Uganda names squad to defend ICC Africa T20 trophy

Kampala : Uganda has named an 18-man squad that will defend its title when the International Cricket Council (ICC) Africa T20 tournament kicks off here Feb 23.

Martin Suji, the national team coach, said Monday that they were ready for the tournament that will also act as a World Cup qualifier. "We have trained so hard and are simply waiting for action," Suji told Xinhua in an interview. Uganda will open their campaign against arch-rivals Kenya Feb 23, the same day Botswana battle Tanzania. The winning nation along with the runners-up of the event and Namibia will represent Africa at the ICC`s penultimate round of the World Cup qualifier in the United Arab Emirates in 2014. The Namibian team gained automatic entry into the 2014 tournament because of their outstanding performance in the last tournament when they lost to Afghanistan and Ireland in the final play offs, thus missing out on a World Cup berth in 2012. Besides the hosts Uganda, the other teams that will take part in the event include; Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana. IANS