The Walvis Bay Salt Eagles “gave it their all”, but it was not enough to secure a spot at next year’s ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which Namibia will co-host with Zimbabwe.
Namibia were pipped to the World Cup ticket by Tanzania going five matches unbeaten to take the African regional qualification spot for the global tournament.
The Eagles’ 17-run loss to Tanzania seven days ago proved the telling moment of an otherwise flawless qualifying campaign in Nigeria.
The East Africans closed out the tournament with a win over Sierra Leone on Saturday, the last of their round robin fixtures, to finish with a perfect 10 points – holding off Namibia (eight points) and Kenya (six points) for the World Cup place.
Namibia beat Kenya by four wickets in their last encounter of the qualifiers.
“After a spirited and hard-fought campaign in the Africa Qualifier in Nigeria, our boys showed immense courage and character throughout the tournament,” Cricket Namibia (CN) says.
“While we unfortunately fell short of securing a spot at next year’s World Cup, we are incredibly proud of the way our team represented Namibia.
“A massive thank you to our loyal supporters who followed every match and cheered the boys on from afar. To the incredible parents who made the journey to Nigeria to stand by the team – your support means the world,” CN says.
“And to our dedicated management team – your guidance, care, and commitment played an important role in this journey. This is not the end, but a stepping stone in the growth of our young Eagles.”
Tanzania’s shock qualification was down to the heroics of senior international Laksh Bakrania, who once again was the undoing of Namibia.
The left-arm orthodox bowler performed similar feats against Namibia four years ago, when the then 14-year-old turned the game in favour of his nation, claiming a match-winning five-wicket haul.
Last week, Tanzania’s under-19 captain claimed 2/17 (10) and made an invaluable 34 with the bat as his side held on in a 17-run win.
The win meant the Tanzanians created separation from the tournament favourites, closing out competition victory thanks to subsequent wins over Kenya and Sierra Leone.
A delighted Bakrania struggled to hold back the emotion upon qualification.
“I am lost for words. It’s unbelievable that we have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in our history,” Bakrania told ICC media.
“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 are the 12th team to qualify for the event, with 10 teams automatically qualifying for the event as the best-placed Full Member nations from the previous event in 2024 (Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies).
Full Member hosts of the 2026 edition Zimbabwe have automatic qualification.
Four places for the tournament are yet to be decided, with one place up for grabs in each of the four remaining regional finals.
Asia and East Asia-Pacific qualification places will be decided later this month April, with European and Americas qualifiers concluding in August.
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