Namibia sets Africa U/19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier final showdown with Kenya

Namibia shattered Uganda's dreams of completing a hat-trick of ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup appearances when it set up a mouth-watering Africa U/19 Qualifier final against a Kenya side that ended the fairytale run of Botswana in Benoni, South Africa on Wednesday.

Namibia defeated Uganda by nine wickets to stay on course for its fifth ICC U/19 CWC appearance while Kenya, which missed the last two events in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, beat Botswana by four wickets.

The winner of Thursday's Africa U/19 Qualifier will join Papua New Guinea (from the East Asia-Pacific Region), Ireland (from the Europe Region), Bermuda (from the Americas Region) and Nepal (from the Asia Region) at 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.

The stars of Namibia's convincing victory were fast bowler Ashley van Rooi and opener Sean Silver. Rooi bowled with fire and venom to take 4-43 as Uganda, deciding to bat first, scored 229-9. Opener Emmanuel Nakaana was the top scorer with a 121-ball 53 while Andrew Ochan contributed 38. The two batsmen put on 99 runs for the second wicket.

However, Silver made sure that Namibia achieved victory without any hiccups when he stroked an unbeaten 118 as his side romped home in just 45 overs for the loss of one wicket. Silver faced 123 balls and his innings was studded with 12 boundaries. Together with Raymond van Schoor, Silver put on 168 runs for the first wicket as Schoor chipped in with 65 from 93 balls, including six boundaries.

In the other semi-final, Kenya justified its decision of bowling first when it dismissed Botswana for a modest 158 in 45.4 overs. Captain Saad Mohyuddin top scored for Botswana with a 74-ball 42 including four fours while Karabo Modise scored 24.

For Kenya, slow bowler Alex Obanda took 3-31 while Pritesh Lalji (2-35) and Nelson Odhiambo (2-14) were among the other successful bowlers.

Although Kenya slumped from 46-0 to 81-4, Botswana's small total was never going to be enough to take the contest to the wire. Kenya eventually reached the target in 40.1 overs, losing six wickets in the process.

Prashantha Srinivas held the middle-order together with an undefeated 45 from 66 balls, including four fours, while opener Mansuk Naran Jesani scored 36 from 47 balls with two fours.

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.