Cricket Cranes suit up for final Challenge League B mission in Tanzania

Cricket Cranes need to at least find wins in the final leg of the ICC Challenge League B to ensure their qualification to the next round of the Global Qualifier, and their target will be Bahrain, hosts Tanzania and Singapore, given that Hong Kong China and Italy have been their biggest rivals in the group. […] The post Cricket Cranes suit up for final Challenge League B mission in Tanzania appeared first on Kawowo Sports.

Aug 1, 2026 - 08:32

Cricket Cranes suit up for final Challenge League B mission in Tanzania

Tournament: ICC Challenge League B – Final Round
Dates: August 8th – 19th
Host: Tanzania
Teams: Uganda, Italy, Bahrain, Singapore, Tanzania, Hong Kong China

Cricket Cranes need to at least find wins in the final leg of the ICC Challenge League B to ensure their qualification to the next round of the Global Qualifier, and their target will be Bahrain, hosts Tanzania and Singapore, given that Hong Kong China and Italy have been their biggest rivals in the group.

The Cricket Cranes missed out on qualification from the group in the last round of the Challenge League, but after two solid rounds they have fate in their own hands.

Hong Kong China, in third place, are six points behind Uganda, which means if Uganda can win at least three games, the worst case is a second-place finish for them, and that is enough to progress to the next round.

Italy, their close rivals for top spot, are only four points behind Uganda, but if they can avoid defeat against them, it should be enough for them to finish in top spot.

The final round concludes a journey that started in Uganda in November 2024, with the Cricket Cranes winning four out of their five games and only missing out on maximum points due to a washout against Hong Kong China.

Hong Kong China hosted the second leg, and Uganda achieved identical results, with a washout against Italy the only false result.

Tanzania will pose a new challenge for the Cricket Cranes; the tournament will be hosted at two new cricket grounds, and how the grounds play will be a challenge for all teams.

Uganda will play some pre-tournament games against Tanzania and Hong Kong China. The pre-tournament games will allow Steve Tikolo to test the entire squad before deciding on his final XI.

In a tournament of just five games, it’s usually very difficult to change a starting XI, and those who do well in the pre-tournament games will most likely get the look-in.

The back-to-back games against Hong Kong China and Italy will be the decisive game days for Uganda, and if they get out of that without dropping a game, they will have secured their place in the next round of the qualifiers.

Cricket Cranes Squad: Riazat Ali Shah (Captain), Juma Miyaji, Fred Achelam (Wicket-keeper), Cyrus Kakuru (Wicket-keeper), Dinesh Nakrani, Joseph Baguma, Henry Ssenyondo, Sumeet Verma, Simon Ssesazi, Alpesh Ramjani, Kenneth Waiswa (Vice Captain), Cosmas Kyewuta, Gerald Olipa, Raghav Dhawan

Pre-Tournament Games | University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Complex