T20 WORLCUP QUALIFIERS: Ruyange makes National Team Return

Uganda Cricket National Coach Martin Suji has selected Daniel Ruyange on the team that will take part in the T20 World Cup qualifying tournament that takes place in Kampala February 23 to March 1.

Ruyange, a brother to national tennis star Duncan Mugabe has been absent from the national team since 2009 when he injured a shoulder in Argentina and underwent surgery at Case Clinic. Ruyange said he is overjoyed to be part of this team again after the team was named at the National Council of Sports (NCA) headquarters at Lugogo.

Coach Suji said they are very ready for the tournament and the boys have trained so hard and are simply waiting for action. Uganda will open their campaign against archrivals Kenya on February 23, the same day Botswana battle Tanzania.

Team manager Andrew Othieno who announced the team said many some of the players like skipper Davis Arinaitwe Karashani failed to make it for the team presentation ceremony because of a busy work schedule.

The winning nation along with the runners up of the event and Namibia will represent Africa at the ICC’s penultimate round of the World Cup qualifier in the U.A.E. The Africa region will thus have three teams playing at the qualifiers in the UAE in 2014. Besides the hosts Uganda, the other teams that will take part in the event include; Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana.

The Nigerian team that arrived in the country last Thursday has already played two games with select sides where they have lost one and won one.

The Nigerians will have their last build-up game against a select team in Entebbe today, said Justine Ligyalingi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Cricket Association (UCA).

and AGENCIES