Ssempijja shows class as Tornado split series

Lawrence Ssempijja still has the luxury Steven Tikolo no longer enjoys: the chance to lace up, walk onto the field and influence a cricket match.

A few days ago in Rwanda, Cricket Cranes coach Tikolo organised Uganda beat Sierra Leone in the morning by 114 runs at the ILT20 Continent Cup before his native Kenya faced Rwanda in the afternoon. 

Having retired from playing, he could only watch as his former side took the field with the will to play. At the Florida Oval, Ssempijja was still in the thick of the action.

The Tornado Cricket Club all-rounder starred in the morning before Soroti City CC hit back in the afternoon, leaving the two sides locked at 1-1 after a demanding Group A double-header in the 2026 Men’s UG20.

“The weather was good for cricket, no rain; we had the sun the whole day, so we managed to play cricket the whole day and played some good cricket,” Ssempijja said.

“We managed to at least scoop one out of two, so we went 1-1, which is good for us, so we will be able to fight the next coming matches.”

Ssempijja was the difference in the morning, winning Player of the Match after an unbeaten 32 off 18 balls.

He then switched roles with the ball, claiming three wickets for 21 runs in four overs as Tornado defended 131 for five to beat Soroti City by 12 runs.

Soroti City managed 119 for eight in 20 overs, but the visitors returned with a response in the afternoon, winning by 60 runs to ensure the day ended all square.

For Ssempijja, the split was a fair reflection of a competitive day.

“It was a tough competition,” he said, but insisted Tornado had enough to build on heading into the next matches.

The 2026 Cricket Uganda National 50 Over League season has already shown his value to Tornado. He smashed 80 off 70 balls against Mukono Development on March 15, scored an unbeaten 27 off 43 against Jinja SS CC on April 12 and made 21 off 34 against Centurion CC on March 22.

The right-handed batter and right-arm medium-fast bowler has also remained active away from the crease, helping develop Uganda’s next generation through Cricket Uganda’s regional programmes.

He regularly conducts coaching clinics in Masaka, including at Buddu Mixed Secondary School and Masaka SSS, and has previously served as acting assistant coach of the Victoria Pearls.

But at Florida Oval, there was no clipboard or coaching manual. Ssempijja was simply a cricketer doing what cricketers do: batting, bowling and competing. And unlike Tikolo, he still gets to feel the game from inside the boundary.

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