Hilma Nalupe
The U/19 Men’s Cricket World Cup kicked off last Thursday in both Namibia and Zimbabwe, where it’s being co-hosted simultaneously. The matches in Namibia are being played at the Namibia Cricket Ground (NCG) and High Performance (HP) Oval from 15 – 26 January 2026.
The opening match in Namibia saw debutants, Tanzania, take on the West Indies, with the latter defeating the former by five wickets.
Tanzania batted first and made a steady start, Dylan Thakrar and Darpan Jobanputra posted 53 for the first wicket before both fell in the space of five deliveries.
Wickets then fell at regular intervals, Vitel Lawes claimed (3/23) and Micah McKenzie (2/15) and Shaquan Belle (2/23) chipping in with two apiece as the middle order failed to fire.
Tanzania slipped to 86 for seven and though Acrey Pascal and Khalidy Amiri pushed them into three figures, the innings was wrapped up on 122 with 16 overs unused.
The West Indies lost Zachary Carter early in reply, the first of two scalps for Agustino Mwamele (2/17), but Tanez Francis and Jewel Andrew added 80 for the second wicket to take the batting side to within touching distance.
Both fell before the job was done as the Windies had a wobble, Raymond Francis (2/23) also took two wickets, but Shamar Apple hit the winning boundary from the final ball of the 21st over. On Friday, Afghanistan and South Africa went head-to-head at the HP Oval, while the current title holders, Australia took on Ireland at the NCG.
Australia began the defence of their ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup crown with an eight-wicket victory over Ireland.
Steven Hogan starred for Australia, with 115 in the chase as he and Nitesh Samuel put on 186 after Ireland had batted well to reach 235 for seven.
At the HP Oval, on Friday, Afghanistan survived a knock from Jason Rowles to beat South Africa by 28 runs.
Saturday saw Japan play Sri Lanka at the NCG, with Sri Lanka emerging victorious by 203 runs.
