ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier

For the most recent edition of the tournament, see 2015 ICC Africa Under-19 Championship Division One.

ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier (formerly ICC Africa Under-19 Championships) are a series of regular cricket tournaments organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for under-19 teams from its African member nations. It is the regional qualifier for the ICC Under-19 World Cup.

ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier

Administrator	International Cricket Council
Format	50-over
First edition	2001
Latest edition	2023
Tournament format	Round-robin
Current champion	Namibia
Most successful	Namibia (7 titles)

The initial tournament was staged in 2001 but did not return until 2007. During the interim years a joint competition with the East Asia-Pacific Cricket Council was held.^[1] A second division was added in 2009 providing affiliate nations with a chance to participate. After this first edition, two teams were promoted, but since then only one team has moved between divisions. The two divisions are played at different times and in different locations.

The current champions are Namibia, who won the 2023 tournament in Tanzania to qualify for the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka Namibia have won seven titles, the most of any team, while Uganda have won twice and Kenya and Nigeria once each.

Under-19 World Cup Qualification History

One of the key aspects of the African Under-19 Championships is its role in Under-19 World Cup Qualification. Before the introduction of the championship only Kenya and Namibia took part in the World Cup.^[2][3] However, aided by the development of international cricket during the late 90s and 2000s the possibility of holding the first African regional qualifier arose in 2001. Of the five associate nations at that time,^[4] Kenya already had automatic qualification for the 2002 U-19 World Cup due to their ODI status.^[5] As a result, the highest finisher in the inaugural competition besides Kenya would also qualify. Namibia finished in first place and so earned themselves the final World Cup space.^[6]

For the following two U-19 World Cups, the African Cricket Association and the East Asia-Pacific Cricket Council organised joint qualification competitions from which two teams would progress.^[1] In the 2003 competition, Uganda qualified alongside EAP side Papua New Guinea for the 2004 U-19 World Cup but in 2005 two African nations, Namibia and Uganda made it through to the 2006 finals.^[7][8]

In 2007, the two councils once again organised separate competitions, meaning only one team would qualify from the African Championships.^[9] Namibia beat Kenya in the final to go through as the representative of African associate nations.^[10]

The entire qualification system for the U-19 World Cup was revamped in 2009. Whilst regionally, a second division of African affiliate nations was organised, including the chance of promotion,^[11] a new international qualification tournament was introduced by the ICC. This competition saw ten teams, two from each of the five cricketing regions, fighting for the six remaining places in the World Cup finals.^[12] The winners and runners-up of the 2009 Africa U-19 Championships, Uganda and Sierra Leone, made it through to the U-19 World Qualifiers, but neither finished high enough to progress to final. The Sierra Leone team hit the headlines when they were denied visas and so had no chance to compete.^[13]

The same system continued for the 2012 U-19 World Cup qualification, though the regional divisions were played a year earlier than usual, in 2010. Namibia and Kenya finished first and second in Division One earning them places in the U-19 World Cup Qualifier, held the next year.^[14]

Tournament results

Division One

Year	Host(s)	Venue(s)	Final
			Winner	Result	Runner-up
2001	Uganda	Kampala	Namibia +0.981 NRR	Namibia won on net run rate table	East and Central Africa +0.287 NRR
2003 (with EAP)	Namibia	Windhoek	Papua New Guinea 9/193 (50 overs)	Papua New Guinea won by 53 runs scorecard	Uganda 140 all out
2005 (with EAP)	South Africa	Benoni	Namibia 140/7 (43.3 overs)	Namibia won by 3 wickets scorecard	Uganda 139 (47.3 overs)
2007	South Africa	Benoni	Namibia 256/7 (50 overs)	Namibia won by 39 runs scorecard	Kenya 217 all out (45.2 overs)
2009	Zambia	Lusaka	Uganda 12 points	Uganda won on points table	Sierra Leone 10 points
2010	Namibia	Windhoek	Namibia 14 points	Namibia won on points table	Kenya 10 points
2013	Uganda	Entebbe and Kampala	Namibia 173 (47.2 overs)	Namibia won by 52 runs scorecard	Kenya 121 (40 overs)
2015	Tanzania	Dar es Salaam	Namibia 8 points	Namibia won on points fixtures	Uganda 6 points
2017	Kenya	Nairobi	Kenya 10 points	Kenya won on net run rate	Uganda 10 points
2019	Namibia	Windhoek	Nigeria 10 points	Nigeria won on points	Namibia 8 points
2021	Rwanda	Kigali	Uganda 6 points	Uganda won on net run rate table	Namibia 6 points
2023	Tanzania	Dar es Salaam	Namibia 9 points	Namibia won on points table	Kenya 7 points

