Tornado Bee 247/7 Akbar Baig 57 (93) and Lawrence Ssematimba 58* (55) in 50 0vers beat Ceylon Lions 156/10 Juma Miagi 39 (26) in 40.5 overs by 91 runs
Man of Match: Roger Mukasa 37 (20) and 3/18 in 8 overs
Tornado Bee CC bounced back in olden fashion to remind Ceylon Lions who the big boys in the league are despite the connoted meanings of their names; the Bees and the Lions respectively.
The Lions won the toss and elected to field first. A decision captain Lawrence Ssempijja opined to his teammates as the correct one considering the wicket was deemed a very slow one. It didn’t take them long to get a chance as Roger Mukasa was dropped at slip off the second ball in the innings. This error in the field proved costly as he then went on to score 37 off 20 balls to get the Bees going.
The Lions eventually got the breakthrough they needed when they picked Roger’s wicket and another two wickets before the drinks break. If the Lions thought they had the game in the bag with the Bees at 67/3, they had it wrong. Deus Muhumuza 43 (52) came in at 5 to steady the ship with Akbar Baig 57 (93) before the latter fell to pave way for David Musoke. The wicket of Deus fell shortly after Akbar’s off Abraham Oduch’s bowling (4/30 in 9 overs) to leave the Bees at 144/6.
The match highlight was perhaps the partnership of David Musoke 38 (50) and Lawrence Ssematimba 58* (55) that saw them strike up 100 runs between them in just as many balls. They were too quick between the wickets stealing single after single before switching gears to go boundary hunting in the final stages, a tactic that immensely paid off as the Lions seemed to rest on their laurels with no reply to the batting pair’s shrewdness. Together, they were able to get the Bees to 245 before David’s wicket fell.
The Lions got into the run chase with Arnold Otwani and Simon Ssesazi carefully grafting for singles but this did not last as Roger Mukasa (3/18 in 8 overs) struck to dismiss the former out bowled in the fourth over of the innings. It was downward from then on as one after the other fell. A bowling change brought Deus Muhumuza who trapped Simon Ssesazi 9 (22) with a careful delivery that saw him nick the ball into the capable hands of David Musoke in slip. He did little to convince the critics of a change in fortunes from the recently concluded WCL Div. 4 tournament where he had a less than stellar showing on his international debut for the senior side.
The wickets continued to fall and skipper Lawrence Ssempijja 36 (39) put on a bit of a fight but eventually fell as well. At 113/9, the Lions knew the contest was over. Juma Miagi 39 (26) had other ideas in mind as took it upon himself to salvage something for his team with five boundaries and one maximum. This saw him guide his team to 156 before Innocent Ndawula cheaply gave away his wicket, leaving the youngster downcast as he slumped on the wicket banging his fists on the ground in frustration.
