New Zealand put up a clinical performance to notch a comprehensive but a consolatory nine-wicket win over minnows Uganda in the T20 World Cup in Tarouba. Left-arm pacer Trent Boult (2/7) and fellow veteran quick Tim Southee (3/4) wrecked havoc as Uganda folded up for a mere 40 in 18.4 overs, missing the lowest total in the T20 World Cup by just a run. Uganda had been bowled out for the joint-lowest team total of 39 against West Indies last week. The gulf between them and top nations has been pretty evident in the tournament.

Opener Devon Conway (22 not out off 15, 4x4s) then fuelled New Zealand’s first win of the tournament with the Kiwis knocking off the target in 5.2 overs.

Having lost their opening two games to Afghanistan and hosts West Indies, New Zealand finished outside of the semifinals for the first time in 10 years.

The Kiwis flexed their muscle against debutants Uganda, whose batters continued to struggle in the tournament. The African side has not gone beyond the 80-run mark in the tournament and conclude with three losses and a win.

With the ball swinging prodigiously in the powerplay, New Zealand made the most of it, giving away just 9/3.

Boult set the tone of the match with twin strikes in the first over.

He swung the ball away from a clueless Simon Ssesazi to trap him leg before wicket on the third ball of the innings.

Boult then knocked over Robinson Obuya’s stumps on the very next delivery. The 34-year-old, however, was denied a hattrick by Alpesh Ramjani, who negotiated an out-swinging yorker.

Southee claimed Uganda’s third wicket fell in the fourth over, as he trapped Ramjani in front of the wickets.

Wickets continued to tumble for Uganda as spinners Mitchell Santner (2/8) and Rachin Ravindra (2/9) and pacer Lockie Ferguson (1/9) joined in on the action.

Southee then returned in the 18th over to claim two more wickets, trapping Fred Achelam and Juma Miyagi leg before wicket on consecutive deliveries. But like Boult, he too was denied a hattrick.

Kenneth Waiswa (11) was the only Ugandan batter to reach a double digit score.

Two-time champions and co-hosts West Indies are grouped with New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. West Indies and New Zealand are the top-ranked teams in Group C, but will face strong resistance from Afghanistan, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea as they aim to make it through to the second round. West Indies will be aiming for a record third T20 World Cup title, and are in great form in the lead-up to the tournament. Uganda will make their debut on the global stage, and will look to pull off further miracles in their romantic journey.

West Indies:

A series victory against defending champions, England, towards the end of last year revealed how dangerous a full-strength West Indies side can be. Despite their lacklustre performance in the 2022 edition, the Rovman Powell-led side poses a major threat this time around.

They are well covered in all departments with several all-rounders and big-hitters, capable of swinging games. The surprise inclusion in their squad for the tournament was Shamar Joseph, uncapped in T20Is until featuring against South Africa recently, but a supreme talent in the making as he showed in Australia during the Test series at the start of the year.

West Indies also get a fairly easier start to the tournament with games against the lower-ranked teams in the group, PNG and Uganda. If they start well, the co-hosts will be favourites to top the group.

Squad:

Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd

Fixtures:

Sun, 2 June 2024 – West Indies v Papua New Guinea, Guyana, 10:30 AM LOCAL

Sat, 8 June 2024 – West Indies v Uganda, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Wed, 12 June 2024 – West Indies v New Zealand, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – West Indies v Afghanistan, St. Lucia, 08:30 PM LOCAL

New Zealand:

New Zealand made very little change from the 2022 edition to this one with their squad selection. It highlights the consistency in selection on the one hand, and also how well-rounded the Blackcaps unit is.

The team is also well prepared for the event with 36 T20Is under their belt since the end of the last T20 World Cup, the most among full-member teams.

The depth of talent at their disposal was evident in the recent T20I series in Pakistan, where a second-string squad managed to level the series.

Kane Williamson, who will be playing his sixth T20 World Cup, will lead a strong side that has a wealth of experience alongside the exuberance of youth in the likes of Rachin Ravindra, who sizzled with the bat in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and the exciting Finn Allen.

Veterans Trent Boult and Tim Southee will lead the pace attack, which also has Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry. There are ample options in the spin department too with Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Michael Bracewell, and Ravindra.

New Zealand open their campaign against Afghanistan in Guyana and then take on co-hosts West Indies in Trinidad.

