The inaugural Uganda Elite League concluded on Sunday with the Aziz Damani Scorpions claiming the title. The week-long tournament was unfortunately affected by the weather, with two days being washed out; however, with the tournament being live-streamed on Youtube there was still a chance for fans of Ugandan cricket to tune in and watch their local heroes perform.
The T20 double round-robin style tournament saw the Scorpions finish one point ahead of the Royal Varsani Bucks with the Metro Challengers Mambas a further two points behind the Bucks. The tournament was appreciated by Ugandan international and Scorpions captain Brian Masaba who was quoted by New Vision as stating that ‘I think the tournament has been competitive. There were a few close games obviously at the end the rain interfered a bit but we are just glad to get some cricket in’. Masaba continued stating that ‘I think we’ve (the Ugandan Cricket Association) shown that this can be pulled off. Following the guidelines not just for cricket but for sports in general so we hope we’ve taken a giant step towards that’.
Player of the Series was award to Scorpions batsman Wasim Butt for his consistent performances throughout the tournament; this award was alongside his best batter award. Further awards went to Bucks players Nsubuga Sirajje and Kiiza Jonathan who were awarded the best bowler and fielder awards respectively while Butt’s teammate Stephen Wabwose won the best wicket-keeper award.
Away from the on-field action, the tournament represented the restarting of cricket, after the ongoing pandemic led to an enforced eight-month break. The restart appeared to be met with a warm response with people watching the online stream with the action having live commentary from ex-Ugandan international and Emerging Cricket contributor Denis Musali.
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