against a South African "Non-Europeans" team captained by Basil D'Oliveira in September 1958 in Nairobi, with the visitors winning by seven wickets.[8] East Africa became an associate member of the ICC in 1966.[9]

East Africa toured England in 1972[10] and the Marylebone Cricket Club played a first-class match against East Africa in January 1974, winning by 237 runs.[11] The following year, East Africa played in the 1975 Cricket World Cup in England. After various warm-up games, including a 3 wicket win against Glamorgan,[12] they played New Zealand, India and England in the World Cup itself, losing all three matches.[13] The World Cup was followed by a first-class match against Sri Lanka at the County Ground, Taunton, which the Sri Lankans won by 115 runs.[14] East Africa played in the ICC Trophies of 1979,[15] 1982[16] and 1986,[17] without qualifying for the World Cup from any of them.

Uganda continued playing their regular matches against Kenya and Tanzania, despite Kenya leaving the East Africa combination in [when?][18] and the triangular tournament became a quadrangular tournament in 1966 when Zambia joined in. From then until the tournament's end in 1980, Uganda won the tournament just once.[6]

East and Central Africa cricket team

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The East Africa team left the ICC in 1989[9] and was replaced by the East and Central Africa team the same year.[19] This new team was a combination of Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, and they took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time in 1990, also taking part in 1994, 1997 and 2001.[20]

Independent National Team

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Uganda left the East and Central Africa combination and became an associate member of the ICC in their own right in 1998. Their first international tournament was the 2001 ICC Trophy. After winning all five of their first round games, they lost a play-off match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the right to enter the second stage of the tournament.[21] The following year, they finished third in their group in the Africa Cup.[22]

In 2004, Uganda played their first first-class matches in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against Kenya and Namibia, winning against Namibia.[23] In August that year, they finished second to Namibia in the Africa Cricket Association Championships in Zambia.[24] This qualified them for the following year's ICC Trophy, in which they finished in the twelfth and last place after losing to Papua New Guinea in their final play-off match.[25] Earlier in the year, they again played against Namibia and Kenya in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, losing both games.[26]

2007-2018

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Joel Olwenyi, a captain of the Uganda Cricket team
 
Uganda celebrate winning Division Three of the World Cricket League in 2007

In January 2007, Uganda faced Bermuda[27] and Canada[28] as those two teams prepared for Division One of the World Cricket League in Nairobi.[29] This also served as preparation for Uganda's visit to Darwin, Australia, for Division Three of the same tournament. Uganda won their Group B games against the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and Tanzania before beating Papua New Guinea in the semi-final[30] and Argentina in the tournament final.[31] Winning Division Three earned Uganda a spot in the ICC's High Performance Program,[32] and promotion to Division Two.

Uganda took part in a four-team Twenty20 tournament before the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, playing games against Pakistan, Kenya, and Bangladesh in Nairobi. As expected, they lost against Pakistan and Bangladesh before upsetting African rivals Kenya with a two-wicket win.[33]

Their next matches were two one-day games against Bermuda, also in Nairobi, in October 2007. They surprised their more experienced rivals, going down by just seven runs after Nandikishore Patel scored a half-century,[34] before winning the second match by 43 runs with Joel Olwenyi scoring a half-century of his own.[35]

In November 2007, Uganda travelled to Windhoek, Namibia to participate in the WCL Division Two tournament. Uganda lost their group matches against; Denmark, Namibia, Oman, and the UAE but did defeat Argentina in their group match and also their positional playoff to finish fifth.[36] Uganda's bottom two finish saw them relegated to Division Three.[37]

In January 2009, Uganda won four of their five group matches and edged Papua New Guinea on run rate, to finish second in the ICC Division 3 competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina and earn the final place at the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier.[38]

In April 2009, Uganda travelled to South Africa for the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier. Despite a first up win against Namibia, Uganda lost their remaining four Group A matches and failed to make the Super Eight stage, thus ending their chance to qualify for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[39] Uganda finished 10th overall after defeating Denmark but losing to Bermuda in position playoff matches, and thus was relegated to 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three.[40]

In August 2018, Uganda replaced Ghana in the 2018 Africa T20 Cup, after Ghana had declined Cricket South Africa's invite to compete in the tournament.[41] Uganda played in the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier Africa but got to the fourth position of the table.

