Tanzania’s unbeaten week at the Africa Qualifier saw them become the twelfth team to confirm their place at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia, sealing their first ever appearance at the celebrated event thanks to a commanding 98-run win over Sierra Leone on Saturday.
Having begun their journey with victory in the Division 2 Qualifier on home soil back in August last year, the promising young outfit are the first to emerge from the regional qualification pathway, with decisive wins over Uganda, Nigeria, Namibia and Kenya preceding Saturday’s all-important triumph.
Arriving at the University of Lagos Oval knowing that a win would seal top spot and an historic World Cup berth, Tanzania elected to bat first and posted the second-highest total of the competition.
Despite wicket-taking contributions from Sierra Leone’s George Sesay (three for 30) and Daniel Lassayo (four for 36), it was Tanzania’s captain Laksh Bakrania who was the driving force, hitting a vital half-century and sharing a 93-run partnership with fellow middle order batter Agustino Meya Mwamele (43 runs) to help set a total of 179 all out from 49.4 overs.
As they did throughout the competition, Tanzania’s skilful bowlers then made early inroads into the opposition batting lineup and ended any hope of a Sierra Leone counterattack.
Bakrania was once again at the heart of the action, taking two wickets in two balls in his opening over, and while brief resistance came in the form of Alusine Turay (21) and skipper Raymond Coker (15), Sierra Leone never threatened the target.
The introduction of spinner Hamza Ally Onai assured the victory for Tanzania, and he tore through the middle order, ending with figures of five for 24 as Sierra Leone were bowled out for 81 in the 27th over to cue wild celebrations.
Reacting to sealing a place at next year’s U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, Tanzania captain Bakrania, said: “I am lost for words and it’s unbelievable that we have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in our history.
“It is a great moment for the country of Tanzania, and it is down to the hard work of the team and the support and encouragement from the Tanzania Cricket Association. At the World Cup in 2026, we shall give our best to compete among other great nations.”
Tanzania will now be among the 16 teams competing at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Ten teams have automatically qualified for the event as the best-placed Full Member nations from the previous event in 2024. These are: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
Full Member hosts of the 2026 edition Zimbabwe have also secured automatic qualification.
Tanzania have now taken one of five spots determined through regional qualification pathways, with one team from each region securing a place at the event.
Africa, Asia, Europe and East Asia-Pacific each have a two-step qualification process. Division 2 Qualifiers took place in 2024 to determine the teams that will be competing at the second and final stage, the Regional Qualifiers in 2025. The winning team from each Regional Qualifier in 2025 will qualify to compete at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026.
The qualification pathway in the Americas region will only include a Regional Qualifier, and similarly, only the winning nation will secure a World Cup berth.
Suicide Crusher
Viv Richards played both cricket and football world cups.
Rusty Vortex
Sport Trivia: Who was South Africa\’s first Olympic Gold Medal winner? Answer: Reginald Walker. Reginald Walker was born in 1889 in Natal and in 1907 was the South African 100m champion. He battled with finances to get to London for the 1908 Summer Olympics but once he was there he managed, very unexpectedly to all those competing, to beat the field and walk off with the Gold for the 100m. As at 2005 Reggie Walker was still the youngest winner of the 100m Olympic Gold Medal.