Botswana stuns Uganda but both join Kenya and Namibia in semi-finals of Africa U/19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Benoni

Botswana produced the shock of the Africa U/19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier when it beat a fancied Uganda by 27 runs to reach the semi-finals in Benoni, South Africa on Monday.

Botswana's unexpected victory eliminated Tanzania from the semi-final on net run-rate after the duo along with Uganda ended up at four points each from three matches. Uganda, which has played in the last two ICC U/19 Cricket World Cups in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, topped Pool Two with a net run-rate of +2.52 while Botswana was second with +1.34 and Tanzania was third with +1.23.

In Wednesday's semi-finals, Uganda meets Namibia while Kenya faces Botswana. Kenya topped Pool One after conjuring up a four-wicket victory over Zambia while Namibia finished second after defeating Ghana by 172 runs, courtesy of an unbeaten century by Sean Silver.

In the Botswana-Uganda match, Botswana scored 192-8 after being put into bat. Major contributions came from Karan Kapoor (54) and Nadeem Tajbhay (36) while Emmanuel Nakaana bagged 3-45. In turn, Uganda was dismissed for 165 in 44 overs after losing its last seven wickets for 54 runs.

Tanzania, in its last match, carved out a 153-run victory over Nigeria. Athumani Kakonzi (70) and Seif Abdul (68) put on 123 for the second wicket to set the platform for Tanzania's 296 in 49.5 overs. Nigeria, in its target chase, was bowled out for 143.

Opener Silver scored an unbeaten century to inspire Namibia to a 172-run victory over Ghana. Silver scored 101 off 132 balls with eight fours and featured in a 117-run second wicket partnership with Tiaan Louw (62) as Namibia scored 287-6. Ghana, in its turn at the wicket, was dismissed for 115 with Elandre Oosthuizen taking 4-39 and Louis Petrus van der Westhuizen claiming 3-13.

Spinners Rakep Patel and Rohit Vekaria shared six wickets to help Kenya beat Zamibia by four wickets. Patel took 3-16 and Vekaria bagged 3-17 as Zambia was spun out for 152. Kenya achieved victory in 34.1 overs for the loss of six wickets.

The winner of Africa U/19 Qualifier will join Papua New Guinea (from the East Asia-Pacific Region), Ireland (from the Europe Region) and Bermuda (from the Americas Region), the ICC's 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia at the 16-team ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup to be played from 17 February to 2 March 2008 in Malaysia.

Scores in brief:
Tanzania beat Nigeria by 153 runs
Tanzania 296 (A.Kakonzi 70, S.Abdul 68, H.Abdullah 37; U.Bankole 4-57)
Nigeria 143-7 (U.Bankole 53 not out, J.Omoregbe 32)

Botswana beat Uganda by 27 runs
Botswana 192-8 (K.Kapoor 57, N.Tajbhay 36, T.Trivedi 26, S.Mohyuddin 24; E.Nakaana 3-45)
Uganda 165 in 44 overs (A.Kyobe 31, A.Zibaba 31; K.Kapoor 3-32, N.Tajbhay 2-15, K.Modise 2-24, K.Rajeshwaran 2-39)

Kenya beat Zambia by four wickets
Zambia 152 (A.Toms 40, I.Mwaba 27; R.Patel 3-16, R.Vekaria 3-17)
Kenya 155-6 (A.Obanda 42, S.Patel 34)

Namibia beat Ghana by 172 runs
Namibia 287-6 (S.Silver 101 not out, T.Louw 63; K.Bagabena 3-54)
Ghana 115 (Elandre Oosthuizen 4-39, LP van der Westhuizen 3-13)

The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup is a vital part of the ICC Development Program and provides a vehicle for the best young cricketers in the world to parade their skills.

Many of the future stars of the game experience their first true international exposure at this tournament and players such as Brian Lara, Michael Atherton, Yuvraj Singh, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Chris Cairns, Michael Clarke, Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya have used the event as a stepping stone to full international honours.

First staged in Australia in 1988, the tournament was initially organised on an occasional basis, but since the commencement of the ICC Development Program in 1997 it has become a biennial fixture.

The 2010 ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup will be held in Kenya while the 2012 tournament will be staged in Canada and UAE will host the 2014 edition.