Namibia and Zimbabwe seal their places for 2026 T20 World Cup joining South Africa as the current African representatives.
Namibia and Zimbabwe qualify for 2026 men’s T20 World Cup.
In the second semi-final of the ICC’s Africa qualifiers in Harare, Zimbabwe easily defeated Kenya to join Namibia in the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup. South Africa qualified directly for the World Cup, making them the third African team participating. Namibia had qualified earlier in the day after easily defeating Tanzania in their semi-final match at the same location.
Zimbabwe dominated the chase in 15 overs with seven wickets remaining after the bowlers held Kenya to 122 for 6. Only three times in T20Is have Zimbabwe scored more runs in the powerplay than openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani, who combined for a scorching 70 in the opening six overs.
In the following over, Vraj Patel dismissed Bennett for 51 off 25 balls, ending the partnership. Eight fours and a six were hit by Bennett throughout his innings, including a run of 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 in the fourth over, which was bowled by Lucas Oluoch. With 299 runs in four innings at an average of 74.75 and a strike rate of 184.56, he is presently the tournament’s top scorer.
In the eleventh over, Vraj also dismissed Marumani for 39 off 27 balls, but Zimbabwe had already surpassed 100. Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga completed the task for Zimbabwe without any more setbacks after captain Sikandar Raza was dismissed for 10 off 18 balls.
In Zimbabwe’s 170-run victory over Botswana last week, Brendan Taylor, who had scored 123 off 54 balls, was not required at bat.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers, led by Blessing Muzarabani with scores of 4-0-19-2, had laid the groundwork for the victory. The only batter from Kenya to reach 20 was Rakep Patel. Before succumbing to Richard Ngarava, who finished with 1 for 31, he scored 65 off 47 balls.
Namibia will be participating in the men’s T20 World Cup for the fourth time. Additionally, they participated in the Super 12s in 2021, the group stage in 2022, and the group stage in 2024.
Tanzanian captain Kassim Nassoro ordered Namibia to bat on Thursday, and they responded with a solid 174 for 6, with captain Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit both hitting fifties to aid their cause.
With four wickets falling in the powerplay—Jan Frylinck, Malan Kruger, Louren Steenkamp, and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton—Namibia had not had a good start.
However, Erasmus and Smit joined forces at that moment and scored rapidly to take Tanzania’s lead away. Smit made 61 not out in 43 balls with one four and four sixes, while Erasmus scored 55 in 41 balls with six fours.
Namibia gained the necessary runs as a result, and Smit returned to play, this time using the ball to damage Tanzania’s top order. In the sixth over, he dismissed Mukesh Suthar to end with 3 for 16 after taking the first two wickets to fall, Arun Yadav and Dhrumit Mehta, off successive balls. Ben Shikongo, who returned 3 for 21, was Namibia’s other key wicket-taker.