Malawi cricket team out of World Cup qualification

The Malawi National Cricket Team has missed out on World Cup qualification after finishing third at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier B in Accra, Ghana. They were expected to face St Helena in their last game on Sunday, but the match was abandoned without a toss due to rains for the two sides to share a point each. Cricket Malawi president Vivek Ganesan yesterday confirmed in an interview that Malawi finished third which is outside the qualified teams’ brackets as only top-two teams from the six-team qualifier make the grade.

On the other hand, Tanzania and Ghana qualified as they are top-two teams with a tie on nine points each. Malawi team settled for third place with five points while Seychelles are fourth on better net run rate following a tie on three points with fifth-placed Eswatini. St Helena anchors the table with a point.

Malawi registered two wins against Seychelles and Eswatini and lost to Tanzania and Ghana. “The final day fixture against St Helena was unfortunately washed out due to persistent rain, with all matches abandoned. Our results show strong moments with both bat and ball,” said Ganesan.

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Malawi’s standout performance came from all-rounder Kelvin Thuchila, who delivered exceptional bowling figures of six for eight against Eswatini. Malawi team captain Gift Kansonkho said they have learned a lot of lessons which will help them improve performance in their next outings. “While we failed to progress to the next stage, we demonstrated growth, resilience and encouraging signs for the future,” he said.

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