Former Kenya skipper Steve Tikolo appointed Uganda coach
Steve Tikolo, the former Kenya skipper, has been appointed head coach of the Uganda Cricket Association. This move comes ahead of the World Cricket League Division Three tournament which will be played in 2017.
Earlier, Steve Tikolo was appointed the batting coach of Uganda in 2012. This move yielded dividends as the team secured qualification for the World Cup Qualifier in 2014, having finished in the top two of the WCL Division Three alongside Nepal.
During his first stint with the landlocked side the 44-year-old also helped them win the T20 African Premier League.
Tikolo is widely considered as the best Kenyan cricketer of all time and he had managed to pick up 94 wickets, while also scoring 3,428 runs in ODIs alone.
The former Kenya skipper was visibly excited and called the African country his "second home", while asserting that his goal is to lead them back into Division Two.
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"I am not a stranger in Uganda, and have been here several times. This is almost my second home and I am very comfortable," Tikolo told journalists at a function organised by the UCA.
He also said that his immediate goal is to qualify for Divison Two.
"I am a man of few words and my work will speak for itself”, said Tikolo.
In the World Cup Qualifier in 2014, Uganda finished at the bottom of Group B without a win and were relegated to Division Three.
However, Uganda secured promotion at the end of 2014 but after finishing up last in the group stage of the 2015 World Cricket League Division Two, they were once again relegated to Division Three.
Steve Tikolo had a decorated international career and in a career spanning 18 years, he played 135 One-Day Internationals and 15 Twenty20 Internationals for Kenya and also captained his team in 80 games across the two formats. His crowning moment was when Kenya reached the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup.