ICC Africa Under-19 Championships

ICC Africa Under-19 Championships

Administrator	International Cricket Council African Cricket Association
Format	50-over
First tournament	2001
Tournament format	Round-robin
Current champion	Namibia
Most successful	Namibia (5 titles)

The ICC Africa Under-19 Championships are a series of regular cricket tournaments organised by the African Cricket Association (ACA) for under-19 teams from its member nations. 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.

The tournament also serves as qualification for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, though the number of teams progressing has varied over the years.

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, due to be held 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

Division Two

Year	Host(s)	Venue(s)	Final
			Winner	Result	Runner-up
2009	Mozambique	Maputo	Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone won on points	Ghana
2010	Swaziland	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

Participating teams

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	Total
Botswana	—	—	—	4th	6th	3rd	4th	6th	5
East and Central Africa	2nd	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Ghana	—	—	—	6th	—	—	—	—	1
Kenya	4th	3rd	3rd	2nd	5th	2nd	2nd	3rd	8
Namibia	1st	4th	1st	1st	3rd	1st	1st	1st	8
Nigeria	—	6th	8th	8th	8th	7th	5th	5th	7
Sierra Leone	—	—	—	—	2nd	6th	8th	—	3
Tanzania	—	7th	5th	7th	7th	8th	7th	4th	7
Uganda	3rd	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	5th	3rd	2nd	8
West Africa	5th	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Zambia	—	5th	6th	5th	4th	4th	6th	—	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.^[24]
• 155* (129 balls) – Zane Green, vs  Botswana, 16 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam.^[25]
• 152 (130 balls) – Gert Lotter, vs  Sierra Leone, 31 August 2010, at Afrikaans Primary School, Windhoek.^[26]
• 135 (? balls) – Laurence Sematimba, vs West Africa, 5 January 2001, at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala.^[27]
• 127 (? balls) – Hafeez Manji, vs  Fiji, 4 October 2003, at Police Sports Club, Windhoek.^[28]

Best bowling figures

• 7/11 (8 overs) – David Wabwire, vs  Botswana, 14 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam.^[29]
• 7/12 (6.1 overs) – Athumani Kakonzi, vs  Fiji, 23 August 2005, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.^[30]
• 7/14 (10 overs) – Collins Okwalinga, vs  Tanzania, 19 February 2015, at Gymkhana Club Ground, Dar es Salaam.^[31]
• 6/3 (9.4 overs) – Charles Waiswa, vs  Nigeria, 26 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.^[32]
• 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

References