Uganda make history as they qualify for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Uganda too strong for Rwanda, book final place at ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024
Namibia stays perfect in Windhoek and will make third consecutive ICC Men’s T20 World Cup appearance
Raza the star again as Zimbabwe finally find form to make light work of Kenya
WINDHOEK, Namibia- Uganda were confirmed as the 20th team to compete in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in the West Indies and the USA. The East Africans rushed to a nine-wicket victory over Rwanda in the African Final on Thursday, to seal their spot alongside hosts Namibia.
It is a historic achievement for the associate nation that has improved significantly over the past few years and now unassuming captain Brian Masaba will have the opportunity to take Uganda to their first ICC World Cup.
They become just the fifth African nation to qualify for an ICC tournament. To seal their dream ticket, Uganda rolled out Rwanda for just 65, with two wickets apiece for Masaba, the excellent Alpesh Ramjani and Dinesh Nakrani as well as Henry Ssenyondo.
In the chase, Simon Ssesazi (26 not out) and Ronak Patel (18 off 20 balls) added 31 for the first wicket, before Roger Mukasa joined Ssesazi to take his side home and spark appropriate celebrations.
In other action on Thursday, hosts Namibia made light work of Nigeria. They bowled them out for just 93, with Bernard Scholtz (three for 15) starring with the ball. Veteran David Wiese and the consistent JJ Smit picked up two wickets apiece, as Nigeria were dismissed inside their 20 overs.
In reply, opener Michael van Lingen (29) made yet another promising start before falling, and it was left to Gerhard Erasmus (48 not out) to lead his side to a commanding, eight-wicket triumph in the 14th over.
The other match on Thursday saw Zimbabwe wallop Kenya by 110 runs, thanks to brutal half-centuries from Sikandar Raza (82 from 48 balls) and Sean Williams (60 from 26 balls). Raza hammered eight sixes in his knock, while Williams helped himself to five maximums, as Zimbabwe posted 217 for four.
Kenya had feint hopes of pipping Uganda to qualification at some point, but they were a shadow of that side as they were restricted to just 107 for eight. Raza and Williams both added two wickets to their extraordinary exploits with bat, as Zimbabwe finally found the form that they had been hoping for.
Scores in brief:
Uganda v Rwanda
Uganda won the toss and chose to bowl
Rwanda 65 all out in 18.5 overs (E Dusingizimana 19, A Ramjani two for 1, H Ssenyondo two for 10, B Masaba two for 10)
Uganda 66 for one on 8.1 overs (S Ssesazi 26 not out, R Patel 18)
Uganda won by nine wickets with 71 balls to spare
Namibia v Nigeria
Nigeria won the toss and elected to bat first
Nigeria 93 all out in 19.2 overs (D Ajekun 19, B Scholtz three for 15, D Wiese two for 10, JJ Smit two for 14)
Namibia 96 for two in 13.2 overs (G Erasmus 48 not out, M van Lingen 29)
Namibia won by eight wickets with 40 balls to spare
Kenya v Zimbabwe
Kenya won the toss and chose to bowl.
Zimbabwe 217 for four in 20 overs (S Raza 82, S Williams 60)
Kenya 107 for eight in 20 overs (I Karim 35, P Sharma 21, S Williams two for 1, R Ngarava two for 14, R Burl two for 14)
Zimbabwe won by 110 runs
Points Table
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Points | NRR |
| Namibia | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2,658 |
| Uganda | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1,334 |
| Zimbabwe | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2,922 |
| Kenya | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0,091 |
| Nigeria | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -1,026 |
| Tanzania | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1,507 |
| Rwanda | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -4,303 |
