- Ugandan Cricket Team Visit Reachout Centre June 2010
- Wello's December 2009 Uganda Diary (plus Scorecards & Itinerary)
- Uganda Tour 2009 - Reactions from Uganda
- Wello's 2008 Uganda Diary
- Buy your kit from Ram and help Ugandan Cricket
- ECC/CCE Tour Of Uganda
- Christian Relief Uganda
- Great Ugandan Cricket Contacts
- Feb 2010 Visit - How the money was spent
- Peter Wellings (Tour Organiser) (39)
- Chris Peploe (28)
- Leigh Parry (29)
- Huw Jones (23)
- Nalin Jayasinghe (25)
- Darren McCrea (31)
- Howard Tobias (38)
- Ajay Soni (19)
- Ahsan Faraz (28)
- Will Heath (Captain - Luxembourg National Team) (37)
- Zubin Bhettay (25)
- Chris Wakefield (Tour Youngster) (18)
- Samir Pathak (25)
- Rajesh Rao (Non - playing) (33)
- Social Committee - Peploe & McCrea
- Excursions - Heath
- Fines Committee - Bhettay & Parry
- Media & Photos - Faraz
Ealing CC & Coaching Cricket Excellence Tour of Uganda: Nov 2009
Diary - November 2009
Touring party and age:
Meeting us in Kampala
View the Tour Itinerary and some press coverage. Links to the scorecards for matches played on the tour can be found at the bottom of this page. You can also become a Facebook friend by going to Facebook and searching for Coaching Cricket Excellence - you'll find more photos there of our Uganda trip.
Sunday November 8th
The alarm call at 3.15am prompts an unwilling response to leave the comfort of my bed. However to make the 6.35am flight to Entebbe we all must do it and as organiser I must lead by example. On arrival at Heathrow I am delighted but rather amazed to see everyone has made the meet time of 4am. This unlikely hour represents the most punctual the group would be for the entire trip.
Ex-Ugandan national cricketer and our travel agent Lawrie Fernandes appears to help see us off, a sterling effort considering the unearthly time. A short hop to Amsterdam and despite it not yet being 9am the boys are instinctively drawn towards Schiphol Airport's Murphy's Irish Pub. My intention that we take the tour with the utmost seriousness is dismissed immediately as all but 2 of the tour begin downing various ales. An informal meeting sees the assigning of roles for the 10 day trip:
Dutch Guinness does nothing for the air quality on KLM flight 561 and suspicions fall upon the large frame of Leigh Parry who seems unperturbed by the noxious odours emanating from his seating area. Friendly banter begins with 2 returning Ugandans David Mureeba & Dr Daniel Nkata who provide humour and good wishes on an enjoyable flight.
Leaving Entebbe airport we are mobbed by members of the Ugandan cricket entourage with hugs and handshakes all round in addition to a number of TV cameras. 650kg of cricket kit proves difficult to manage but Ugandan cars have sturdy roofs and eventually we all get on our way.
Arrival at The Africana Hotel in Kampala sees us joined by Raj Rao & Samir Pathak making a group of 14. Chaos ensues as various waiters forget to return change from drinks orders with much muttering and finger wagging.
Monday November 9th
An early swim is followed by the group laying out all the cricket kit we're donating on the hotel lawn; an impressive sight. Footballs and rugby balls are included too and deputy head teacher Darren McCrea (Macca) cannot resist a little punt over the kit Jonny Wilkinson style. All is well until he over-hits a ball which falls on a fence next to a table full of African ornaments and carvings. Time stands still as the ball bounces up, rotates seemingly in slow motion before landing directly in the middle of the table, scattering precious artefacts everywhere.
Horror descends upon the group but luckily Zubin has the nous to offer to buy the one broken statue from the irate stall holder. Thus our tour mascot for dick of the day is found and promptly named Joseph.
A walk to Lugogo Cricket Oval avoiding various 9ft deep manholes and it's our 1st session with Uganda Disability. The whole group is humbled by the effort of many of those being coached some of whom are without legs or have polio. Much raucous fun is followed by a presentation of cricket kit which is gratefully received.
