Zimbabwe and Namibia secured their places in the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup after convincing wins in their respective semi-finals of the ICC Africa qualifiers on Thursday.
Zimbabwe eased past Kenya by seven wickets in Harare to join Namibia and automatically qualified South Africa as the three African teams at next year’s global event.
After being put in to bat, Kenya were restricted to 122 for 6, with Rakep Patel’s 65 the lone resistance. Blessing Muzarabani led Zimbabwe’s attack with 2 for 19, while Richard Ngarava also struck at a crucial stage.
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In reply, openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani hammered 70 runs in the powerplay, laying the foundation for a swift chase. Bennett smashed a 24-ball half-century and finished with 51 off 26 before Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga sealed victory in the 15th over.
Earlier, Namibia qualified after easing past Tanzania by 63 runs. Put in to bat, Namibia recovered from early blows through captain Gerhard Erasmus (55 off 41) and all-rounder JJ Smit (61* off 43), posting 174 for 6. Smit then starred with the ball as well, taking 3 for 16, while Ben Shikongo returned 3 for 21 to restrict Tanzania to 111 for 8.
This will be Namibia’s fourth appearance at the men’s T20 World Cup, following campaigns in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Zimbabwe, who missed out on the 2024 edition, return to the tournament with Bennett emerging as the leading run-scorer in the Africa qualifiers, tallying 299 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 184.56.
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