Kenya cricket team buckle up for pivotal World Cup qualifiers
Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 01.08.25. | 14:30
The side currently sits fourth in League A, and needs to finish among the top two to qualify for the Play-offs
Kenya men’s national cricket team will report to camp on Tuesday, 5 August, as they prepare for the second round of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League in Jersey from Thursday, 21 to Sunday, 31 August.
The side, now managed by former national Joseph Angara, are set to play a number of friendlies with local Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) sides, marking part of their preparations for the journey they hope will lead to an appearance at the 2027 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for more news
Kenya currently sits fourth in the six-team League A on four points, and need to finish among the top two to qualify for the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off.
Angara’s side, which hosted the first round, will now look to gain some ground on leaders Jersey and Papua New Guinea, who lead the standings with eight points each.
“A wonderful outing will see us return while in the top two,” Angara told Mozzart Sport on Friday, 1 August, previewing the team’s latest daunting assignment.
“We let ourselves down in the first round, but we intend to make corrections based on what we noted in our review.”
Of concern to Angara, who was the assistant to former head coach Lameck Onyango in the first round, was the lack of high scores and inconsistent bowling on hard and bouncy wickets.
“Our spin was one of the upsides, but looking back, scores of around 280 to 290 were not going to win us games. We needed to up the scores a bit further.”
The latter is one thing Angara hopes to see from his side at the Channel Islands, even as he hinted at adding a few spinners to his squad.
The travelling team will not be unveiled until they get into camp, a time when Cricket Kenya selectors are due to have finalised all call-ups.
©Mozzart SportAlike to the squad that played last year, there is a high likelihood of a decent mix of experience and youth, as seen in Kenya’s involvement in the shorter version last month at the 2025 Pearl of Africa T20 Series in Entebbe, Uganda.
Then, Angara unleashed new skipper Dhiren Gondaria to take over from experienced Shem Ngoche as Kenya won half of its eight matches played.
Looking back, Angara believes the team would have done more, but still thinks the conditions there tested their abilities.
“The wickets there were a bit slow as evidenced by how all teams performed on batting,” Angara, a former Botswana head coach, said.
"I, however, think our spinners dominated, and our variations were somehow consistent. That said, I still would have expected us to beat both Uganda and Namibia.”
And so after a week’s rest, the 53-year-old is keen to dip his hands once again with the Kenyan unit.
“So grateful for another opportunity to coach this team,” Angara said. “It is loaded with experience, and I believe we will work together to execute properly.”
