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Timycen Maruma

From Eddie Chikamhi in Kampala, Uganda
Timycen Maruma says scoring a century during Takashinga’s tour of Uganda will help him on his mission to rediscover confidence following an untimely dip in form. The Mountaineers man was unbeaten on 102 as Takashinga beat Uganda Cricket Association Chairman’s XI by 109 runs on Saturday. He faced 100 balls in that match, in which opener Sikandar Raza Butt (110) also got a feisty ton while Chamu Chibhabha (70) and Regis Chakabva (78) weighed in with big half centuries.

But before this tour, Maruma was not getting enough runs and the poor form had been a major worry to the batsman especially ahead of next year’s ICC World Cup to be held in New Zealand and Australia.

And, after getting soft dismissals in the first two 50-over matches against the lowly Uganda national side last week, Maruma believes he can still work his way up against better opposition.

“It’s a good feeling scoring some runs especially after two innings that I virtually contributed nothing. So it’s always encouraging when you come right, especially when you score a 100.

“For me, I think it has been a good tour. Since I am one of the senior guys in this touring side, it also helped me to be a responsible player, to make sure that I am there for the team because the guys obviously expected something from me,” he said.

Maruma is one of the players who struggled on the recent tour to Bangladesh by the national team.

Apart from scoring a flat 50 against the BCB XI in a warm up match, he was dismissed for single digit scores in the three ODIs that he played.

Maruma told The Herald that he aims to use every opportunity to get his game back in the right track.

“I am not really worrying myself about the World Cup. I am just concentrating on scoring runs and then it’s up to the selectors to see if I deserve to be there since I am coming from Bangladesh where I didn’t have a good series. So from now on I just need to make sure that I perform well with every opportunity I get,” said Maruma.