Ugandan national cricket team left for Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday to take part in a four-nation warm-up tournament for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup due in South Africa.
An eleven-man team captained by Joel Olweny left Thursday afternoon and would be joined by four U-19 players Roger Mukasa, Arthur Kyobe, Charles Waiswa and Ronald Ssemanda in the course of the tourney.
Martin Ondeko, Kebba Nicholas and Jeremy Kibuuka-Musoke will be the new faces on the team. The tournament will provide experience and offer the national stars a glimpse of what the Twenty20 is all about.
Tournament organizer Tom Tikolo said the event is to boost the morale of participating sides ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in South Africa next month.
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kenya will be Uganda's opponents in the five-day event. After the four-nation battle, all teams will be heading to Johannesburg for the inaugural Twenty20 showpiece on September 6.
Meanwhile, Uganda has failed in its quest for a hat-trick of appearances at the biennial U-19 World Cup after an agonizing defeat to Namibia in the qualifiers in Johannesburg.
A brave half-century from Arthur Kyobe and a defiant 38 from mid-order batsman, Andrew Ochan catapulted Uganda to 229 for nine.
But the pair's endeavors proved futile when Namibia chased that target at the cost of a solitary wicket with 12 overs to spare.
Uganda had appeared at both the past U-19 World Cups held in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively.
Source: Xinhua
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