Cricket: Kenya eyes flying start against Uganda in Accra

Kenya national men's cricket team will on Sunday afternoon begin their hunt for the African Games title when they renew their rivalry with Uganda in the opening game at Achimota Senior Secondary School B Field in Ghana.

The team, led by Lameck Onyango, will be making their first international trip having last played at the back end of 2023 in the T20 Africa Cricket Association where they reached the final.

It was coincidentally, Uganda, who emerged winners, beating Kenya by 91 runs.

That, plus the fact that Kenya lost five of six meetings against Uganda last year, will serve as the talking point in this fixture.

"It is good we are starting with Uganda as we want to quickly get off it and get the pressure on," Joseph Angara, Kenya's assistant coach sounded off.

Uganda will be without Riazat Ali, one of the team's influential players, but team skipper Brian Masaba believes the balance is still present in the team.

Uganda last year qualified for the Cricket World Cup and have been to India for performance training, which could prove key in the game.

"It's always a spicy affair against Kenya and we look forward to it," Masaba said. "The big thing for us though is to focus on ourselves and trust in the process."

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A boost for Kenya will be the return of captain Rakep Patel, who was out for a sustained period last year with a knee injury.

"The wickets here are quite slow and so we'll work with around a target of 150," Rakep told Nation Sport in the buildup.

The game bowls off at 1600 EAT and will follow a Pool-B contest between Nigeria and Tanzania.

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Kenya's other opponents in Pool A are South Africa and hosts Ghana.