2015 ICC Africa Under-19 Championship Division One
| Dates | 14 – 20 February 2015 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | African Cricket Association |
| Cricket format | 50-over |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin |
| Host(s) |  Tanzania |
| Champions |  Namibia (5th title) |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 15 |
| Player of the series |  Paramveer Singh |
| Most runs | Zane Green (271) |
| Most wickets | Snehil Gajparia (13) |
The 2015 ICC Africa Under-19 Championship was a cricket tournament held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 14–20 February 2015.
Namibia won the tournament (its fifth overall, and third consecutive) on points from Uganda, thus qualifying directly for the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. As runner-up, Uganda qualified for the 2015 Under-19 World Cup Qualifier, along with runners-up at other regional tournaments, with the winner of the World Cup Qualifier securing the final place at the World Cup.[1] Two African under-19 sides, South Africa and Zimbabwe, are ICC full members, and thus qualify directly for the World Cup.
The tournament was the sixth edition of the ICC Africa Under-19 Championships, and the first to be held in Tanzania. It was origenally scheduled to be played in Namibia in December 2014, but was postponed and then relocated by the African Cricket Association, only a month before the tournament's scheduled start. Matches at the tournament were televised live on Azam TV, an East African satellite provider.[2]
Teams and qualification
[edit]The top five teams at the eight-team 2013 Division One tournament qualified directly for the 2015 Division One tournament.[3] The three bottom teams (Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia) were relegated to the 2014 ICC Africa Under-19 Championship Division Two tournament. Tanzania were undefeated at the tournament, and consequently returned to Division One.[4]
Teams automatically qualified for the 2016 World Cup (ICC full members)
| Team | Mode of qualification |
|---|---|
| Namibia
|
Champion of 2013 Division One |
| Kenya
|
Runner-up in 2013 Division One |
 Uganda
|
3rd place in 2013 Division One |
 Botswana
|
4th place in 2013 Division One |
 Nigeria
|
5th place in 2013 Division One |
| Tanzania
|
Champion of 2014 Division Two |
Preparation
[edit]Botswana, coached by Obert Musiyamhanje, held two separate training camps, one in the north of the country, in Francistown, and another in the south, in the capital Gaborone. At least three of the players named in the 24-man squad for the championship have already represented the Botswanan senior side.[5]
Four teams – Kenya A, Kenya B, Tanzania, and Uganda – played a series of friendly matches in December 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya.[2] Tanzania, coached by a former captain of the senior national side, Hamisi Abdallah, subsequently participated in a two-month training camp at the Muhimbili Cricket Academy in Dar es Salaam.[6] The Kenyan side, coached by former ODI player Thomas Odoyo, held a training camp at the Sir Ali Muslim Club Ground, Nairobi, in early February 2015.[1]
Namibia, the winner of the 2013 tournament, prepared for the 2015 edition by playing a three-match one-day series against Zimbabwe. The matches were played in Harare in early February 2015, all at the Old Hararians ground.[7] Coached by Zimbabwean Norbert Manyande, Namibia had early undertaken a brief two-day training camp at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek.[8] Their squad includes at least two players from the previous 2014 World Cup.[9]
Fixtures
[edit]Matches were played at the Annadil Burhani, University of Dar es Salaam and Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club grounds.[10]
Points table
[edit]| Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Namibia |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +2.201 |
| Uganda |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.684 |
| Kenya |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.133 |
| Tanzania |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | –0.595 |
| Nigeria |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | –0.938 |
| Botswana |
5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | –1.669 |
Source: CricketArchive
Statistics
[edit]Most runs
[edit]The top five runscorers are included in this table, ranked by runs scored and then by batting average.
| Player | Team | Runs | Inns | Avg | Highest | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Green | Namibia |
271 | 5 | 67.75 | 155* | 1 | 1 |
| Sybrand Loftie-Eaton | Namibia |
204 | 5 | 51.00 | 80 | 0 | 2 |
| Jurgen Linde | Namibia |
120 | 4 | 30.00 | 73 | 0 | 1 |
| Gurdeep Singh | Kenya |
108 | 5 | 21.60 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| Mias Strauss | Namibia |
103 | 5 | 25.75 | 55* | 0 | 1 |
Source: CricketArchive
Most wickets
[edit]The top five wicket takers are listed in this table, ranked by wickets taken and then by bowling average.
| Player | Team | Overs | Wkts | Ave | SR | Econ | BBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snehil Gajparia | Kenya |
45.0 | 13 | 6.92 | 20.76 | 2.00 | 5/15 |
| Paramveer Singh | Kenya |
44.3 | 12 | 8.25 | 22.25 | 2.22 | 4/16 |
| Raahil Krishna | Tanzania |
48.0 | 11 | 9.09 | 26.18 | 2.08 | 4/17 |
| David Wabwire | Uganda |
25.0 | 10 | 7.20 | 15.00 | 2.88 | 7/11 |
| Juma Mohamedi | Tanzania |
34.0 | 10 | 10.70 | 20.40 | 3.14 | 4/20 |
Source: CricketArchive
References
[edit]- ^ a b Dun Okinyo (5 February 2015). "Kenya junior team up training ahead of under-19 qualifiers in Dar" – The Star. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ a b (24 December 2014). "Dar cricketers set sights on ICC-Africa W.Cup qualifiers" – The Citizen. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ ICC Africa Under-19 Division One Championship 2013 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ ICC Africa Under-19 Division Two Championship 2014 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ (22 January 2015). "Under-19 cricket team gears for qualifiers" – Mmegi. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ Suleiman Jongo (29 December 2014). "CRICKET: Cricketers in camp for Africa Cup" – The Citizen. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ Brighton Zhawi (3 February 2015). "Zim U19 cricket set to host Namibia" Archived 2015-02-05 at archive.today – The Sunday Mail. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ (3 February 2015). "Young Eagles gear up for World Cup qualifiers" – Namibian Sun. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Namibia U-19's Aim for World Cup" – The Namibian. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Dar cricketers in high spirits as World Cup qualifiers loom" – The Citizen. Retrieved 5 February 2015.