Out of Africa: MCC in Uganda tour blog - 'Finding Schmuk'

MCC Scorer Chris Mallaband reports back from MCC's tour of Uganda.

You can follow the tour's progress via Chris's blog on lords.org

Finding Schmuk

A week has passed since we left Heathrow on the BA63 to Entebbe for our three week Ugandan adventure. A packed itinerary has meant that the time has flown by, but in some senses it seems that we have been in this land of stark contrasts for longer.

The tour party arrived in the capital Kampala with few preconceptions – none of us had been to Uganda before and there was very little local knowledge amongst the group. Many of the party had played in South Africa, and captain Jamie Dalrymple had been born across the Kenyan border in Nairobi, but our collective experience of this land-locked country in the centre of Africa was next to nil. Would it be a bit like India, aridly dry and dusty and with conditions which were a continual threat to good digestion? Or perhaps the warm climate and rich soils would give it more of a flavour of an island in the Caribbean?

Ben Scott of Middlesex is on the tour party

Listen to Ben Scott's interview with Chris (3.1 MB)

The journey by bus from the airport to our hotel gave us some early indicators. Verdant green fields stretched for miles into the distance, banana trees a regular feature of the landscape, vegetation swaying healthily in the zephyrs that blew across the open plains. But as we moved into the outskirts of the bustling capital city Kampala, the roads became dusty, sandy brown deposit adorning every street and pavement, suggesting a barrenness which was a total contradiction to the patchwork of fields we had driven through moments before.

Genuine, real and Schmuk

“Anything grows here Chris,” remarked Henry, a former Ugandan cricket coach and captain, who was one of a party of Ugandan Cricket Association dignitaries who greeted us at a reception on our first night in Kampala.

“The soils are so fertile that we can grow so many different crops.” The fruit stalls which are such a regular feature of the streets in the capital suggest as much; bananas are the staple food here, but mangos, melons, apples, pumpkins and pineapples are also prominent on almost everyone.

The retail mix is intriguing. There seems to be a disproportionate number of bedstead vendors, their beautifully crafted handiwork on display outside, but seemingly struggling to attract local interest.

Armchair retailers seem also to far outstrip local demand, and displaying their wares day after day in the heat of the midday sun can surely do little to retain the fabric colours and patterns.

With a bigger local market to aim at, it is perhaps less surprising that hardware shops are in very regular supply, and there also appears an ingrained desire for shopkeepers to publicise their own integrity. ‘Honest Hardware’ is one establishment that we have seen, whilst there have been other retailers choosing ‘Genuine’ or ‘Real’ as their prefix.

We seem unable to move without seeing a Schmuk business being advertised. Describing themselves as ‘the aluminium people’ on one billboard, on the next it is their investments arm that is publicised boldly. They appear to be the Ugandan version of Virgin.

As we travelled by minibus to the ground on the first match-day of the tour, a clear gap in the market was identified by one of the players. “I’m coming back to Uganda to start a shock absorbers business!” he remarked, as despite the skilful efforts of our driver, Isaac, the bus shook and rattled over a series of potholes, humps and ridges in the roads.

One of the Ugandan players runs a spare parts business for Japanese cars; he must surely keep a healthy stock of suspensions for Toyotas.

The drive to the ground is a microcosm of the disparities within this land. Driving down the Upper Naguru Road we pass a series of shacks and shanty towns, before turning a corner to pass a mansion protected by a barbed wire fence.

A group of Kampalans work furiously at a hand car wash, not a hose or nozzle in sight, and the complete wash is yours for the equivalent of a pound.

Seemingly communal land is tendered lovingly by a local grower, whilst counterfeit Premiership football merchandise is prominent amongst those walking the streets.

The ‘big four’ are equally so here, though a visit to a bar in Kampala the other night intriguingly revealed a signed Brighton and Hove Albion shirt on display on the wall. The Withdean meets The Withouts.

Playing fearlessly

The Kyambogo Oval has been the venue for all of the games that we have played so far, and will continue to be so for the matches to come.

The original plan had been to use the main Ugandan cricket ground at Lugogo, but that ground’s selection as the venue for an upcoming concert by UB40 has meant that for now it is out of bounds for leather and willow.

The imminent visit of the boys from Birmingham has stirred much local interest, though with tickets coming in at around 100,000 Ugandan Shillings (about £30) the prices are too high for many potential local attendees.

You could certainly buy a significant amount of red red wine in Kampala with that amount of cash.

Watching the Ugandan players arriving for the matches has been humbling, and taken me back to my days playing colts and school cricket.

Many players cycle to the ground, a rucksack on their back with their whites. No coffin, no kit bag, no bat....the vast majority share communal team kit, much of it having seen better days.

All of the Ugandan teams that we have faced have played fearlessly, and fielded superbly, holding some outstanding catches.

It is clear that like near neighbours Kenya, this is a country blessed with the ability to produce the natural athlete.

External expertise in technical aspects of batting and, to a lesser extent, bowling could clearly be beneficial to the young players here, but their enthusiasm is unbridled and their natural athleticism a foundation for some serious talent.

The victory by the national team in the first one day game between the two sides also suggested good evidence of ‘ticker’.

Chasing a low target and having seen their U19s and ‘A’ side defeated by the MCC on the previous days, a middle order collapse suggested that a potential choke lay ahead.

Not a bit of it. Cool heads on another hot afternoon saw them home. And big hearts too.