The Kenya national under-19 cricket team represents the Republic of Kenya in international under-19 cricket. Kenya has qualified for the ICC Under-19 World Cup on four occasions – 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2018. Overall, Kenya has won 26% (6 out of 23) of its World Cup matches, with a best performance of 11th place in 1998.[1]
Under-19 World Cup record
Kenya's U19 World Cup record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Pos | № | Pld | W | L | T | NR |
1988 | Did not enter | |||||||
1998 | First round | 11th | 16 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
2000 | First round | 13th | 16 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
2002 | First round | 14th | 16 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
2004 | Did not qualify | |||||||
2006 | ||||||||
2008 | ||||||||
2010 | ||||||||
2012 | ||||||||
2014 | ||||||||
2016 | ||||||||
2018 | First round | 15th | 16 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | Did not qualify | |||||||
Total | 24 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 1 |
Tournament history
1998
At the 1998 World Cup in South Africa, Kenya defeated only Scotland in the group stage. In the plate competition, they won two more games against Ireland and Papua New Guinea to finish 11th overall.[2]
2000
At the 2000 World Cup in Sri Lanka, Kenya finished last in its group. They lost to Pakistan and newcomers Nepal, and the game against South Africa was abandoned. In the plate competition, they won their only game of the tournament, against Namibia, and thus finished 13th overall.[3]
2002
At the 2002 World Cup in New Zealand, Kenya again finished last in its group. The opening match against Australia was one of the most shameful days in Kenya cricket history. Australia racked up 480/6 from its 50 overs, the highest total in World Cup history. Kenya was dismissed for 50 runs, to lose by a whopping 430 runs, another shameful record. Despite this however, Kenya did not finish last at the tournament, as they defeated Papua New Guinea in the plate championship to secure 14th overall.[4]
2018
In conjunction with the decline in fortunes of the Kenyan senior team, the national under-19 team failed to qualify for the World Cup for seven consecutive tournaments between 2004 and 2016. But in a stunning turnaround, the Kenyans won the 2017 ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier – Africa on home soil, defeating Uganda on net run rate. In the final game of the tournament, needing a large victory to qualify, Kenya dismissed Uganda for just 60 runs and romped to a 7-wicket victory in just 8.3 overs.[5][6]