2018–present

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In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 cricket matches played between Uganda and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have been full T20I matches.[42]

20 May 2019
13:50
Scorecard
Uganda  
142/7 (20 overs)
v
  Botswana
90 (18 overs)
Arnold Otwani 44 (27)
Karabo Modise 3/18 (3 overs)
Vinoo Balakrishnan 26 (32)
Frank Nsubuga 2/19 (4 overs)
Uganda won by 52 runs
Lugogo Stadium, Kampala
Umpires: Emmanuel Byiringiro (Rwa) and David Odhiambo (Ken)
Player of the match: Arnold Otwani (Uga)
  • Botswana won the toss and elected to field.
  • First ever T20I match for Uganda.

After April 2019, Uganda played in the 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.[43][44]

In 2021 and 2023, Uganda toured Namibia.

On 26 November 2023, Uganda registered their first win against an ICC Full Member by defeating Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier.[45]

26 November 2023
09:30
Scorecard
Zimbabwe  
136/7 (20 overs)
v
  Uganda
138/5 (19.1 overs)
Sikandar Raza 48 (39)
Dinesh Nakrani 3/14 (4 overs)
Riazat Ali Shah 42 (28)
Richard Ngarava 2/24 (4 overs)
Uganda won by 5 wickets
United Ground, Windhoek
Umpires: Lauren Agenbag (SA) and Stephen Harris (SA)
Player of the match: Riazat Ali Shah (Uga)
  • Uganda won the toss and elected to field.
  • This was Uganda's first win against a Full member side.[45]

Governing body

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The Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) is responsible for all matches played in Uganda and by the Uganda cricket team. It was admitted to the International Cricket Council in 1998 as an associate member. Its current headquarters are in Kampala, Uganda.

International Grounds

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Stadium City Test matches ODI matches T20I matches
Lugogo Stadium Kampala 0 0 5
Kyambogo Cricket Oval Kampala 0 0 5
Entebbe Cricket Oval Entebbe 0 0 10
Jinja Cricket Ground Jinja 0 0 2
Locations of all stadiums which have hosted an international cricket match within Uganda

Tournament history

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World Cup

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ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

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ICC T20 World Cup

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ICC T20 World Cup
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
  2007 did not qualify
  2009
  2010
  2012
  2014
  2016
   2021
  2022
   2024 Group stage 16/20 4 1 3 0 -4.51
Total 1/9 0 titles 4 1 3 0 -4.51

ICC Intercontinental Cup

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World Cricket League

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ICC World Cup Qualifier

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ACA Africa T20 Cup

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East Africa T20 Cup

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Continent Cup T20 Africa

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Records and statistics

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International Match Summary — Uganda[52]

Last updated 29 October 2024

Playing Record
Format M W L T NR Inaugural Match
Twenty20 Internationals 97 71 23 0 3 20 May 2019

Twenty20 International

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T20I record versus other nations[52]

Records complete to T20I #2937. Last updated 29 October 2024.

Opponent M W L T NR First match First win
vs Full Members
  Afghanistan 1 0 1 0 0 4 June 2024
  New Zealand 1 0 1 0 0 14 June 2024
  West Indies 1 0 1 0 0 8 June 2024
  Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 0 26 November 2023 26 November 2023
vs Associate Members
  Bahrain 2 1 1 0 0 28 October 2024 29 October 2024
  Botswana 6 6 0 0 0 20 May 2019 20 May 2019
  Eswatini 1 1 0 0 0 19 October 2021 19 October 2021
  Ghana 4 4 0 0 0 23 May 2019 23 May 2019
  Hong Kong 2 2 0 0 0 11 July 2022 11 July 2022
  Jersey 1 1 0 0 0 15 July 2022 15 July 2022
  Kenya 16 11 4 0 1 22 May 2019 15 September 2021
  Lesotho 1 1 0 0 0 19 October 2021 19 October 2021
  Malawi 2 2 0 0 0 16 October 2021 16 October 2021
  Mozambique 2 2 0 0 0 18 September 2022 18 September 2022
  Namibia 9 1 8 0 0 21 May 2019 9 April 2022
  Netherlands 1 0 1 0 0 14 July 2022
  Nigeria 6 6 0 0 0 11 September 2021 11 September 2021
  Papua New Guinea 2 1 1 0 0 12 July 2022 5 June 2024
  Qatar 3 1 2 0 0 12 February 2020 15 February 2020
  Rwanda 18 17 1 0 0 17 October 2021 17 October 2021
  Seychelles 1 1 0 0 0 22 October 2021 22 October 2021
  Tanzania 16 12 2 0 2 18 November 2021 18 November 2021

Players

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Personnel

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Current squad

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This lists all the players who were part of the most recent One-day or T20I squad. Uncapped players are listed in italics. Updated as of 31 August 2023.