Squad:

Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Travelling Reserve: Ben Sears

Fixtures:

Fri, 7 June 2024 – New Zealand v Afghanistan, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Wed, 12 June 2024 – New Zealand v West Indies, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Fri, 14 June 2024 – New Zealand v Uganda, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – New Zealand v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad, 10:30 AM LOCAL

Afghanistan:

Afghanistan are ranked 10th in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, but are more than capable of pulling off big wins.

They recorded series victories against UAE (twice), Pakistan and Ireland since the end of the last T20 World Cup and also reached the final of the Asian Games Men’s Cricket Competition, where they lost to India.

The squad is boosted by the return of Rashid Khan after the leg-spinner’s long injury layoff. He leads a versatile spin department that also has the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Nangyal Kharoti and veteran Mohammad Nabi.

Afghanistan begin their campaign against Uganda in Guyana on June 3.

Squad:

Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi

Fixtures:

Mon, 3 June 2024 – Afghanistan v Uganda, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Fri, 7 June 2024 – Afghanistan v New Zealand, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Thur, 13 June 2024 – Afghanistan v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – Afghanistan v West Indies, St. Lucia, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Uganda:

Uganda secured a spot in the T20 World Cup by comfortably defeating Rwanda in their last match of the Africa region qualifier. With five wins in six games, Uganda was the standout team alongside Namibia in the Africa Qualifier as they sealed their berth in the mega event.

Uganda have a stellar record leading up to the tournament with 41 wins in their last 49 T20Is, a win percentage of 83.67 per cent.

Led by Brian Masaba, Uganda will feature in the tournament with plenty of experience in the squad. The 43-year-old Frank Nsubuga aside, the squad also features Alpesh Ramjani, who was one of the nominees for the 2023 ICC Men’s T20I cricketer of the Year.

Uganda play their first three games in Guyana and have the opportunity to spring a surprise from Group C.

Squad:

Brian Masaba (c), Simon Ssesazi, Roger Mukasa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Dinesh Nakrani, Fred Achelam, Kenneth Waiswa, Alpesh Ramjani, Frank Nsubuga, Henry Ssenyondo, Bilal Hassun, Robinson Obuya, Riazat Ali Shah, Juma Miyaji, Ronak Patel. Travelling Reserves: Innocent Mwebaze, Ronald Lutaaya

Fixtures:

Mon, 3 June 2024 – Uganda v Afghanistan, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Wed, 5 June 2024 – Uganda v Papua New Guinea, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Sat, 8 June 2024 – Uganda v West Indies, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Fri, 14 June 2024 – Uganda v New Zealand, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Papua New Guinea:

Like Uganda, PNG come into the tournament with an impeccable record of 14 wins in their last 18 games. They are led by the enterprising Assad Vala, PNG are set to appear for the second time at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Papua New Guinea maintained an unbeaten record in the qualifiers, winning six consecutive matches.

With plenty of all-rounders in the squad, PNG have a versatile unit that can test the bigger teams in the group.

Papua New Guinea kicks off its campaign with a challenging opening match against the host nation, West Indies, on June 2. They then face Uganda on June 5, followed by matches against Afghanistan and New Zealand.

Squad:

Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura

Fixtures:

Sun, 2 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v West Indies, Guyana, 10:30 AM LOCAL

Wed, 5 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v Uganda, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Thur, 13 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v Afghanistan, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v New Zealand, Trinidad, 10:30 AM LOCAL

The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will see the return of a major global cricket tournament to the West Indies after 14 years. The USA will also host World Cup games for the first time ever. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced India’s 15-man squad on April 30. Rohit Sharma will lead the side, while Hardik Pandya retained vice-captaincy despite a difficult IPL 2024 season. Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul were the headline absentees. The T20 World Cup gets underway on June 2 as USA take on Canada. The final is on June 29, at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

All 20 T20 World Cup Squads:

India (ICC T20I Rank-1):

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj

Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan

Australia (ICC T20I Rank-2):

Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matthew Short

England (ICC T20I Rank-3):

Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood

West Indies (ICC T20I Rank-4):

Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd

New Zealand (ICC T20I Rank-5):

Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. 