Division Two

Year	Host(s)	Venue(s)	Final
			Winner	Result	Runner-up
2009	Mozambique	Maputo	Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone won on points	Ghana
2010	Eswatini	Big Bend	Nigeria 8 points	Nigeria won on points table	Rwanda 6 points
2013	South Africa	Benoni	Ghana	Ghana won on points	Tanzania
2014	Zambia	Lusaka	Tanzania 10 points	Tanzania won on points table	Rwanda 6 points
2016	South Africa	Benoni	Ghana 12 points	Ghana won on points table	Botswana 8 points
2018	South Africa	Potchefstroom	Nigeria 242/9 (50 overs)	Nigeria won by 137 runs scorecard	Sierra Leone 105 (31 overs)
2022	Nigeria	Abuja	Kenya 90 (35 overs)	Kenya won by 11 runs	Nigeria 79 (20.4 overs)
2024	Tanzania	Dar-es-Salaam	Tanzania 178/8 (50 overs)	Tanzania won by 36 runs (DLS) scorecard	Sierra Leone 98/8 (29 overs)

Participating teams (Division One)

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• Q – Qualified
• * – Combined tournament with EAP members (not included in this table)
•     – Hosts

Team	2001	2003*	2005*	2007	2009	2010	2013	2015	2017	2019	2021	2023	2025	Total
Botswana	—	—	—	4th	6th	3rd	4th	6th	4th	―	―	―	―	6
Ghana	—	—	—	6th	—	—	—	—	3rd	―	―	―	―	2
Kenya	4th	3rd	3rd	2nd	5th	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	5th	―	2nd	Q	12
Namibia	1st	4th	1st	1st	3rd	1st	1st	1st	―[a]	2nd	2nd	1st	Q	12
Nigeria	—	6th	8th	8th	8th	7th	5th	5th	―	1st	5th	6th	Q	11
Rwanda	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	―	—	4th	―	―	1
Sierra Leone	—	—	—	—	2nd	6th	8th	—	―	4th	―	4th	Q	6
Tanzania	—	7th	5th	7th	7th	8th	7th	4th	―	6th	3rd	5th	Q	11
Uganda	3rd	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	5th	3rd	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	3rd	Q	13
Defunct teams
East and Central Africa	2nd	No longer an ICC member												1
West Africa	5th	No longer an ICC member												1
Zambia	—	5th	6th	5th	4th	4th	6th	—	―	―	N/A			6

Records

This section includes performances by African teams and players at the 2003 and 2005 combined Africa/EAP tournaments.

Highest team scores

• 399/5 (50 overs) –  Zambia vs  Nigeria, 29 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.^[15]
• 356/9 (50 overs) –  Kenya vs  Fiji, 4 October 2003, at Police Sports Club, Windhoek.^[16]
• 355/8 (50 overs) –  Uganda vs West Africa, 5 January 2001, at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala.^[17]
• 334/7 (50 overs) –  Namibia vs  Zambia, 27 May 2013, at Kyambogo Cricket Oval, Kampala.^[18]
• 321/6 (50 overs) –  Namibia vs  Botswana, 16 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam.^[19]

Lowest team scores

• 21 all out (18.4 overs) –  Nigeria vs  Uganda, 26 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.^[20]
• 35/8 (20 overs) –  Sierra Leone vs  Uganda, 4 May 2009, Centrals Sports Club, Lusaka.
• 36 all out (15 overs) –  Tanzania vs  Zambia, 5 September 2010, at Centre for Cricket Development, Windhoek.^[21]
• 41 all out (12.2 overs) –  Nigeria vs  Kenya, 28 May 2013, at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala.^[22]
• 42 all out (18.1 overs) –  Nigeria vs  Botswana, 25 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.^[23]