Name Age Batting style Bowling style Formats Notes
Batters
Simon Ssesazi 28 Right-handed Right-arm medium One-day & T20I
Ronak Patel 36 Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox One-day & T20I
Arnold Otwani 29 Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox One-day
Pascal Murungi 20 Right-handed Right-arm medium One-day & T20I
Ronald Lutaaya 21 Left-handed Right-arm medium One-day & T20I
Roger Mukasa 35 Right-handed Right-arm off break T20I
Robinson Obuya 23 Right-handed One-day
All-rounders
Kenneth Waiswa 26 Right-handed Right-arm medium One-day & T20I Vice-captain
Riazat Ali Shah 26 Right-handed Right-arm medium One-day & T20I
Brian Masaba 33 Right-handed Right-arm leg break One-day & T20I Captain
Alpesh Ramjani 30 Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox One-day & T20I
Wicketkeepers
Fred Achelam 23 Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox One-day
Cyrus Kakuru 21 Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox One-day & T20I
Spin Bowlers
Henry Ssenyondo 31 Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox One-day & T20I
Cosmas Kyewuta 22 Right-handed Right-arm off break One-day & T20I
Joseph Baguma 20 Right-handed Right-arm off break One-day
Siraje Nsubuga 23 Right-handed Right-arm off break T20I
Pace Bowlers
Dinesh Nakrani 33 Left-handed Left-arm medium One-day
Juma Miyagi 21 Right-handed Right-arm medium One-day
Bilal Hassan 34 Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast One-day & T20I
Pius Oloka 21 Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast One-day
David Wabwire 26 Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast T20I
Jonathan Ssebanja 36 Right-handed Left-arm medium T20I
Charles Waiswa 26 Left-handed Left-arm medium One-day

Coaching staff

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Position Name
Team manager
Head coach Abhay Sharma
Batting coach
Bowling coach
Fielding coach
Physiotherapist
Strength and conditioning coach
Analyst

Captains

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Name Began Ended
John Wild 1952 1957
Dr. Ian McAdam 1955 1955
William Handley 1956 1956
Allan Boucher 1957 1957
Ed Wilson 1958 1958
Premji Patel 1958 1959
Shashikant Patel 1959 1959
John Sequeira 1959 1960
Ron Meredew 1960 1961
Mangaldas Kotecha 1961 1962
Peter de Souza 1962 1966
Maqsood Malik 1966 1968
Kishore Vasani 1968 1969
Salaudin Khan 1969 1970
Charlie de Souza 1970 1971
Mushtaq Ramji 1971 1971

Coaches

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Name Nationality Appointed Ended Tournament(s)
William Kamanyi   Uganda 1998 April 2001[58]
Andrew Meya   Uganda April 2001[58] December 2003 2001 ICC Trophy
Tom Tikolo   Kenya December 2003[59] August 2004[60]
Henry Okecho   Uganda September 2004 March 2007[61] 2005 ICC Trophy
Sam Walusimbi   Uganda April 2007[62] November 2007 2007 WCL Div. 3
Francis Otieno   Kenya November 2007[63] July 2008 2007 WCL Div. 2
Barney Mohamed   South Africa July 2008[64] October 2010 2009 World Cup Qualifier
Shukri Conrad   South Africa October 2010[65] January 2011
Martin Suji   Kenya February 2011[66] May 2013 2011 WCL Div. 2
2012 WT20 Qualifier
2013 WCL Div. 3
Henry Okecho (acting)   Uganda May 2013[67] July 2013
Johan Rudolph   South Africa July 2013[68] February 2014 2013 WT20 Qualifier
2014 World Cup Qualifier
Davis Turinawe   Uganda April 2014[69] August 2014
Steve Tikolo   Kenya May 2016[70] 2014 WCL Div. 3
2015 WCL Div. 2

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ T20 World Cup Qualifier refers to the Regional Final of the ICC Africa region from the 2023 edition.

