Kenya’s cricket team was pushed into the new ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League after finishing fourth in World Cricket League Division Three in Oman.
The result ended Kenya’s bid to return to Division Two. Hosts Oman won the tournament after a perfect run, while the United States also earned promotion to Division Two.
Denmark dealt Kenya the decisive blow on Sunday with a nine-wicket win, a result that shut the door on the former 2003 World Cup semi-finalists’ hopes of moving up. Oman then completed their own clean sweep by beating Uganda by 10 wickets.
On Monday, the United States sealed second place with a five-wicket victory over Singapore. Oman finished top on 10 points, while the USA collected eight points after four wins and one loss.
Kenya and Singapore ended level on four points each, having won two matches and lost three. That placed them third and fourth respectively, and sent both sides into the Challenge League. Denmark and Uganda also dropped into the same competition after finishing on two points each, with one win and four defeats.
The 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League was set up as the opening stage of the pathway to the 2023 Cricket World Cup. It was to be divided into two groups, A and B, with the leading team in each group advancing to a play-off tournament in 2022, which would then feed into the 2022 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.
The new league replaced the World Cricket League system that had previously been used for World Cup qualification. It was designed to include the 12 teams ranked from 21st to 32nd after the conclusion of the ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament scheduled for 18–28 April 2019 in Namibia.
Oman and the USA joined Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong and Canada in the new structure. The 12 teams were to be split into two groups, each playing a six-team tournament every year starting in August 2019.
Kenya’s decline had been gradual, with the team falling from the World Cricket League to Division Two and then Division Three, and losing its One Day International status along the way.
The setback added to a long slide for a side that once carried Kenyan cricket’s strongest international reputation, with the 2003 World Cup run still standing as its high-water mark.