Reserve: Ben Sears

Pakistan (ICC T20I Rank-6):

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan

South Africa (ICC T20I Rank-7):

Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs

Sri Lanka (ICC T20I Rank-8):

Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka

Reserves: Asitha Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Janith Liyanage

Bangladesh (ICC T20I Rank-9):

Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib

Reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud

Afghanistan (ICC T20I Rank-10):

Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik

Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi

Ireland (ICC T20I Rank-11):

Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

Namibia (ICC T20I Rank-13):

Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut

Scotland (ICC T20I Rank-14):

Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal

Netherlands (ICC T20I Rank-15): 

Scott Edwards (c), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Ryan Klein, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, ⁠⁠Tim Pringle, Vikram Singh, Viv Kingma, Wesley Barresi

Reserve: Ryan Klein

Nepal (ICC T20I Rank-17):

Rohit Paudel (c), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee

United States (ICC T20I Rank-18):

Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir. Reserve Players: Gajanand Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Yasir Mohammad

Oman (ICC T20I Rank-19):

Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail

Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra

Papua New Guinea (ICC T20I Rank-20):

Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura

Uganda (ICC T20I Rank-22):

Brian Masaba (c), Simon Ssesazi, Roger Mukasa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Dinesh Nakrani, Fred Achelam, Kenneth Waiswa, Alpesh Ramjani, Frank Nsubuga, Henry Ssenyondo, Bilal Hassun, Robinson Obuya, Riazat Ali Shah, Juma Miyaji, Ronak Patel

Reserves: Innocent Mwebaze, Ronald Lutaaya

Canada (ICC T20I Rank-23):

Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Nikhil Dutta, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyankhan Pathan, Junaid Siddiqui, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva, Rishiv Joshi. Reserves: Tajinder Singh, Aaditya Varadharajan, Ammar Khalid, Jatinder Matharu, Parveen Kumar

On a sunny morning at the main cricket oval in Kampala, members of the Ugandan national men’s team are being put through their paces by their new head coach. The Cricket Cranes — clad in their vivid red kit — are training hard for their first ever T20 World Cup, a “dream come true” in a nation where cricket is overshadowed by football as the most popular sport. But they have a tough road ahead in the tournament, which is being jointly hosted by the United States and West Indies and runs from June 1 to June 29.

Among their opponents are New Zealand and West Indies, as well as Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea, with the fixtures being held in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Time is not on their side — it was barely a month ago that the Uganda Cricket Association named Indian former first-class cricketer Abhay Sharma as the new head coach of the men’s national team.

“Mostly we don’t have time to relax. It’s going to be high intensity preparations,” 32-year-old Cranes captain Brian Masaba told AFP after the training session was interrupted by rain.

Masaba has himself already earned an accolade for his performance.

In mid-May, the International Cricket Council ranked him as the captain with the second highest number of wins in T20 internationals (44 in 56 matches), just behind Pakistan’s Babar Azam.

“If we can pick up a couple of wins at the World Cup, it would be a huge bonus for us. But more importantly for me is the platform the World Cup gives Uganda as a country,” said Masaba.

“So it is important for us as ambassadors of the game to portray the country in a good light and that’s by going out there and playing good cricket.”

Although this is their first World Cup as a nation, Uganda were part of a combined East Africa team along with Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia that took part in the 1975 ODI World Cup.

Cricket was first introduced to the region in the late 19th century by British colonial settlers and became popular among the large number of Indian labourers brought in to work on East African railways.

Aiming for major leagues

Juma Miyagi, 21, says he hopes Uganda’s appearance at the World Cup will not only give a shot in the arm to Ugandan cricket but also help propel his own international career.

“It means a lot to us,” said Miyagi, who’s been with the Cranes for two years. “We are expecting very many things from the World Cup.”

Miyagi grew up in the Kampala slum of Naguru, which lies on a hillside overlooking the cricket ground.

“I come from the ghetto,” he said.

“I would like to see myself in one of the biggest leagues in the world and maybe helping out my family… we have been struggling with everything.”

Miyagi, who was first interested in tennis before switching to cricket, also said he hopes qualifying for the World Cup will be a “big opportunity” to help attract more youngsters like him to the game.

‘Baby of global cricket’

Veteran cricketer Frank Nsubuga, an all-rounder who at 43 is the father figure in the squad, first played internationally in the 1997 ICC Trophy.

“Having been playing for the last 27 years I’m very excited to have qualified to play in the World Cup,” said Nsubuga, who will be one of the oldest players in the tournament.

“It was my dream and it has come true.”

Coach Sharma, 54, did not want to be drawn on his strategies for Uganda’s World Cup matches, nor share who he considered the team’s star players.

But he said he was drawing on his global experience — which includes coaching stints with India A and India Under-19s, as well as the Indian women’s cricket team and the Delhi Ranji Trophy side.

“We are going step by step,” Sharma said. “We are working on their skill sets, we are working on their mindset.”

On the prospects for the Cranes — who are nicknamed after Uganda’s national bird — he was also circumspect.

“The expectation of the fans is there. We have to be realistic. This is a young team and it is a baby of global cricket.

“But they are in good shape and expectations are high.”