References

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  1. ^ "ICC Rankings". International Cricket Council.
  2. ^ "T20I matches - Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  3. ^ "T20I matches - 2024 Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  4. ^ Uganda at CricketArchive
  5. ^ Other matches played by Uganda Archived 22 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine – CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  6. ^ a b History of Kenyan cricket Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Tripathi, Divy (30 November 2023). "A historic first for Uganda as side joins Namibia into T20WC 2024". ICC.
  8. ^ Scorecard of East Africa v South African Non-Europeans, 13 September 1958 at Cricket Archive
  9. ^ a b East Africa at Cricket Archive
  10. ^ East Africa in England 1972 at Cricket Archive
  11. ^ Scorecard of East Africa v MCC, 18 January 1974
  12. ^ Scorecard of Glamorgan v East Africa], 5 June 1975 at Cricket Archive
  13. ^ 1975 World Cup at Cricinfo
  14. ^ Scorecard of East Africa v Sri Lanka, 23 June 1975 at Cricket Archive
  15. ^ 1979 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  16. ^ 1982 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  17. ^ 1986 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  18. ^ Kenya at Cricket Archive
  19. ^ East and Central Africa at Cricket Archive
  20. ^ ICC Trophy matches played by East and Central Africa at Cricket Archive
  21. ^ a b 2001 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  22. ^ 2002 Africa Cup at CricketEurope
  23. ^ a b 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope
  24. ^ African qualifying for the 2005 ICC Trophy at CricketEurope
  25. ^ a b 2005 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  26. ^ a b 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope
  27. ^ Scorecard of Bermuda v Uganda, 27 January 2007 at Cricket Archive
  28. ^ Scorecard of Canada v Uganda, 28 January 2007 at Cricket Archive
  29. ^ 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division One at Cricket Archive
  30. ^ 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division Three at CricketEurope
  31. ^ Uganda lift Division Three title by Andrew Nixon, 2 June 2007 at CricketEurope
  32. ^ Denmark added to ICC High Performance Program Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, ICC Europe Media Release at European Cricket Council official site
  33. ^ Uganda Win All-African Clash As Kenya Disappoint, 2 September 2007, www.cricketworld.com
  34. ^ http://www.cricketworld.com/bermuda-hang-on-to-clinch-narrow-win-over-uganda/13675.htm Bermuda Hang On To Clinch Narrow Win Over Uganda, 23 October 2007, www.cricketworld.com
  35. ^ http://www.cricketworld.com/uganda-hit-back-with-43-run-win-over-bermuda/13680.htm Uganda Hit Back With 43-Run Win Over Bermuda, 24 October 2007, www.cricketworld.com
  36. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 22 February 2009
  37. ^ World Cricket League structure Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 4 May 2009
  39. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 4 May 2009
  40. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 4 May 2009
  41. ^ "Uganda replaces Ghana in upcoming Africa T20 Cup". Cricket South Africa. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  42. ^ "All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status". International Cricket Council. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  43. ^ "All to play for in last ever World Cricket League tournament". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  44. ^ "Uganda cricket team departs today for South Africa". 6 January 2015.
  45. ^ a b "Uganda stuns Zimbabwe to throw T20 WC Africa Region Qualifier open". ICC. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  46. ^ 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope
  47. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 22 February 2009
  48. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 22 February 2009
  49. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 7 May 2018
  50. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 27 April 2009
  51. ^ Cricinfo, Accessed 28 January 2014
  52. ^ a b "Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  53. ^ "Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  54. ^ "Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / High scores". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  55. ^ "Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Best bowling figures". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  56. ^ "Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  57. ^ "Records / Uganda / Twenty20 Internationals / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  58. ^ a b (5 April 2001). "Meya to coach cricket"Saturday Vision. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  59. ^ Ronnie Kintu (17 December 2003). "U-19s stars get in camp"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  60. ^ (9 September 2004). "Uganda: Tom Tikolo's Contract Ends" – allAfrica. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  61. ^ (14 March 2007). "Ugandan national cricket team coach to quit"People's Daily. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  62. ^ Ronnie Kintu (22 April 2007). "Walsumbi (sic) to coach Australia-bound team"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  63. ^ Will Luke (3 November 2007). "Uganda call on Otieno" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  64. ^ Charles Mutebi (14 July 2008). "Cricketers bring in top South African coach"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  65. ^ Charles Mutebi (21 October 2010). "Uganda: Shukri is New Cricket Coach" – AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  66. ^ Dennis Mabuka (3 February 2011). "Martin Suji appointed as Ugandan Cricket team coach" – Michezo Afrika. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  67. ^ (7 June 2013). "Uganda seeks new national cricket team coach" – African News Xinhua. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  68. ^ (5 July 2013). "South African Johan Rudolph Appointed New Cricket Coach" – Redpepper. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  69. ^ David Isabirye (22 April 2014). "UGANDA CRICKET ASSOCIATION APPOINTS NEW COACHES" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine – Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  70. ^ Samson Opus (22 August 2014). "Peter Kirsten named new national cricket coach"New Vision. Retrieved 2 September 2015.