THE ICC U-19 men’s cricket World Cup Africa qualifier opens with Tanzania’s youth team taking on Kenya at the University of Dar-es-Salaam (UDSM) grounds in Dar-es-Salaam today.
A highly awaited encounter will see the two neighbours betting on their chance to snatch their first win.
Each side has bragged to earn points in a round-robin format.
The host nation is Tanzania, welcoming five other African countries to compete at the Dar Gymkhana Club and the University of Dar-es-Salaam (UDSM) ovals.
The other nations are Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Uganda, and Sierra Leone.
Tanzanian Head Coach Jimmy Kamande said he would impart his youth experience to his players to see glory in his squad. This is because they have proved quality throughout the month-long training programme and recent friendly encounters against Sierra Leone and Namibia.
In the first friendly Tanzania won by six wickets against Sierra Leone before defeating Namibia by 18 runs.
Kamande attended the U-19 World Cup as a player (1997-2000) and coach (2018) with Kenya. He noted he hopes to bring that winning mentality into Tanzania as he leads them.
“We are well-drilled. After scouting players from different parts of the country, we camped for about a month so they could train and find the balance. It’s a high-bar tournament. Only one team needs to qualify, so we aim for the spot.
“The two friendly games have been an excellent test for our squad to see what issues we need to address to build a strong and competitive squad. The results were not an issue for us. We only need to see through what we ought to do to improve.”
Kenya’s Head Coach Josephat Irungu told the press that they know their opponents for they have seen them playing and so they are not worried about them for they are sure to do what it takes to win.
“We have seen how well Tanzania is, we have watched their trial games and learned a lot. We are sure of our quality, for we have worked hard for the past six months. This included placing our camp in India for ten days.”
Tanzania squad
Johnson Nyambo (Captain), Karim Kiseto, Hamza Onai, Acrey Hugo, Abdulazak Amiri, Jafari Kilongosi, Omari Ramadhani, Laksh Barkania, Agustino Mwamele, Issa Kassim, Baraka Laiza, Ally Fentu, Mohammedi Mbaki, and Shaik Basha.
KENYA squad
Vishil Patel (Captain), Brian Likavu, Didan Etabale, Yash Gohil, Darsh Panchani, Kennedy Wangoi, Aarnav Patel, Vaibhav Naresh, Stian Smith, Hitendra Sanghani, Vatsal Shah, Raj Pankhaniya, Neel Doshi, and Krish Haria.
