The Cricket Cranes, who just returned from tours in India and Sri Lanka, have been preparing for the T20 World Cup. They have only won two of these expeditions in India and none in Sri Lanka, therefore their results have been inconsistent.
The Cricket Cranes are hoping for wins that will improve their confidence ahead of a tournament they have at home with three World Cup-bound teams. This competition will be the perfect warm-up before the international showcase event.
At the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, Uganda is grouped with Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and co-hosts the West Indies. Namibia is in Group B with Australia, England, Scotland, and Oman, while the Netherlands and Nepal are in Group D with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
Uganda will play cricket for the first time before the World Cup in the African Games in Ghana in March. Against South Africa, Kenya, and the host team, the Cricket Cranes are grouped in Group A. They will play their first game against rivals Kenya on March 17. As they look to make an impact on the global scene, the team is anticipated to have a young and competitive roster.
Debut T20 World Cup for Uganda
Debutant Uganda is among the 20 teams announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be contested in the USA and West Indies the following year, along with the top eight teams from the previous edition, including Australia, India, England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
In the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will include 20 teams for the first time, Uganda will play in its first-ever senior ICC World Cup event alongside Namibia in the Africa qualification. After defeating Rwanda by nine wickets to secure the final spot, Uganda guaranteed a top-two finish in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa qualifier.
Teams from Canada, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Oman, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Scotland, and the United States of America (USA) are joined by them.
Format of the World Cup
A total of 20 teams, divided into four groups of five, will play 55 matches at the T20 World Cup 2024. Among the teams who qualified were other elite participants like Afghanistan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies.
The top two teams from each group advance to the Super Eight stage, after which the remaining teams are divided into two four-team groups. Next, the top two finishers in each group advance to the semi-finals and final.
The following is the final list of teams that have qualified for the event: Papua New Guinea (PNG), Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Uganda, England, India, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Scotland, England, UAE, and USA.
Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA
Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman
Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea
Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal
How Cricket Cranes Qualified for the major ICC event?
With Namibia and Uganda emerging victory to clinch coveted slots in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, the thrilling end of the Africa Qualifier last November marked a turning point in the T20 cricket world. The USA and the West Indies will jointly host this exciting a global event.
Uganda defeated Rwanda in the last round of games in the Africa leg of the Men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers, making history as just the fifth African country to compete in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Despite appearing to be winning their match against Nigeria, Zimbabwe will not be participating in a global event for the second time because Uganda defeated Rwanda by nine wickets.
In the first match of the qualifier, Uganda easily defeated Tanzania by eight wickets. But Namibian fast-bowling all-rounder David Wiese’s outstanding 4/17 in the subsequent match condemned them to a six-wicket loss. Uganda recovered, defeating Zimbabwe, who were competing in the Test match, by five wickets. Under the direction of Dinesh Nakrani (3/14), their bowling attack held Zimbabwe to 136/7. Alpesh Ramjani (40) and Riazat Ali Shah (42) both scored well throughout the chase, helping Uganda win by five wickets in a big shock.
Encouraged by this performance, the team easily defeated Nigeria, then triumphed over Kenya by 33 runs and against Rwanda by nine wickets. Rwanda was bowled out for just 65 by Uganda’s excellent bowling attack, which they chased down in 8.1 overs. However, Zimbabwe was left off of the bus for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup after losing to Namibia and Uganda in the Africa qualifier.
The team missed out on the major competitions in England and India since they did not place in the top two of the Men’s ODI World Cup qualifiers for 2019 and 2023.
After being barred from competition in the 2021 tournament by the ICC for intervention by the government in cricket administration, Zimbabwe made an appearance through the Africa region in the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022. There, they defeated Pakistan by a legendary margin in Perth during the Super 12 stage.