Roger Mukasa impressed with Baby Cricket Cranes stars

The rain came down in sheets at the Lugogo Cricket Oval on Saturday, September 12, but it could not wash away the clear, rising tide of Ugandan cricket’s next generation.

As Tornado Bees Cricket Club walked away with a 40-run D/L victory over Nile Cricket Club in a rain-shortened Men’s UG20 tournament opener, the afternoon’s narrative stretched far beyond the scoreboard. It was written in the flight of a left-arm spinner’s delivery and the sharp appraisal of a national coach watching his teenagers trade blows with seasoned veterans.

Among those drawing high praise was teenage sensation Hamid Munigwa, whose stock has been on a meteoric rise since a few weeks ago in Kigali, Rwanda. There, Munigwa was one of those who spearheaded the Uganda U19 Baby Cricket Cranes’ undefeated march through the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifiers, clinching a ticket to Division 1. 

Operating alongside fellow standouts Richard Sohera, Jackson Asiku, Felix Ochan, and Devansh Patel, Munigwa stamped his authority on the continental stage with stellar numbers including 1/33 against Nigeria, a devastating 4/9 against Mozambique, and 3 crucial scalps to break Sierra Leone’s lower order.

Fast forward to Lugogo, and that international pedigree was immediately put to the test. Turning out for Tornado Bees, Munigwa picked up two wickets while conceding just 20 runs in two overs. 

Across the pitch, teammate Ryan Agaba, who never travelled to Kigali as an unused, non-travelling reserve for the Baby Cricket Cranes, was pulling on the colours of Nile CC, claiming a wicket while conceding 38 runs against a formidable Tornado Bees turf batting lineup.

For Uganda Emerging side head coach and veteran Tornado Bees batter Roger Mukasa, witnessing these teenagers lock horns with seasoned campaigners felt like watching a blueprint come to life.

“It was nice to see some of my players getting runs, and some under-19 youngsters like Munigwa and Agaba bowling well to some of the senior players like myself, and they have the confidence,” Mukasa said after the match.

The UG20 tournament has been intentionally engineered as a bridge for prospects who often find competitive game time hard to come by outside of national team duties.

For Mukasa, exposing these youngsters to high-pressure situations alongside experienced mentors is the ultimate catalyst for growth.

“This league is trying to help them at least to get their playing time, because probably they don’t get most of the time, the trial games,” Mukasa added. “This league is very, very nice for them to get that confidence, because now they’ve qualified for that under-19 Division 1, so it’s nice for them to have the games like this, and to be guided by some of the senior players.”

The Baby Cricket Cranes eye the tougher challenges awaiting them in Division 1; the proving grounds of Lugogo are ensuring that the nation’s rising stars are battle-tested long before they step onto the global stage.

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