EC Roundup – 1st Dec 2024 – Subregionals, Subregionals, Subregionals

Welcome to this week’s Emerging Cricket Roundup, condensing all the major news into one easy-to-digest place. In this week wrap:

UAE, Qatar top Asia Subregional B

Nigeria, Botswana qualify from Africa Subregional C

Côte d’Ivoire set an unwanted record

U19 Asia Cup gets underway

UAE, Qatar top Asia Subregional B

United Arab Emirates and Qatar were the successful qualifiers from the final subregional for the Asia region. UAE topped the group with a perfect 6-0 record, largely unchallenged on their way, with the host nation behind with only one defeat in six games.

Behind them was a three-way tie between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Thailand, each with a 3-3 record separated by net run rate. The trio were perhaps closer to qualifying than their records suggested, but each side lost key games towards the end of the tournament that ended their qualifying campaigns. At the rear of the seven-team field were Cambodia and Bhutan, with the Cambodias picking up one win and Bhutan finishing 0-6.

Bahrain’s Haider Ali Butt was the star of the tournament with the bat, his 337 runs was more than 100 ahead of his nearest rival. Meanwhile UAE’s Dhruv Parashar topped the wickets tally with 12.

UAE and Qatar therefore advance to the Asia & Pacific regional final next year, joining Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. The nine teams will be competing for three berths at the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Nigeria, Botswana qualify from Africa Subregional C

At the same time, the line-up for next year’s Africa regional final is complete, with Nigeria and Botswana taking the last two berths. Nigeria, hosting the last of the three Africa subregionals, went unbeaten to top the group, with Botswana in second with a 4-1 record.

Behind them were Sierra Leone in 3rd with three wins, Estwatini in 4th, St Helena 5th and Côte d’Ivoire going winless in 6th and last. As well as topping the table as a team, Nigeria also dominated the individual performance, Sulaimon Runsewe and Isaac Danladi both passed 200 runs, whilst Ridwan Abdulkareem topped the wickets tally with 14 dismissals.

Nigeria and Botswana advance to next year’s regional final, from which the top two sides will qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Joining them in the 8-team qualifier are Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe

Côte d’Ivoire set an unwanted record

It was a chastening start to life on the international circuit for Côte d’Ivoire. Playing their first series after admission to the ICC two years ago, the West Africans failed to pass 41 with the bat in any of their five games. But their score against Nigeria in their second game caused a stir, after they were bowled out for a mere 7 in a chase of 272. The total was the lowest in a men’s T20I and the second lowest in all official T20s and the newcomers were defeated by 264, in itself the third largest margin of victory by runs in men’s T20Is.

The social media storm that followed was a rude welcome for the Ivorians. Cricket in the nation has a non-traditional story, its history driven neither by British Colonialism nor South Asian migration.

You can read more on Côte d’Ivoire’s story here.

U19 Asia Cup gets underway

Action began in the Men’s U19 Asia Cup in the UAE, with three associate nations – UAE, Nepal and Japan – joining the five Asian Full Members in an eight team tournament. The opening fixtures have seen Nepal lose to Sri Lanka by 55 runs, and then to Bangladesh by five wickets. Meanwhile, UAE walloped Japan by 273 runs, Japan bowled out for 52 in a chase of 324.

Group stage action continues until the 4th of December, with Nepal still to play Afghanistan, whilst UAE and Japan each play India and Pakistan. Semi finals and a final follow, with the tournament completing on the 8th of December.

Coming up

There’s plenty of cricket coming up in the coming week, with tournaments taking place in all corners of the world:

The Americas subregional starts on the 6th, with nine teams (Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Cayman Island, Mexico, Panama, and Suriname) competing for three berths in next year’s regional final. The tournament is a full round-robin, with each team playing eight games, hosted across four venues in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Play takes place across 9 match-days until the 16th of December.

Before then, the Gulf T20I Championship begins, with six of the Arabian nations meeting in Kuwait. The hosts are joined by Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE with the tournament consisting of a full round-robin.

Continuing the regional theme, the Continent Cup T20 also begins in Rwanda on the 4th. Five teams – Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda – will play a double round-robin with a final to settle the winner.

Hong Kong is also preparing to host a WT20I quadrangular, with China, Thailand, and Namibia the invitees. Eight matches will be played between the 4th and 8th of December, with a round-robin plus placement playoffs.

Finally, Indonesia continues their home season by hosting Turkey for a six-match WT20I bilateral series.

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