Uganda’s second tour of Sri Lanka isn’t quite going as planned! The Cricket Cranes who are using this tour as preparations for their first ever World Cup, landed in Sri Lanka on Friday last week, but they have been on the receiving end since.

The side faced Sri Lanka Development on Sunday in their first practice match, and lost it by 19 runs. They have followed that loss with a 5 wicket defeat to the same side.

All-rounder Riazat Ali Shah amassed 31 runs off 18 balls in the first game, but was caught with just one to his name on Tuesday after facing just 4 balls.

Dinesh Nakrani and Alpesh Ramjani have so far been the top run getters for the Cranes. Nakrani scored 39 on Friday, while Ramjani got 31. On Tuesday, the former totalled 21 while the latter put together 26, but their runs have not been able to hand Uganda a win.

With the ball, the duo of Cosmas Kyewuta and Juma Miyaji- the two opening bowlers who are each returning from injury- have each come in handy. Miyaji picked three wickets in the first game while his counterpart picked as many on Tuesday, but both performances just not enough to lead Uganda to victory.

The Cricket Cranes will face the same side on Friday. They will be hopeful of a positive result, as they seek to approach the World Cup with a positive mindset. Victory in Sri Lanka will without a doubt boost the side’s confidence heading into the global showpiece.

Abhey Sharma, the new head coach will be keen on improving on their batting and finding that win. With four more games left to play in Sri Lanka, there’s still an opportunity to achieve that.

Sharma and his team will return to Uganda on May 11, awaiting their destination to West Indies for the World Cup.

The Cricket Cranes will face New Zealand on 3rd June in their opening Group C game at World Cup.