An afternoon session with the Uganda Women's team rounds off an excellent day's coaching before our first 'fines' meeting lead by Leigh and Zubin. Any transgressions however minor are pounced upon ruthlessly by the over-zealous pair resulting in the downing of large and quite hideous spirit shots. The TV is then turned on to show Leigh Parry being interviewed on Ugandan National News, the first of four pieces about our tour with certain members clearly keen for their Andy Warhol moment.
Suitably charged, the team venture into Kampala to do some reconnaissance of the Ugandan capital's nightlife, a task many show a natural aptitude for.
Tuesday November 10th
Sore heads for breakfast indicate a good night was had by all. We meet in the hotel lobby to board the bus for the town of Jinja and our mass coaching session there after a spot of sightseeing.
First up is the famous Source of the Nile where I encountered the world's largest Black Mamba last year. A lovely, tranquil boat trip to the source is disturbed by my suggestion that this is an ideal opportunity to jump in the Nile. Health and Safety regulations are considerably less stringent in Uganda and our driver hints it's a possibility. Macca breaks the ice by saying he'll join me and the idea spreads like a virus. As soon as the boat stops, 10 idiots bomb into the middle of the river in various states of undress causing mayhem and astonished looks from those remaining in the boat and many Ugandan observers.
The 200 metre swim to shore is made easy by a strong current and with the crocodiles locating a different part of the river amazingly everybody makes it back safely.
Into Jinja and a mass coaching session is enjoyed by all and sundry with the novel idea of the children taking football penalties against us as the hapless goalkeepers to win kit for their school at the end. Earning the equipment is the theme of the day though Leigh P's Peter Schmeichel impression is rumbled as he continually dives the wrong way before the ball is kicked.
The evening sees the boys visit the legendary Steak Out where the great and the good of Kampala do their socialising. Within 10 minutes the group is overlooked by a hulking presence of a man easily the biggest person in Uganda. The 6ft 7inch gentle giant introduces himself as Albert and turns out to be the Mr Fixit of Kampala nightclubs, attracting keen interest from the more nocturnal elements on tour.
Wednesday November 11th
Our first game is scheduled today against a Universities Select XI at Kyambogo Cricket Oval. A brief cricket warm up is replaced by the game which comes to typify the tour: ARSE. Put simply, ARSE is a football game where a player must keep the ball 'alive' on the volley or after a bounce. If through lack of skill the ball becomes dead, gets shinned into a bush or is booted 47 metres too far, the offending player gets a letter. Thus the pressure begins to tell as various players rack up A's, R's, S's and the final E as the nail in the coffin leading to the loser standing with his rear facing the team in front of a wall who get to blast the ball penalty style with his backside as the target.
Dark Destroyer Nalin Jayasinghe proves a dab hand at this, carefully weighing up his shot before placing a well hit ball into the loser's bottom 4 out of every 5 goes. Darren McCrea knows no such conservatism and wallops the ball like an Exocet missile every time connecting occasionally but causing untold damage when doing so much to his delight.
Ealing prove too strong for the Universities side with Will Heath scoring a delightful 89 in a total of 236 for 9. Ahsan Faraz's 5 for 13 secures a comfortable win for the tourists though not before Zubin proves without a shadow of doubt that Ugandan batsmen play the half volley and long hop with equal aplomb in an appalling display of seam bowling, conceding 39 off his first 2 overs. Shouts of 'line, length - either will do' resonate around the tree lined ground.
Thursday November 12th
The morning sees half the group head to Lugogo Oval for a training session with the Ugandan national squad whilst the rest visit the Aga Khan School which shows all the signs of being a potential goldmine for Ugandan cricket talent after an enthusiastic, action packed session.
Chris Peploe (Pepsy) is leading the practice with the Ugandans and under strict instructions not to give too many tips away as tomorrow is the first of our 2 games against the national side. An afternoon session with youngsters at Lugogo is run by Leigh P who brings his unique brand of madness and fun to a delighted group of children.
Many of the boys take the opportunity for a final net and a quiet night is had by all before the big game tomorrow.
Friday November 13th
Nervous tension at breakfast shows the team's intent to acquit themselves well today in our first one day international.
Despite the determined mood, the desire to play another game of Arse cannot be resisted and the team exhaust themselves in short sprints to the ball allied to fits of laughter as unlucky souls succumb to the pressure and face the music. Students of body language note that Wello as the oldest member of the tour is now completely addicted to Arse having never encountered it in all his previous 39 years.