Highest individual scores

• 161 (143 balls) – Xander Pitchers, vs  Zambia, 27 May 2013, at Kyambogo Cricket Oval, Kampala.^[18]
• 155* (129 balls) – Zane Green, vs  Botswana, 16 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam.^[19]
• 152 (130 balls) – Gert Lotter, vs  Sierra Leone, 31 August 2010, at Afrikaans Primary School, Windhoek.^[24]
• 135 (? balls) – Laurence Sematimba, vs West Africa, 5 January 2001, at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala.^[17]
• 127 (? balls) – Hafeez Manji, vs  Fiji, 4 October 2003, at Police Sports Club, Windhoek.^[16]

Best bowling figures

• 7/11 (8 overs) – David Wabwire, vs  Botswana, 14 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam.^[25]
• 7/12 (6.1 overs) – Athumani Kakonzi, vs  Fiji, 23 August 2005, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.^[26]
• 7/14 (10 overs) – Collins Okwalinga, vs  Tanzania, 19 February 2015, at Gymkhana Club Ground, Dar es Salaam.^[27]
• 6/3 (9.4 overs) – Charles Waiswa, vs  Nigeria, 26 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.^[28]
• 6/7 (8 overs) – Geoffrey Nyero vs  Sierra Leone, 4 May 2009, Centrals Sports Club, Lusaka.

See also

• ICC Africa Twenty20 Championship
• ICC Africa Women's Championship
• World Cricket League Africa Region

Notes

1. Namibia had already qualified for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and hence didn't need to play in the qualifiers.

References

1. Other Matches played by Namibia Under-19s Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine cricketarchive.com 17 November 2010
2. ICC Youth World Cup 2000 Archived 8 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
3. Under-19 World Cup 2002 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
4. The East and Central Africa cricket team and West Africa cricket team had not yet split into their separate states at this point
5. Africa: Under 19 titles start today espncricinfo.com 17 November 2010
6. Africa Under-19 Championship 2000/2001 Points Table cricketarchive.com 17 November 2010
7. ICC Under 19 World Cup 2004 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
8. ICC Under 19 World Cup 2006 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
9. Namibia announce Under-19 squad espncricinfo.com 17 November 2010
10. Africa Under 19 Championships 2007 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
11. News Flash Africa February 2009 Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine icc-cricket.yahoo.net 17 November 2010
12. Under 19 World Cup Qualifier details cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
13. Visa issues end Sierra Leone's World Cup dream espncricinfo.com 17 November 2010
14. Lotter, Vijayakumar bag top honours Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine icc-cricket.yahoo.net 17 November 2010
15. Nigeria Under-19s v Zambia Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (5th Place Play-off Semi-Final) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
16. Fiji Under-19s v Kenya Under-19s, Africa/East Asia-Pacific Under-19 Championship 2003/04 (Group B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
17. Uganda Under-19s v West Africa Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2000/01 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
18. Namibia Under-19s v Zambia Under-19s, ICC Africa Under-19 Division One Championship 2013 (Pool A) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
19. Botswana Under-19s v Namibia Under-19s, ICC Africa Under-19 Championship 2014/15 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
20. Nigeria Under-19s vs Uganda Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
21. Tanzania Under-19s v Zambia Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2010 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
22. Kenya Under-19s v Nigeria Under-19s, ICC Africa Under-19 Division One Championship 2013 (Pool B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
23. Botswana Under-19s v Nigeria Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
24. Namibia Under-19s v Sierra Leone Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2010 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
25. Botswana Under-19s v Uganda Under-19, ICC Africa Under-19 Championship 2014/15 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
26. Fiji Under-19s v Tanzania Under-19s, Africa/East Asia-Pacific Under-19 Championship 2005 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
27. Botswana Under-19s v Uganda Under-19, ICC Africa Under-19 Championship 2014/15 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
28. Tanzania Under-19s v Uganda Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.