A solid bowling and fielding display restricts Uganda to 179 all out with accurate seam bowling from Ajay Soni and excellent work from the spin twins Faraz and Peploe. Batting proves difficult for the tourists though and we are quickly reduced to 13 for 3 with 10 overs gone against some excellent left arm inswing from Charles Waiswa. The infield is hard to penetrate compared to English conditions and tigerish fielding puts Ealing on the back foot. An excellent counter-attack by Huw Jones and some working of the ball by old stager Wellings puts the tourists back in the match before Huw is caught in the deep.
Enter Leigh Parry now nicknamed 'Flintoff' by the Ugandans on account of his huge 6 hitting in the previous game. The big South African does not disappoint and immediately deposits Henry Senyondo's offspin into various parts of the Kampalan countryside. The game looks to be there for the taking. Unfortunately, the experience of Wello does not prevent him running down the pitch and playing for non-existent spin putting his team back in the mire. Leigh's heroics are not enough and we fall 13 runs short, a valiant but ultimately forlorn effort.
The exertions of the day lead the boys towards a big night out in Kampala thinking and drinking of what might have been. A new saying 'ehhh' (pronounced like 'where') appears amongst the group based around our liaison man Fred Isa's reaction whenever we say something unusual. Thus the entire group spends the night ehhhing away as only groups of sporting males can do.
Saturday November 14th
The night's activities are clear for all to see as tour members arrive for breakfast in various states of unfitness. Darren McCrea provokes much mirth with response to the observation that he's been going out a lot by saying that wasn't true he just hadn't come in much.
Chris Peploe arrives late and a broken man due to heavy session in O'Leary's Irish pub and word quickly gets round that dick of the day mascot Joseph is missing. Pepsy spends the whole journey to our game against the Clubs XI hanging out the minibus window much to the amusement of the team.
Our warm up is slightly less energetic than yesterday and 1 squad member (who shall remain nameless) declares himself unfit to play before collapsing in the changing room. Sympathy is in short supply for this self-inflicted ailment and all 28 towels given to us for showering are immediately used to cover the stricken individual from head to toe before being doused in cold water.
Rain hits Kyambogo but upon the restart 193 in 35 overs seems a decent total from Ealing. Leigh Parry hits 48 off 18 balls including 6 gigantic 6s to become 'Super Flintoff' to the Ugandans whilst Ahsan Faraz reaches allrounder status with a well crafted 50.
However, the Club XI are no mugs and a middle order partnership of 150 between Ziraba and Thawithemwira suggests a sound thrashing is on the cards. Ealing show some fight though and force the game into the last over before losing by 4 wickets showing resilience after a lacklustre start.The group pass comment that Ugandan batting now clearly differs to ours in that they hit the ball whereas we try to time it or simply miss it altogether.
Sunday November 15th
Our first free day in an action packed week. Some choose to go white water rafting at Bujagali falls with Will whilst others decide to potter about the hotel. Nalin and Wello head to Gayaza Girls High School to deliver a coaching session after a monsoon of biblical proportions. Beautiful singing draws us to a church service run entirely by children at the school and a deeply spiritual experience which Davis our driver will have nothing to do with.
Return to O'Leary's to see England hit for 242 in 20 overs in the 2nd T20 match against South Africa and note that Loots Bosman does not possess a forward defensive stroke, usually an obvious batting flaw, but not seeming to cause him many issues. Take bada bada (unsafe but hugely enjoyable motorcycle taxi) back to Africana with Howard on the back causing my sunglasses and Ealing CC cap to fly off never to be seen again.
Our daily fines meeting elicits the real truth behind the disappearance of Joseph and Prosecutor Howard Tobias lays down the facts. A reliable source has informed him that Pepsy smashed Joseph into tiny pieces during a freak throwing fit at the Irish pub. The accused pleads memory loss but the squad are mortified by the reckless manner in which Mr Peploe has treated his precious possession.
Word also creeps out that the white water rafting experience was in fact closer to white water drowning with moderate swimmer Ahsan Faraz nearly meeting his end in the Nile rapids. We also say goodbye to Samir & Raj who leave for the UK plus Leigh P who heads to South Africa meaning we are down to eleven 'fit' players, a loose use of the term if ever there was one.
Monday November 16th
Our 2nd week in Kampala sees 6 of us head to Dr Daniel Nkata's Reachout Orphanage http://www.reachoutvillage.com where hundreds of abandoned boys and girls are schooled and cared for. The children are overwhelmed to see us and we deliver several lively cricket sessions whilst Chris Wakefield (Wakers) does rugby. The kit presentation follows the standard procedure where children volunteer to take a high catch to win kit for the school and we present a host of cricket bats, balls, stumps and a rugby ball to the delighted throng.
Dr Daniel, a Christian minister, sincerely thanks us and praises God for our involvement who acknowledges our effort by unleashing the mother of all thunderstorms upon the school making the playground a fast-flowing swimming pool. Luckily we survive to return to tell the tale.
The evening is quiet as the boys know they'll need to rest before our final game against Uganda tomorrow.
Tuesday November 17th
The squad awake eyeing revenge but first we get in a quick game of Arse to loosen tired muscles. Unfortunately our intentions of winning our 2nd one dayer come to nought as we are put to the sword by an excellent display from the Uganda batsmen. Benjamin Musoke crafts a beautiful 92 not out replete with cultured strokeplay and intelligent placement in a total of 235 for 6 in 45 overs. Wakers attracts the wrath of the touring captain (Wello) in a slovenly fielding display and his mood is not brightened by himself dropping 2 catches and finishing wicketless for the entire tour.
We are never in the hunt and subside to 120 all out acknowledging that we were beaten by a better side. The atmosphere is lightenend by the traditional giving away of all our cricket kit to the Ugandan team and various groundstaff, scorers and spectators. We also say good bye to 'Puru', the cutest 2 year old in Kampala who lives in a hut at Kyambogo Cricket Ground and has been our constant companion during our games there.
Our farewell dinner takes place at the UCA vice-chairman's hotel with speeches and an enormous buffet that is manna from heaven for most of the group apart from those who mistook the plate of diced chillies for onion relish.
Afterwards it's Steakout and a couple of cheeky beers before I retire to my bed exhausted leaving Luxembourg Captain Will Heath dancing vigorously to a range of high decibel beats.
Wednesday November 18th
Our last day is unstructured leaving the group to a spot of sightseeing, shopping and plenty of goodbyes from what has been a momentous and perhaps unique tour.
Our flight to Amsterdam is at 10.55pm but the traffic to Entebbe is total bedlam with no discernible road rules or system for the thousands of vehicles clogging up the Ugandan capital. Our arrival at the airport brings more chaos as Entebbe's computer system shuts down meaning everyone must be checked in by hand.
Boredom sets in as the queue moves at snails pace forcing the boys into a makeshift game of handball Arse in the departures area using a tennis ball before a security guard puts a stop to the nonsense.
Taking off an hour late we are then informed that there is no jet fuel in Uganda so we'll be stopping in Ethiopia to fill up. This does little for the morale of a battered and tired group.
Arriving late in Amsterdam we find our connection to Heathrow has left hours ago prompting a mad rush for standby flights to anywhere near London. Eventually the team arrive back in Blighty in dribs and drabs though many find that their baggage has found a different path.
Handshakes all round put an end to a memorable tour and a life changing experience for many of the team. Such has been the enjoyment that planning begins immediately for the next one and despite only saying goodbye to each other 5 minutes ago a reunion curry is scheduled for December 4th.
Well done to all the boys who took part and a big thanks is due to all those Ealing CC members and Coaching Cricket Excellence clients who donated money or gave kit in support of the tour. It really has made a huge difference to Ugandan cricket in a country that welcomes all the assistance we can give.
Peter Wellings - November 2009
Want to get involved?
During their 2009 cricket and coaching tour of Uganda the Coaching Cricket Excellence team ran a session at the Reachout Village Orphanage attended by hundreds of enthusiastic children before donating cricket kit for use in the future. We're committed to trying to help develop the orphanage and raise funds for them, as well as encouraging contact with people in the UK, so if you'd like to email Dr Daniel via reachvil@hotmail.com he'd be delighted to hear from you.
And here are contact details for Christian Relief Uganda.
